Advair HFA and flonase

This website is wonderful! I finally have peace thanks to being off Advair and knowing that all those dreadful symptoms were side effects of Advair.
I have been on ASMANEX now for 29 days and haven't misssed my life before on Advair. When I was on Advair, my asthma was not in control. I used my inhaler at least 2X/day, I was panting when I exercised, my asthma woke me up at night and my leg cramps kept me from falling asleep for many hours every night.
I was on Advair 250/50 and felt awful. I now take ASMANEX 220mcg only once per day; before I go to bed and my asthma is in control. I am taking 280 mcg LESS of steriod than when I was on Advair and no Serevent and I feel better than I ever have!
It's amazing b/c I tried Advair 100/50 and it didn't work for me at all but ASMANEX(mometasone) is much more effective.
I have been waiting for this drug to come on the market for some time (it is the same drug as Nasonex just like Flovent is the same drug as Flonase) b/c I have horrible allergies which flares my asthma and I have found that Nasonex (mometasone) was far superior for clearing nasal congestion than Flonase so I assumed it (Asmanex) would work great for asthma too and I was right.
As a matter of fact Nasonex works so well compared to Flonase that at the moment it is pollen season and I don't even feel like I have allergies. Now that is amazing.

i have all the same things...sore throat...groggy...no energy and chills. i get cold and hot and feel achy.
i am stopping it today and seeing my doc. tomm. i had the same reaction with flonase.

I am taking 250/50 for about 2 to 3 years now. My allergist says the side effects im having are a direct result of the advair. However, my asthma is so bad I cant discontinue it.
I have to deal with:
-sinus congesion(taking flonase)
-IBS (taking some other med)
-migraines 2 a week (taking topomax and relpax)
-sleepy and tired
-gaining weight even though I excerise
-wounds will not heal causing scaring

It started as a cough... thought I had a cold but just cough continued until I lost my voice. I coughed so hard I thought it was something much more serious since my mother died of lung cancer. I have never smoked but got plenty of second-hand smoke. Doctor said it was allergy/asthma and prescribed Prednisone (7 day) and Advair. Prednisone is now gone but still have trouble with voice breaking up, some cough, and not leg cramps, stomach cramps and dizziness. I am on 250/50 and also prescribed and using Albuterol and Flonase. Thanks for this site and information. I will discontinue Advair and see the reaction. I am now not so worried. -Pamela-

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!

Have been taking Advair 250/50 since October, 2002, and have not had to use an emergency inhaler once since that time. HOWEVER, had to start taking the drug every other day, once per day only, to eliminate hoarshness since I speak with clients for hours often during the business day. With very wet summer, was having some wheezing due to mold reaction over last several weeks, and increased dosage to once, every day. Last two days have had irregular heartbeats and I went off of caffeine totally months ago due to a previous arrthymia episode that lasted 5 days (wore Holter monitor for a day) some 4 months ago. Stopped all caffeine (except some chocolate!) and all alcohol at that time, but who can eliminate all daily stress. Convinced that Advair is causing the premature beats since there is causality to the increased dosage of late. Five months ago experienced periods of dizziness that disappeared after several weeks. There are studies now that steroids, in suppressing the body's immune system and its resultant reactions to triggers or allergens, can contribute to the onset of blood cancers such as lymphoma and other immunological diseases. Use Flonase for sinus swelling, and now looking for alternative to Advair. There is no question in my mind that a patient has to constantly question both drug interactions and overall side effects, i.e., cost-benefit analysis.