Advair HFA and bronchitis

Hi - I was on advair for a couple of weeks after a horrible bout of asthmatic bronchitis. I now have this constant pressure under my rib cage that will not go away. I was wondering if any one else has experienced this while on or after stopping advair. Thanks and happy holidays!

I have been on Advair since Feb. of this year, I have had a lot of these side effects but didn't really realize it was from this med. At first I was told to take it 2x a day, reading the directions it says it has to be 12 hours exactly apart. My work schedule didn't allow that so I just took it 1x....Working 2 jobs I just thought when I couldn't sleep and was always tired, it was from working a lot. When I told the Dr. about not being able to sleep more than 4 hours, I was told since I was taking the meds 1x a day that wasn't it. After a bad cold and bronchitis I was told I had to take the Advair 2x a day, now i'm more tired than ever, still can't sleep and have a headache that won't go away even with migraine medicine. I'm even jittery and forgetful--kinda ditsy now and itchy off and on all day...After reading this blog site I see its not in my mind and i'm going to stop taking this med. I think i'm going to the health food store and find something natural.

Advair made me tired, so tired, I felt like the simplest chore was exhausting. I was told by the pulmonologist that of course the fatigue was unrelated to the medication. Personally, I think the doctors push the meds that they get perks from the pharmacy companies. They may get good results from 75% of their patients but be darned the 25% that may be sensitive to the meds, Modern medicine?

I just wanted to comment to all of you asthma sufferers. I grew up with bronchitis and my brother with asthma. We were always getting sick while young, about every 6 weeks. My nephew inherited asthma from my brother, and he had it very bad, was always getting sick, needing oxygen, etc. While in his teens, someone told him to start playing an instrument like the trumpet or trombone which really exercises your lungs. He started taking lessons in school and it didn't take very long at all to notice a remarkable difference. His other siblings would even get sick and he wouldn't! The exercise, being natural, is a far better and healthy prevention, and makes your lungs stronger. I can't believe doctors don't spread this amazingly helpful advice around. I'm VERY sure they must have heard this before. Wouldn't news like that spread like wildfire through the medical community? But they would probably lose some business!!! So I wanted to help pass it around. I hope it helps some of you!

I hope this helps someone.

I was never allergic to anything in my life until I went around this cat at the age of 33. I sneezed and got a really scratchy throat. I thought it would go away, but it turned into a cold. I thought the cold would go away, but it turned into bronchitis and then pneumonia. I was jogging everyday at the time and realized something was wrong when I couldn't finish my run.

I was hospitalized for two days and upon discharge I was stocked up with a cocktail of drugs: Singular, Advair, Albuterol inhaler, and Claritin. Needless to say, I took them all, because I was scared of dying. Thank God I'm not a good medicine taker, because I missed many doses and only took them as needed. I think this is why after 3 years I have only started to see the effects of these meds in the last 8 months.

Okay... I have major joint stiffness(all over) especially neck and fingers, heart palpitations, nervousness, short patience, horrible memory, lack of motivation. Oh my God! The weight gain...Please!

Before this, I was completely healthy. After reading this I will reduce myself to my inhaler and Claritin. I notice they are cool. Otherwise, if I keep my stress level down my breathing does really well. It would probably help if I got rid of the cat. Shhhh...Don't tell anyone. LOL.

I have since put my self on a juice fast using a high powered juicer to cleanse my system of all the trash the doctors gave me.

God bless you all and I speak life and breath into each of our lives.

BreatheWrite.

These posts have certainly raised some questions in my mind. I am a 48 female, w/mild to moderate COPD - chronic bronchitis due to years of smoking. I have been taking Advair for about 8 years. I have joint and muscle pain all the time, clearing of throat constantly, hoarse like voice, poor urine stream, red eyes, blurry vision. I've had depression and anxiety attacks for years so I can't really blame that on Advair. I take 250/50 strength once a day. I cannot take the second dose in the evenings. If I do, I will not sleep. I go to my pulmonary doctor next week and will definitely talk to him about other options and coming off Advair.

Been on Advair only a few months. MY mouth is on fire and I awake to my tongue almost sticking to the roof of my mouth. I never really had asthma but I started with a cough after a bad case of bronchitis. I started with Albuterol and the advair next.
I'm going to try to stop this because I'm sure that this is why I feel the way I do?
Has anyone else had problems with their mouth. Doesn't look like Thrush but it sure hurts.

I was Dx with Asthma in 98 after having bronchitis for the first time. I am not a smoker but Asthma does run in my family. I have been taking Advair 500/50 for 3 years and as far as controlling my Asthma I am so HAPPY to be on it!(I am 40 years old). In the begining I did struggle with side effects of heart burn,& tooth pain but that has subsided. The only side affect that has really affected my life is the loss of cartledge in both of my knee's. Granted I had a history of Femoral Patella Syndrome prior to taking ADvair, it just seems like the medicine has sped up the deteration. But Honestly. It has worked so well to control my Asthma, and nothin else seems to be stronger. I will have to choose breathing over my knee's.

Boy i thought i was the only one and my family thought i was just making this stuff up. I have asthma and have had it since i was 10 now age 23. Recently i went to the doctor because i was using my albuterol inhaler to much i was using one a week. The doctor told me i had bronchitis now even worse so he put my advair 250/50 ive been on it for about 2 months. One week after taking it i notice my voice changed and my troat was bothering me, i was having nose bleeds. This week i started having really bad headaches my hands fall asleep at night without my even sleeping on them, also bad back pains my legs get bad cramps at night. One bad thing i really hate is i know i have gained a good mount of weight about 30lbs in so little time. My husband notice my mood swings ive been having towards him getting mad at him for no reason. Thank goodness im not going crazy seeing that im not alone. IM GONNA STOP TAKING THIS MEDICINCE AND CALLING MY DOC MONDAY MORNING!!!!1

Hi All -

I hate to read how Advair has affected all of your lives negatively however, after reading the information on this site, I feel so much better about what I have been experiencing.

I have had asthma all of my life. I was taking Albuterol (as everyone does) to control it when I had an attack, Singulair and Serevent (only prior to exercising to help stop an attack from happening). I went to a new pulmonary doctor with a bought of severe bronchitis and he told me that I was "not controlling my asthma properly" and that I should have been on Advair a long time ago. I trusted him and started taking it twice a day.

I have been on it for 17 days and over the past five days I started having severe anxiety over my breathing functions. I was monitoring every breath I took and wasn't breathing unless I told myself to. This started causing severe panic attacks...I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE IN MY LIFE!!!!! I am not prone to anxiety or anything like that and I have had asthma ALL MY LIFE!!! This was an entirely new behavior. I thought I was going crazy...I couldn't stop thinking about breathing.....I analyzed what was new in my life and what I have been doing differently that could cause this change in my life and the only new thing was Advair. My husband had to give me a Xanax (something that I have never taken in my life) just so that I could function and go to work. So I went on line and I found at least 50 web sites like this one devoted to Advair and a link to panic attacks, anxiety, depression, etc...I STOPPED TAKING IT!!!!! I don't care what my doctor has to say...the benefits are not worth this drug taking over my life and changing me as a person. I am done. I will deal with my asthma as I have always done so and I don't care if he thinks that I am "not controlling it". I left a message for the doctor and I am still waiting to hear back. I haven't taken the Advair since yesterday morning and the panic attacks have started to get milder. I am still a little bit focused on the breathing but only if I am alone and not preoccupied. I have to believe that these side effects will go away in time and when the drug is out of my system. I learned a valuable lesson. I will only take a drug if I research it first.

Thank you all for your comments....you have helped me to preserve my sanity. We all can't be feeling the same thing and not attribute it to the culprit..ADVAIR!!!!

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?

My son is 4 years old and has been on Advair 100/50 for 3 weeks. He has chronic bronchitis and since the Dr has put him on Advair we have noticed a change in his behavior. He cannot sit still and is wired ALL the time. His pre-school teacher said he is being very disruptive in class. He has trouble sleeping at night and he has a runny nose all the time. He has been telling me that his legs hurt him and his stomach hurts all the time. I assumed the legs hurting was due to him "growing". Boy was I dumb. I now believe it is linked to this medicine!
Has anyone ever stopped taking this medicine "cold turkey?"

I've had a case of Asthmatic Bronchitis for the last two months. Doctor prescribed the Z-pack (2 Rounds) and a ProAir inhaler (Albuterol). After 1 month of this I felt better...but still not 100%.

Then he gave me the wretched Advair. I took one puff...and 15 minutes later was in the emergency room. I completely couldn't breathe...lost all color in my face...heart was racing...nervousness...tremors...chills...etc. I took a couple puffs off the Albuterol and that helped open the airways so the ambulance ride wasn't necessary. But the ER visit was still necessary.

They gave me a nebulizer treatment and 60mg of Prednisone and after an about 2 hours I was released. Now today...exactly 12 hours later I have the dry mouth, hoarseness, and leg cramps others have mentioned. Hoping this will clear up soon...I mean common I only took 1 puff!

Long and short...stay away from this medication at all costs! Something must be wrong if so many people are having these types of effects.

My husband has been on Advair first for bronchitis, now they say he has asthma. He was better after taking Prednisone, with the Advair, but during that time he became extremely irritable. I thought it was from the steroids, but now he's been off Prednisone for 2 weeks, and the rage continues. The tiniest things make him so mad, and he used to be so mild and easy going. It is starting to really scare my daughter, and it makes me so sad to see the change in her. I can't see living like this forever. Aside from that, the coughing and excessive mucus in his throat continue. Has anyone else had these extreme personality changes?
Thanks.

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 had a bad case of bronchitis that didn't clear up after the antibiotics. My new doc gave me advair and said I had undiagnosed asthma. I am getting BAD headaches- migraines. My eyes feel like they are going to pop right out of my head from the pressure and pain. I also have blurred vision when the headaches occur. I've only been using it for about 9 days and I'm going to stop after reading the other posts on this site. It seems that compared to other users I'm getting off rather easy.

I have previously used Advair, on occasion, for bronchitis. After taking it for less than a week, my voice became hoarse. The scariest feeling was the flushing feeling I experienced immediately after using the inhaler. The flushing kept coming back and I almost passed out. Has anyone else experienced this feeling after using Advair?

I developed asthma this past winter following bad bronchitis. I initially broke out in awful hives. I quit for 2 wks restarted- no problems. Now I notice a tightness in my throat like I have a lump in there. my voice gets tight-hoarse especially after eating. I've had 2 episodes of what felt like chest pain all the way up into my jaw and teeth. I exercise regularly w/out symptoms. I've started weaning it to once a day. I will probably just go off of it. I take singulair also. no wheezing now. just occass tightness if I go off of the advair.

My daughter took advair. She was an asthmatic for years. Last April she had bronchitis, and went on prednisone, I don't believe they took her off the advair. She developed a severe septic pnuemonia, went to the hosp. on a Monday with body shutting down, kidneys involved etc. Wed. seemed to pass the crises, Sat, developed a staph, and died on April22. Ask your doctors and pharmicists, about this combination. I will always believe it was a contributing factor to her death.

My husband was given a sample of this for a month-long bout of bronchitis and we are now thinking it has done permanent damage to his vocal chords. He only used it 5 times, got thrush (yeast infection) in his throat and is still hoarse after a week of being off of it. Does anyone know the history of this drug and has the word "class action lawsuit" crossed anyone's mind besides mine? I am amazed at the way pharmaceutical companies run the healthcare business in this country!

I don't want to go off on a rant here, but are people aware that a large portion of the FDA's operating budget is provided by pharmaceutical manufacturers? This isn't our first experience with this type of thing and I'm about to launch a grassroots campaign to educate the public. Maybe they'll stop believing all the marketing hype.

I'm thinking that the pharmaceutical companies ought to heed the Hippocratic oath - FIRST, DO NO HARM. Wouldn't it be a remarkably different world if they would take all the money they're spending on marketing and use it to lower the price of orphan and AIDS drugs? They keep saying that research is expensive - and advertising on every possible television show, radio and magazines is cheap? Hello? Are we going to be sheep or are we going to be citizens and hold these companies responsible for what they're doing. Thanks for letting me vent. Please contact me if you want to do something about this. And no, I'm not an attorney, but I'm a writer and I think I just found out what my first book is going to be about...

I am a healthy 43 year old woman, recently diagnosed with bronchitis, I had a persistant cough on and off for about a month, my doctor prescribed antibiotics and gave me advair discus, since then I have a burning sensation, like heartburn continuasly and my tongue feels funny, I have also experienced a rash like itching, i have only used it for about a week, it is also given me palpitations I will stop, I never had problems breathing and now I do, whwn will this sensation go away?

I am a 39 year old female. I have been taking Advair for about 4 years now, since a bad attack landed me in the hospital. My pulmonologist initially put me on the 500 strength and told me to take it twice daily. After a couple of week of that my skin broke out in small bumps all over the place - my face, my chest, my back, even on my scalp. I suspected the Advair, told my doctor, and she advised me to reduce to once daily. I did, and the bumps were gone within days. After a few months she decreased me to the 250 dosage and I remained on that for 3 years with no debilitating side effects. Unfortunately my doctor retired around this time and another doctor took over her practice.

About a year ago I noticed that my joints were weaker, specifically my knees, and I had one bad fall caused by complete loss of strength in my left knee. My new doctor said I might be experiencing cartilege loss but did not mention it may be from the Advair.

Then a few months ago I had got an upper respiratory infection which went into bronchitis. My doctor put me on an antibiotic that I'd never taken before and increased my Advair to 500 again. Almost immediately I began experiencing racing heart, joint pain, extreme skin sensitivity, sore throat and ear pain. I also got a yeast infection, which is something I have never had before. I still did not suspect Advair as the culprit. Although I reported all these symptoms to my doctor, he also did not mention the possibility of Advair playing any part in them. He told me it was acid reflux, although I've never had a single GI problem in my life. He told me the muscle pain was stress, for Heaven's sake. I wasn't very comforted by his diagnosis, but couldn't think of what else I could do.

One morning a few weeks ago I woke up and for some reason decided to Google Advair, and found copious documentation from reputable sites like Mayo Clinic that detailed all the possible side effects of the drug. I was floored to see that I have been experiencing so many of them.

I have now taken myself off Advair. It's been a week thus far and my breathing has not gotten any worse but the heart racing has already gone away. I also feel less ear pain. The joint pain has remained. I suspect that bone and cartilege damage done by this drug will not be reversible.

Tomorrow I have another appointment with my doctor and plan on showing him the information I printed out from the Mayo Clinic site on the effects of Advair. I do not plan to resume taking that drug.

I started taking Advair when my Dr. prescribed it for a bout with bronchitis and it worked very well. Then another bout of coughing and it went well again. Finally, as part of an asthma maintenance plan Advair was prescribed twice a day (250/50.) Every time its used I gargle until the Listerine burns. And about two months into use my voice started getting hoarse. Now (with about 9 months into regular use) my voice rarely lasts longer than a five minute conversation, there's lots of hacking phlegm, and my throat is continuously sore from the coughing.

The ability to breathe without my chest feeling tight and the wheezing is gone on high pollution days, but this hoarseness is causing people to not hear me on the phone, conversations at work are stifled, and its becoming a life-style to learn to avoid talking. I'm going to begin trying to get off of Advair permanently and find another asthma maintenance medication.

I have taken Advair for only 3-4 weeks - once in the a.m. and once in the p.m. I had a bad case of bronchitis. My doctor gave me Advair and a Z-pack. It really helped. But I have noticed for the past 3 days, that toward the end of the day my chest feels very heavy. It is difficult to breath out. It doesn't feel like the bronchitis I had at all. My chest doesn't feel full. It just feels heavy. I stopped taking the Advair yesterday because I noticed that the heaviness temporarly went away once I took it. I knew there was a connection. My throat is burning. I've been taking coughdrops to sooth it. I guess it helps some. And it has been difficult to talk. Again, it's the breathing out (talking) that seems strained. I hope these symptoms will go away since I've stopped using the Advair. But reading these posts isn't very encouraging.

After my second dose of inhaled Advair for Bronchitis I started feeling spacey and unable to concentrate. I had to keep laying down to "collect myself". As an hour went by I began trembling and feeling weak. Also, my windpipe felt like a big loose bruised bag in my throat. Went to the hospital because I was feeling anxious about my symptoms.

When they tested me I had a low heart rate, 58. All my blood work was good. I never took another dose and 36 hours late I'm almost 100%.

I have been taking Advair Discus 250/50 for about a month for bronchitis. I have severe laryngitis and can hardly speak, particularly later in the day. Otherwise I am feeling pretty good but this lack of speech is really getting to me. I am an elementary school teacher. Could this possibly be related to this drug?

On Advair for 3 weeks for bronchitis/wheezing. Right away started having itching for an hour or so 2-3x a day. It has continued and expanded to many areas and is a temporary rash in some areas.
Benadryl stops it. Don't know if related, but heart rate accelerates from 80 to 160 in a few minutes of climbing stairs to do laundry for example and I've had chest pains.

OMG, I am so glad that I found this site. The Dr. Has me taking Advair for about a year.

I am a 27 y/o Female and I quit smoking about two years ago. I thought my breathing and sense of taste would come back but after a while it didn't. I went to my doctor last year to complain about chest congestion, runny nose, all that good stuff. He said I could have some sort of fibrosis of the lung and sent me for an xray and when it came back he said I had little bronchitis and asthma. I have never had asthma and only one member of my family has it. I assume I got this because I am a former smoker.

He started me on the advair and at first it really helped. Then I ran out and couldn't afford it for about three months. Basically the whole summer. I went to see him for a follow up and he gave me two more samples. I started back on it for the past week and I feel worse. Last night, I though I was going to die and all I kept thinking was that I am too young to die. I had a racey heartbeat and a terrible taste in my mouth that only elevated my heart beat and anxiety. Finally I calmed down but I thought I was going to die in my sleep. I am so scared. I can hear the tick in my chest, you know that sound, it sounds like there is a wind up toy in there.

I don't know if that's the bronchitis again. But it wasn't there before the advair. I think it's creating mucus in my chest. The Dr. said that if any mucus came to let him know. I am going to try to get in to see him, I don't want to take advair again. I just don't know what else to do. I am terrified and though I lost weight for the Cholesterol, my stomach is not going away, I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was writing to report one side effect, but after reading through some of the others...i may have two. After much urging from me, my husband stopped taking Advair a month ago and now takes Flovent...he has good control of his asthma now. After a week of being off Advair my husband noticed that he has stopped having heart palpitations that he had EVERY time he exerted himself while on Advair. Now, from reading other, my husband had developed an aversion to meat a couple of months ago, but now since being on Flovent he's been eating meat as usual...kinda weird,huh?!
I had been given Advair for bronchitis about a year ago...after one dose I had a horrible panic attack and heart palpitations....i didn't take anymore.

I've been off and on Advair for two years. I'll take myself off of it cause I don't like what it does but then the asthma goes nuts. So far I've been on this for three days - 2 doses per day of the 250/50. Massive joint pain like I have the flu, dizzy, ear-ache, nausea, sore-throat, hoarsness, headache, lethargy. I am also on Zyrtec every day 1 pill to control post-nasal sinus drip which kicks off an asthma attack. One more note. I moved to Massachusetts 6 years ago from Alabama. I had two sinus problems a year in Bama - bronchitis type stuff and that was it. I was diagnosed with Asthma 2 years after moving to Massachusetts.

I only used advair for one month,for bronchitis, and I have mild asthma, and I expereinced eye pains, and foot locking up, and stiff fingers.and joint pains.
Some of these side effects happened after I weaned myself off advair.
I still get eye pain, and need to get it checked.
During the time I used advair, I had a very dry mouth and sore throat, and difficulty breathing.
I still get the sore throat now and then, and I have been off advair for two months.....so I am not sure what it is.
Scary thought that advair is listed as a black warning drug...the most serious kind of warning for a drug.

Hi! I am so happy that I found this website. I was on Advair 500 for over a year and had almost every side effect listed here. After reading the postings, I went to the doctor and demanded that he put me on another asthma medicine. He put me on Asmanex and I've been feeling absolutely wonderful for the past 3 months. Coming off the Advair was scary for me. I had tingling lips, fingers, and skin on my back for almost a week. I also had to use my albuterol every 4 hours during the same week. But other than that my list of symptoms quickly disappeared. Since then, I've only had to use my albuterol a handful of times, mainly on a humid day or when working in my basement or brushing my dogs. I had experienced so many side effects while on Advair that I started to feel depressed. When I asked my doctor's about the side effects, they told me that they weren't from my medications. Advair had caused me to have a constant cough, numerous episodes of bronchitis, hoarseness almost one week every month, severe asthma attacks, constant thrush and other throat infections. I also had my blood pressure up 20-30 points on average, which caused me to constantly feel anxious. I was extremely moody and snapped at my kids and husband very easily. I had trouble sleeping and night sweats. Since I couldn't sleep I was constantly tired. One of the worse effects was joint pain and muscle cramps. My hands and feet would cramp up like I had severe arthritis. Sometimes I cramped so bad that couldn't hold a fork or toothbrush. My legs would cramp so badly it would make me cry. My back ached and I got severe stomach cramps. I had horrible menstrual cycles which lasted for over a week. My elbows hurt so bad that I couldn't carry a bag through the mall. I also lost all interest in sexual relations. I also had jitters. My hands would tremble even when I wasn't holding anything. I also lost my appetite. Food didn't taste or smell the same so it didn't appeal to me. I had to force myself to eat. To say the least, I felt like I was falling apart. Within a few days of going off of the Advair I felt like a new person. I was pleasant to be around and had hope for the future. I am feeling great. My husband and kids are so happy to have the real me back. I strongly encourage everyone to try Asmanex and go off Advair. It's really made a difference in my life.

My doctor prescribed Advair last week and I am supposed to take one puff twice a day. I have done it for the past 3 days. Now I am afraid to continue because of the side effects you all mention. How long until you began to notice the weight gain/sleeplessness, etc.? I just lost 40lbs and it took a lot of hard work. I will not let this drug ruin that for me. (I don't
have chronic asthma, I am just having trouble getting over a bout of bronchitis.) Thanks for any information you can offer.

weight gain,extreme tiredness,insommia,high blood pressure and constantly thirsty and always hungry. when i first took advair ..my dr prescriped it without doing any breathing tests just heard me cough. asked if i had asthma as a kid. said no just bronchitis( sorry typo queen here).i had pnuemonia twice. anyway i quit the advair after seeing the side effects but still can't lose the weight. how long does that stuff stay in your system? will i ever be able to walk distances again without having to stop and lean against something ? any input would be helpful..thanks

I started taking Advair about 6 months ago and during that time I have experienced 2 severe respiratory infections that developed into bronchitis. It has just dawned on me that Advair may be responsible for them. I have also gained a good bit of weight during that time and am now also attributing that to the Advair.

After I had a bout with bronchitis, then pheumonia and finally congestion that would not go away advair was prescribed. I started out taking 250mg then 500mg was prescribed. I am having problems with the roof of my mouth being sore and I have horseness. I feel like it is damaging my vocal chords but I am not sure. I will go to a pulmonary specialist this week to determine what I have for sure. My primary doctor seems to think that I do have asthma.

I had bronchitis, they gave me something called a "dosepack" which was steroids, it did terrible things to my voice... swollen throat, croaking, almost laryngitis.

With advair, it's just a swelling in the throat, but it's annoying enough that I want to reasearch alternatives.

Not sure where to begin with my side effects...
The biggest (and scariest) of them is that, since I have been on Advair, I have had more and more severe respiratory problems. Every year, since I began the "medication", I have (at least once per year) bouts of either Bronchitis or Pneumonia (sometimes even both). Advair is obviously formulated to make patients become dependent on the drug to where they can NOT stop taking it. I have even tried to wean myself off of it, but thru this process, I truly felt like I was dying. I struggled so hard to breathe. I eventually had to go to the doctor and get a dose of prednisone and begin Advair again.
Another side effect that torments my every day life is thrush. I can not seem to shake it, no matter how many times I have been treated for it. I ALWAYS rinse after using Advair, with water AND a mouthwash with ingredients that are used in treating thrush.
I have also had other side effects as well. I have a twin sister and she has experienced some of the same. One is a strange "cramping up" or "locking up" of our feet. It's very strange and has NEVER happened to either of us, before Advair. It's painful and we have no control over it. The toes separate/spread and "lock up" in cramping pain that lasts a few moments at a time.
Since being on Advair, I have also had weight-gain. The only reason I mention it is because others have posted it as a side effect. I have never blamed Advair for this, but who knows? I think it's just neglect on my part. ;)
Those are the only that immediately come to mind. If I think of any later on, I will post them. :)

two weeks on Advair for bronchitis, leaves me with loss of voice, cough, general feeling of malaise. will it end eventually. Do I have to visit my doctor.?

Hi Everyone,

I must say this site has really helped. I thought I was going crazy, or that everything was in my head.
I was prescribed Advair 100/50 for a lingering bronchitis that followed a bad flu.
Chest x-rays revealed minor hyper-ventilation and minor bronchitis, so my Dr. gave me Advair.
I have no history or family history of asthma. I am very healthy, and my lungs are strong - I used to do apnee diving, I don't smoke, run a lot.
I took advair for one week, twice daily. I stopped yesterday, because firstly, I couldn't see any change at all, and secondly, I noticed the following:
- lots of phelgm in throat (feels like I'm constantly swallowing mucus)
- bad taste in mouth, and itchy throat (sometimes a burning sensation)
- general fatigue and lack of energy
- feeling depressed and anxious, almost paranoid

I just took it for one week, so hopefully this will be out of my system soon.
I was somdering if anyone w/ side effects can update their situation since they stopped using advair (have the side effects gone away? how long after?)

thank you
mat

severe throat infection, thrush of the mouth, sinusitis, bronchitis

I had an allergic reaction to lamisil tablets. After an extreme round of skin rash and sores came the wheezing and coughing from bronchial spasms. The doctor prescribed advair and albuteral. I actually got worse! Muscle pain, coughing jags every morning with green mucus, dry cough and general malaise. I looked for warnings with the advair box and found none. I had to go to the internet to find out that this stuff CAUSES bronchitis. It's been 3 months now. Two months of inhaling that junk and one month off. I'm still coughing up green chunks every morning and cough all through the day. There should have been warnings in the box and the doctor should not have prescribed this stuff for me.

I too have been experiencing alot of the side effects listed in the many testimonials here. I didn't relate what was happening, but just noticed that there was an inconcistency in the way I felt while taking Advair. Since the pollen season has started, I began taking l/2 doses of Advair a day... I exercise intensely about 4/5 times a week, and noticed that instead of having more "lung" endurance I felt like I almost had the onset of a chest cold or bronchitis. I would get very out of breath the harder I exercised....with muscle fatigue, hipe pain, long recovery time, raspy throat w/phlegm. The wierd thing too was that I had hunger pains in the morning that would continue even after I had eaten... almost like a burning feeling. I just stopped taking Advair, and use my inhaler when needed. I still feel very fatigued, which is very frustrating to someone who exercises as much as I do. It's been about two days, and I am waiting to feel better, hopefully.

Out of desparation I went on the internet today to see if anyone else besides myself was having adverse reactions. I went to the Dr. yesterday and neither one of us could figure out why I was hoarse,throat full of phlem, felt like I had a lump in my throat and it felt tight. Kept feeling like I had to swallow. The roof of my mouth is sore and my toungue is sore. Funny taste in my mouth. Acid reflux. Prilosec no longer working. Running a fever last week of 102 degrees. Yesterday when I took my morning dose of advair it fellt like my mouth was on fire. Constant non stop post nasal drip, which made me feel like I constantly had to swallow. Felt paniky. Desided to take myself off Advair today. I'm already feeling better. My voice is coming back to normal. The thick phlem is subsiding and the swelling and tightness in my neck is almost gone. Weight gain of 20 lbs in the last year. The advair was actually triggering bronchitis and was also causing acid reflux. The medication prilosec, nexium,protonix etc. can increase your chance of getting pneumonia and upper respritory problems. I was not diagnosed with asthma, yet the Nurse Practioner was treating me with aggressive asthma medication, which over time was worse than the original symptoms. By the way Flovent and advair are the same thing so I also took myself off flovent. I went to the health food store and bought allergy 10 and echinacea. Echinacea boosts the immune system and acts like an antibiotic, but should not be taken for more than 6 to 8 weeks at a time. Allergy 10 can be take indefinately.

I was on advair for 2 weeks for Bronchitis. After 2 days I developed small bumps in the back of my tongue and down my throat. My gums also are a little painful. I have been off the inhaler now for 2 weeks but I am wondering how long it takes for all the side effects to go away. If anyone knows please let me know. I was really beginning to think I was dying it was so bad.

Like most of you who have posted here, I too saw remarkable & remarkably quick improvement in my asthma (& even some allergy) symptoms. However, I'm also discovering that it is not worth the side effects!!! I would rather have the sneezing & wheezing than what I've been dealing with the last week or so!

And just to help put it in "context": I'm 31 years old & have had asthma & allergies since the age of 4. When I was younger it was really bad, I was often in the emergcency room 2 or 3 times a week, was prone to bronchitis & sinus infections, etc. When I was a teenager, I mostly outgrew it (though I've always had a rescue inhaler & some type of allergy medication, I just didn't have the severity/intensity of symptoms/attacks I did as a kid), but in my late 20's noticed that some of the symptoms seemed to be coming back, not too seriously, just "uncomfortably". I was using the Albuterol as my rescue inhaler with the Flovent inhaler & Allegra & was having good results, with minimal to no side effects, but when Claritin went over the counter, most insurance companies stopped covering the Allegra. I went in to my doctor's office almost 2 weeks ago to see about getting my treatment options updated... what I had in mind was perhaps getting upgraded to the higher dose of the Flovent inhaler & having the doctor right a letter so the insurance company would cover my Allegra, and was put on Flonase & Advair instead. Over the years I've taken Theophylline, Albuterol, Proventil (inhalers), Flovent, occassional rounds of Prednisone, allergy shots, Allegra, nebulizer treatments.. you name it.... and I can honestly say that as awful as some of that stuff made me feel (particularly the Prednisone & Theophylline), I can't EVER remember there being a time when I'd rather have the bad asthma, than the icky side effect!! This stuff is awful!!!!! I'd stopped taking the Flonase, but then realized 2 things: 1). it's the exact same ingrediant as the Flovent, which I'd had no problems with & 2). I was still taking the Advair & feeling crappier & crappier. It's the most god-awful stuff I think I've ever taken!

I've only been taking it since the evening of March 31st (it's now midday on April 12th) & here is the list of side-effects I've noticed, and that seem to be getting worse instead of better:

nausea (pretty bad too, have had days where all I can eat is saltines & gingerale!)
dizziness (have actually fallen twice! This from someone who dances, rides horses, does yoga, etc!);
ringing in my ears (LOUD)
earaches & itchy ears
headaches
joint/muscle stiffness, swelling & tenderness (feels like I've got arthritis or something & my back & neck muscles just ache all the time!)
sinus pressure/tenderness & blood when I blow my nose (just short of full-on nosebleeds)
depression/lethargy/extreme fatigue (again, I'm someone who usually enjoys things like walks, puttering around the house & garden, riding horses, doing yoga, going dancing... & all I've wanted to do is either sleep or lay around... yesterday folding a load of laundry made me soooo tired I wanted to cry!)
emotional changes (irritability, weepiness, etc.)
sleep disturbances/insomnia (not getting restful sleep, feeling to wound up to sleep, nightmares like I haven't had since I was a kid, etc.)
vision changes (blurry, those weird silvery traces/flashes somebody else here mentioned)
itchy skin -- ALL OVER!!
dry skin
1st diahhrea, now constipation
frequent urination
weight gain -- which is strange considering I'm too nauseaus to eat anything most days
strange & constant taste in my mouth (very "chemically" & slightly metallic) -- nothing tastes right
heartburn/indigestion (which I've never had!!)
heart palpitations/tremors/restlessness/nervousness
inability to concentrate
memory problems/"fogginess"
scratchy/mild sore throat
tender roof of mouth (eating toast is difficult)

The list goes on & on.... and, I am really good about taking it exactly as prescribed (had even cut back & that's not helping) & being sure to rinse my mouth out with water (& gargle!) & so on.... what I find most strange is that many of the symptoms would seem as though they couldn't possibly coexist... that they would cancel each other out (e.g. having insomnia & sleep disturbances at the same time as extreme fatigue & constantly wanting to nap; intense hunger pangs & weight gain when I'm too nauseaus to even want to think about food, etc.)... but there they all are!!

What scares me is that aside from having allergies & asthma, I've always been a very active & healthy person.... and in the last week I've gone from feeling like a young healthy person with some uncomfortable asthma/allergy symptoms to feeling like a sick, decrepit, feeble & exhausted old person.... my 89 year old grandpa has fewer physical complaints & is in better shape at the moment!!!

If it wasn't for this website, who knows how long I've had let myself think it was due to something other than this god-awful medication... thanks!! I've taken my last dose of Advair!! I'm just going to have to explore some other options to treat my symptoms (I hadn't thought I was actually "bad" enough to need something like Advair in the 1st place), or get the insurance company to cover my Allegra!

Some of you who have had bad asthma prior to taking Advair and have now gone off - - -could you please post how you weaned yourself off and if you had serious asthma attacks going off of it? Also, what are you on now? I am desperate to be rid of all the debilitating bone and joint effects I am suffering, but am afraid of going back to struggling to breathe on a daily basis. A lot of the people who have posted were given Advair for a cold, or bronchitis. I would like to hear from the serious asthmatics and what they are doing post Advair. Thanks.

OMG! I was prescribed Advair for Bronchitis and my belly starting swelling. I realized that since I started taking it I have become pregnant! I'm a male also!!!

This is ridiculous! Come on ppl, Advair is not the cause of all of the ridiculous symptoms that people are reporting here. It is just pathetic what a bunch of hypochondriacs (sp?) will spew on forums such as this. Get real ppl, if this was the case, there would be absolutely no way it would be on the market. Not a chance!

More common side effects may include:
Bronchitis, cough, diarrhea, difficulty speaking, fungal infection of the mouth, gastrointestinal discomfort and pain, headaches, hoarseness, muscle pain, nausea, sinus problems, sore throat, upper respiratory infection or inflammation, vomiting

I am suffering with sinus pressure everyday and it hurts.
I feel like my ears are going to pop because of the pressure in my head. Is anyone else suffer with this also. My email is darryljarod@yahoo.com. Please email me and let me know because I am tired and I just want pressure to stop.

Less common side effects may include:
Allergic reactions, appendicitis, blood in nasal mucus, bone problems, burns, constipation, dental discomfort and pain, dry and scaly skin, ear problems, eye infection, fractures, heart palpitations, hives, joint pain, lower respiratory infections, mouth ulcers or rash, mouth discomfort or pain, muscle injuries, muscle stiffness, nasal irritation, nerve problems, red eyes, runny nose, pneumonia, skin infections, sleep disorders, sleepiness, sneezing, sweating, tremors, wounds

After 9 days hospitalization for bronchitis and asthma, doctor gave me prednisone and combivent inhaler for 6 weeks. Both were stopped and I was given Advair 500/50 - 2 puffs twice each day. Within two days I experienced sever blurred night vision. I suspected Advair and cut dose in half-1 puff twice each day. A few days later, I awoke with tingling in legs and severe mustle pain down the front of my right leg, not allowing leg to stretch back far enough to walk properly. I quit Advair. Am on combivent for time being. Tingling has mostly gone away and pain in right leg is gone.