Advair HFA and back pain

I am 34 years old and was prescribed Advair about two years ago. I have had minor asthma issues over the years but nothing major. So the doctor gave me an inhaler. Then one winter I get sick and started going through the inhaler in about a month, so he prescribed Advair.
To back up I had lower back surgery for a bulged disc. So I had a lot of pain and was taking vicodin. Six months after surgery my back started feeling better than it had for a long time. I was able to exercise and get by with one vicodin in the morning. This went on for about a year. The pain was stable for the most part, but would increase every now and then.
Now enters the Advair. When I first started taking it I felt a little weird but it made my breathing a lot better. After a little while I would forget to take it or just feel like I didn't need it. But I could not stop taking it because my breathing got to bad without it. Over time my pain was getting worse and worse. I ended up being put on time release morphine because we thought the back pain was increasing. Then after being on morphine it seemed like I was always sick. I have been to the hospital twice for breathing and lung infections. I thought my back pain was turning into sciatica!!!! All along it is this F@#$ ADVAIR!!!! I have had a super short temper,daily head ache's,depression, HORRIBLE PAIN in my legs and back. I am so glad I found this site. ADVAIR IS EVIL!!!!! I have stopped taking it for two days now. I really need help from anyone who has info about quitting it. PLEASE CONTACT ME. Thanks : )

So nice to see that I'm not just imagining the adverse reactions. I've been taking Advair 250/50 for about 3 weeks now after being diagnosed with asthma/chronic bronchitis. I went back to my doctor the following week because I was still having chest pain, back pain, felt as if I still wasn't getting enough oxygen and mentioned that I was having a lot of difficulty with being jittery. He evaluated my breathing with a peak flow meter and since that seemed to be OK, he wanted to do an EKG - which he did and seemed to see something that warranted a referral to a cardiologist. So far the cardiologist has not seen anything out of the ordinary.
I'm thinking more and more that there is nothing wrong with my heart and that this is all being caused by the Advair. Has anyone else been referred to a cardiologist and found out nothing was wrong?

Thanks to everyone for sharing with the Advair thread. I too have had the heart palpitations, *severe* muscle cramps, join pain, back pain and insomnia since I started Advair. I talked to my doctor and he told me that their were no side effects for Advair and intimated that it was "just in my head."

Thanks to everyone for posting their symptoms and experiences. It really helps to know that it's not, in fact, "in my head."

I'm a 38 year old female who was prescribed Advair after a severe bout of bronchitis one year ago. While at first I thought that it was helping my lungs my family members noticed that I was getting more headaches, mood swings and I went from a soprano singer to sounding like Harry Belafonte. I have stopped and now I have cramping pains in my chest and upper back. I call it my traveling pain as it is not always in the same spot. I would much rather have tried a homeopathic remedy than subject myself to Advair every again. I have learned through a nutritionist and chiropractor how to manage the pain in my lungs that this crap has left behind. Please research this carefully before you start sucking in that dust!!

i was on advair for about 4 months, i too experienced many of the side effects mentioned.

i had hoarsenss, thrush, sores on my gums and tongue.
my body i experienced hip pain and immobility, arthritis in pinky. i am very active in sports, i noticed muscle weakness in my abdomen, i also noticed i couldn;t get ripped like i used to while on advair, and a sagginess and roundness to my face. also experienced back pain/ache due to the advair. i noticed i tended to get injured much more quickly. i felt i constantly had to exercise to maintain my strength.

also frequent urination and slow urination, dribble etc.

then i tried serevent and flovent, almost all the same symptoms, got off of that

also had sinus problems, , when i got off advair, it's been around 4-5 months the side effects are all gone.

right now , i'm not on any meds except albuterol inhaler, it's been tough, but i am experimenting with other alternatives.

Back pain and being hoarse

i am 39, female and had been using combivent for years. i felt it was not working, and dr put me on advair. i was AMAZED at how well it worked. i could run w/ my dogs, swim the length of the pool with one deep breath. i began having problems with the glands in my neck. we finally figured out i had a huge yeast infection in them from the advair. the dr had me back off and use only once a day till the infection was gone. i began using it twice a day and i have been suffering from i thought was back pain. i've been going the chiropractor over and over and nothing he had done had helped. last night the pain was the worst it has been, and my lungs started to burn. the burning went around from my back, around to the front and i could not figure out what was going on. this morning i decided to not use advair, and i have NO pain! of course, i'm using my resuce inhaler alot, and getting a breath isn't always easy, but i don't really care. i am not taking it again. AND, i can't eat meat now either. my husband fried chicken tonight, and he looked at me like i was crazy when i said i just couldn't eat it.

Well Advair has worked for me I guess after reading this I realize there are some side affects I feel with advair, back pains, joint pains, I know if I don't take it for 4 days or longer I have an attack and also I have noticed my mouth gettting dry and stuff.I am taking birthcontroll to and I am wondering if anyone out there is having any problems with this mixture. Because I have had chest pains every now and then I think I am going to get off the pill and see what happens.

I started taking Advair about three months ago and found that this medication has been helpful in treating my asthma. My doctor is ecstatic, because for the first time in years my asthma is in control, according to the lung functions test.

Well, that was the good news! Now the bad news. Ever since taking Advair My mouth is dry, my throat is constantly sore and I find that my voice has change a bit.

Yesterday, I started having severe back pains that seem to radiate to my kidneys. The pain cannot be controlled with extra strength acetaminophen. I walk like an old man hunched over due to the pain.

The very same day that I started taking Advair, my lungs began to hurt with exertion. A while ago, there was a big snow fall and my car got stuck. Now I drive a small car and is no problem pushing it, but when I did my lungs began to hurt. Sure I was breathing hard, but this is the first time ever that my lungs hurt! I decided to start taking Ventolin and about 4 hours later I went outside and a car was stuck in the snow drift. I pushed him out and my lungs did not hurt nearly as before, due to taking the Ventolin. I wonder has anybody else ever had this problem?

I'm going back to my doctor and have him put me on something else. I can breath better on Advair, but side effects are unbelievable.

Mike

I quit Advair last August after being on it for 3 years. Weight gain of 25 lbs. Last time I saw a doctor was 5/09/05 for a well woman exam. Blood pressure was sky high and doctor prescribed Norvasc which I never had filled. Never had high readings before. Skin was tissue thin and couldn't sleep well at night. Strange pains just bending over. Nervous all the time. Bruising at the slightest bump.

I used Albuterol constantly until 24 days ago. Have used no other asthma meds. Was recommended by a friend to read F. Batmangheliidj, M.D. "You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty!" for back pains and depression. He recommends lots of water PLUS SEA SALT! Any kind. (not table salt) (I use Hain's because Wal-mart carries it). Even for high blood pressure. You won't find a doctor who would ever recommend this. I noticed that when I ate popcorn with lots of sea salt on it before bedtime, I would sleep well and not cough and wheeze through the night like I had previously. So I keep a large glass of water w/sea salt beside my bed at night. I use a straw since the salt falls to the bottom of the glass.
During the last 24 days without the Albuterol, I have had 2-3 days I didn't think I was going to make it without my inhaler. But it was during the weekends when I was not working, so I drank lots of water, salted everything (lemons especially) and made it through the day. However, the next day I was able to breathe freekt well but my chest and back were sore from trying to breathe the previous day. It was a good feeling knowing I made it though -- I feel I'm strenghening my lungs. The salt really cuts the phleghm.
If anyone tries this, please post it whether it helped or not. It appears to be working for me. Like I said it has been 24 days which is a record for me.

I am also glad I found this site. My daughter was placed on Advair about 2 years ago. She was 8, very petite and looked her age. I noticed she began to gain weight and her breasts and stomach got bigger. She has headaches and back pain. I attributed these symptoms to growth spurts and thought since her fathers side of the family were large--she would be too.... I bought new summer clothes for her in May--size 16 for a now 10 year old weighing 117 pounds.... Boy am I wrong and glad I have taken her off Advair.

I am 19 years old and started Advair only 2 weeks ago, and already I'm feeling the symptoms other posters have mentioned. My back pain is unbearable, I can't even get comfortable long enough to fall asleep. I'm having extreme irratibility and mood swings. I have such muscle weakness that I can barely open a jar of peanut butter. On top of all of this, Advair is just barely doing anything to aid with my asthma symptoms. The side effects of this medication are not worth any of the help it provides.

Started advair after an extreme allergic reaction to burning poison ivy. It helped me to breathe more easily; but I think the doctor kept me on it too long. During the first year I had experienced heart attack like palpitations at night which I just lived through, and I saw a throat specialist who told me that voice lessons would help my throat pain and loss of voice (i.e., the problems were caused by my using my voice too much without training). At the end of the year I asked my allergist if I should continue to take advair and he said absolutely yes. After 8 more months on it the side affects incresed to include: hip and joint pain, acid reflux (I think this may be caused or made worse by back pain because it does get better after I do exercises that take pressure off the back), infection in sinus are that increased to a golfball size, rounded face and body front, anger, and depressive, negative thoughts. A month ago I decided myself to get off advair after reading this site and can say that already I have been having pleasant thoughts of well-being again and I sleep well even with joint pain. How long does it take for the body to recover from advair?

I started advair after an extreme allergic reaction to burning poison ivy. It helped to control my breathing; but I think the doctor kept me on it too long. During the first year I had experienced heart attack like palpitations a few times which I just lived through. I saw a throat specialist, who told me I needed voice lessons to regain the voice I was losing. I asked my Dr if I should still be on it and he said absolutely yes. I guess my state of vulnerability after almost dying kept me from questioning the negative affects the drup was having on me. The depression I was experiencing probably also contributed. I stayed on it for another 8 months and the side affects increased to include: hip and joint pain, acid reflux (I think this may be caused by back pain because it gets better when I do exercises that take the pressure off the back), rounded face and front part of baody, anger, and depressive thoughts. I myself decided to get off advair a month ago after seeing this site and I so happy I did. I have been actually having feelings of well-being again and I sleep well evn with the joint pain. How long does it take for the body to recover from the affects of advair?