Advair HFA and medication

A few years ago, my doctor prescribed advair to better control my asthma. After a few days, I had an almost fatal reaction to the medication. I woke up feeling fine, took a shower, and got ready for work. I took a puff from the advair discus and immediately felt my throat closing. I started gasping for air and took my rescue inhaler which didn't work at all. The nebulizer didn't work either. Within minutes I collapsed and became unconscious.Luckily, my son was late for work that day so he called 911 and gave me mouth to mouth resuscitation until the paramedics arrived. My blood pressure dropped to 60/30 and I had to be intubated for the first time. I remained unconscious until I reached the hospital. The doctor said the only reason I survived was because my son saved me. If I had been alone that day I'm sure everyone would have assumed that I died from an asthma attack. I wonder how many other people that happened to. Since then, I have been very careful about taking new medications.

I have been on Advair 2X a day for 2 weeks with a history of migraines. The last 3 days I have had 3 separate migraines with preceding scotomas- the third migraine headache on the third day- was the worst ever and didn't respond to migraine medicine. My husband figured out it was the Advair and I stopped the medication. For those with a history of migraines- don't take Advair as run the risk of severe migraine headaches.

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!

Bleeding Gums, Severe Leg Cramping, Yeast Rashes, Sleeplessness, Blurred Vision:

I am a 49 year old woman who was recently prescribed Advair for asthma control. I also have severe allergies. My gums began bleeding almost immediately so I worried that I wasn't rinsing my mouth well enough. I stopped the Advair for a several days since in my mind, that was the culprit. Then my breathing/wheezing/persistent cough came back. So, I started back on my Advair and then started almost immediately having the worst leg cramps of my life. After figuring out that this new symptom correlated to my Advair use, I stopped it again cold turkey. I also am not sleeping over about an hour at a time despite my taking Ambien as well as anti-anxiety meds (I have Bipolar Disorder (Depression alternating with Manic Episodes) as well as Anxiety Disorder). Oh yes, and I developed weird yeast rashes underneath my breasts, on my inner thighs and behind my ears....despite if not being hot at all. I have never had this type of rash before or even been troubled with yeast infections. I also just noticed today that my vision is more blurred when trying to read the guide on my TV (42"). I have had no weight gain...in fact am losing weight..but have been watching what I eat. I don't feel more depressed...in fact, I feel the opposite...kinda euphoric at times..which feels good but can be a step towards mania for me. I decided to do a bit of research on Advair as a cause of the leg cramps...my persistent cough is back but I am afraid to take it now. I guess I need to talk to my allergist tomorrow.

My uncle has COPD and takes Spiriva and Advair. He has had pneumonia since June 08 off and on through Sept. I've been concerned about this and have been reading up on Advair for people with COPD causing pneumonia. My question is what other choices does he have for medication if he stops taking the Advair? Does anyone know that has been through this? He is on oxygen all the time and his dose of Spiriva is 100/50. After reading the posts, I'm convinced his pneumonia is a result of the Advair.

My 5 year old daughter's pediatrician prescribed her advair to help with inflammation due to her seasonal allergies. (She had never taken an asthma medication or been diagnosed with asthma) I was very hesitant to give it to her, but she was really miserable. I gave it to her. 30 min later she was acting like she was bi-polar, manic and jumping up and down one min and crying for no reason the next. This went on for about 30 min before she crashed. She was very suddenly lethargic, couldn't hold her head up. Her face was pale, it started getting puffy and splotchy and her skin around her eyes got very red and she complained that her eye hurt so bad, she actually held an ice-pack to it. (A 5 year old) She also was acting very rough, aggressive, banging her toys into things and grabbing things from her friend, which is very unlike her. It was like she was full of intense energy and had to get it out. It was very scary.

I have been on Advair Diskus and Singular for about 2 months now for Athsma. As time went on I wondered what was wrong with me.

Singular gave me a horrible stomach ache after 2-3 days which I stopped.
Symbicort made me very itchy and gave me hives.

W/Advair my personality changed as I fell deeper and deeper into a pit of despair. It all began w/serious mood swings, fatigue, leg cramps, anxiety and depression. I wondered why I was so out of sort and I noticed my emotions were not what I considered normal for my self. I became anti-social and have been unable to sleep for more than 3-4 hours at a time as well as now I also have itchy skin and hives.

I thought, what am I doing now that I have not been on or doing before and began to Google my symptoms. I ran into this site to find my aggravations w/anexity, depression and lack of focus is now not my imagination and that I am not the only one and now understand the reasons why I have been feeling so down.

I am now on the path to detoxing from this stuff and am going to stop taking this medication and just use Proventil as needed for my Athsma.

Thanks to all of you who posted here and best of luck to everyone in recovery from the terrible side effects of these medications.

Wow, I got on the internet this morning looking got side effects of advair b/c I mail ordered my script so i've been without for a few days. i have been experiencing severe neck pain, thought I slept on my neck wrong, but it's still here after 3 days. I have been on Advair 100/50 for 6 years, and have now worn glasses for 3 years, on nerve blocker medication for neck and shoulder pain, horrible heart palpitations, but I've never thought these things related to the Advair until recently. I've been asthmatic all my life and thought Advair was a lifesaver, but always had some concerns. I knew any medication could not be safe for life, and after 6 years. I'm really starting to pay a price.

My daughter was on Advair, Singulair, and Zyrtec to control her severe asthma and allergies. We were so thankful that these medications kept her from having to be hospitalized 2-3 times a year for uncontrollable asthma attacks. About six months after she began taking these medications she began to have headaches, she had difficulty sleeping, she was irritable, she had stomach pains, leg cramps,and eventually depression and social withdrawal. She went from an outgoing and happy teenager to a bitter and angry person. In 2003 she committed suicide. Six months after her death reports started to surface about the link between singulair and depression and suicide. Perhaps for my daughter it was a combination of the three drugs. Whatever you do be cautious and do your research before taking any allergy or asthma medication. Go to the Singulair website and you will be astounded by what you read. Please try to get the word out about these medications.

I'm officially blown away. My 10 yr old son has been on Advair for a couple of months and strange things have started happening, so I thought I would surf the internet. HOLY $#!^!!!! I am now convinced that Advair is the cause for his headaches, fatigue, sleeplessness, and now the strange sores on his mouth and nose that NO 10 year old should have to be dealing with!!!!! How can the medical community continue to advocate the use of a medication that causes such significant side effects???? Oh wait, don't answer that...I really don't want to know the real answer do I?? Right now I'm just angry....

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.

There was an expert on the Mike and Juliet show the other day that said that Advair was not meant to be taken for a long period of time. It is suppose to be a short term medication but the doctors and pharmaceutical companies will not tell you that. For some people this medication really works , and for others the side effects outwieght the benefits I personally don't think the the doctors know anything about half of the medication that the prescribe. They just look in a book and pick a drug that fits your condition. They never tell you the long term side effects from the drugs, and that really makes me upset. I have taken several drugs that the doctor prescribed for me and they don't tell me that it is harmful until I come back in with a serious problem. I think we should stick to the good old home remedies, because people who didn't take these drugs 50 years ago had a longer life expectancy than we do now and the seen to be doing fine.

69 year old beautiful grandmother, Yes, I stopped taking ADVAIR... After taking advair for two years, I just put a stop to the weight gain, emotion mood swings, headaches, poor circulation in my legs and arms companied by pain. Now my Doctor has me going through test to re- evaluate my condition... I am keeping it real and listening to my body as I questioning my Doctor..
Lady D

Perhaps you should read a little further on the Advair paperwork. I started having all sorts of problems while taking Advair for 4 months, first thing I told Drs. that I was taking Advair, all just ignored that and tried coming up with a reason for problems. I finally did my own research and if you look at the fine print at the end of Advair paperwork you will find your info about heart problems and withdrawal symptoms that you possibly be on another medication while withdrawing from Advair and the Symptoms of withdrawal.
It has been over a year now since I stopped taking Advair and am having lingering heart problems do to Advair, slowly getting over them, but went to the ER two weeks ago due to rapid and irregular heartbeat. Advair has thrown my electrical system out of whack, not to mention the mental stuff.
Ask a Heart Dr. about Advair, I had two pages of problems when I saw the Heart Dr., no surprise, he said all are related to Advair. There are a few of us that are sensitive to this drug and most doctors. have never seen these symptoms and think you are nuts. So be skeptical but don't dismiss these people. Oh by the way after doing a breathing test with the top guy at Pomona Valley Med Center, guess what, I don't have Asthma, so why did My Dr. put me on it in the first place without first getting tested? I am now so sensitive to anything with caffeine or other things that can increase your heart rate that any of them can trigger Palpitations and such. Yes it can help people, but it can also ruin a life, so beware. Oh, My breathing was great while i was on it, but not worth a heart attack or stroke
If I keep having problems I will soon be on Beta Blockers, so you take all the Advair you want, but you've been warned.

I was on Advair then my doctor switched me to Serevent and Qvar and now I am back on Advair. I have gained 150lbs since starting this medication in 2002 and just now realize that maybe my weight gain is due to this medication. I also started having short term memory problems as well as swollen legs and anxiety. I never had these problems before. My doctor then prescribed me Xanax for Anxiety but it made me too tired so he prescribed Zoloft which boosted my short term memory and then prozac which I have recently just stopped taking. I never knew that all these prescriptions could be the cause of my health decline. I am only 38 and use to be in top shape playing tennis but now I don't have the energy to do much at all.

I am a 61 yr. old female former smoker diagnosed with COPD/emphysema. I was put on ADVAIR 500, along with using a nebulizer with albuterol and bromide to "inhale" several times a day.I also was on oxygen. I quit smoking and worked at getting my health back and to the surprise of the doctors went back to playing tennis several times a week.After reading about the side effects of the high dose Advair I had my Dr. reduce the amount to 250. It has been almost a year now that I have been on Advair. I have noticed some of the side effects mentioned here. The leg cramps, and leg spasms have been horrid. I also have had blurry vision. And lately I seem to not be able to sleep even if I am tired.I am going to see if my Dr. will let me drop to the 100 Advair level. Lately I have been intentionally skipping Advair doses to see if I notice any difference in my breathing. I almost forgot- since going on the meds listed above I have had kidney stones, an emergency appendix surgery and now high bilirubin count. I cannot find any info on those problems if result of medication ADVAIR. Even though I smoked for a number of yrs. I was very active and not over weight. The Dr. thinks thats why I am back to playing tennis. Has anyone else had a gastro problems ??Thanks A.

Hi all. I'm posting again after being off Advair for about a week. I've noticed a dramatic change in my emotional health. The anxiety that I've been suffering from for the last three months while on Advair has now entirely vanished. I feel like my old self again, and friends and family have also noted the difference. I won't ever take this medication again-- I'd rather deal with my asthma in a preventive way.

I have been on Advair for approximately 8 years and have recently gone off of it. I posted a message earlier detailing the side effects that I experienced from going off of it, as I must have gotten used to living with the side effect so much that I didn't notice.

Anyway, one of the major reasons for going off of Advair was a constant problem with oral thrush. I took liquid medication for it for about two months, however, soon realized that I had a slight allergy to the medication I was prescribed. I found that by rinsing my mouth and gargalling (sp?) thoroughly I was able to finally get rid of the thrush, which also cleared up the hoarseness in my voice. My family doctor told me that sometimes the thrush is so deep in your throat that it will begin to grow on your vocal chords. Other specialists told me that the hoarseness wouldn't go away until I stopped taking Advair, however I found otherwise.

It is sad to read that so many people have these side affects using Advair. My Poppa has been on Advair a long time and has had numerous problems that I now believe are attributed directly to this medication. At the WASHINGTON TIMES in the search archives I found an article called: BAD DRUGS AT A PHARMACY NEAR YOU by Henry Miller.. In summary it states that the drugs we are buying from other countries, are fake. The drug Heparin led them to this conclusion after 100 children died in Panama. Heparin is used to treat malaria, and when the medication did nothing the did a spectral analysis revealing that the active ingredient was replaced with a poison that with first glance looks like Heparin. It does not end there. The triads and Russian mob are linked to the fake drugs and whats worse is all our drugs come from out of country. It goes on to say that insulin and other life saving meds are also at risk.... Please reply if needed -to know more, I have immense computer power and have sent alerts and Quad sucker to find out more that has been hidden...

I have been on advair for about 5 to 6 yrs. I was on 250/50 at first and my hands and legs would all ways hurt me. Then I had a bad asthma attack which landed me in ICU. That's when the doctors gave me the largest dose of the 500/50. It has been a year since I have been on this and I have hair loss.
One side of the head around my egdes are bald.
And the rest of my hair is getting very thin. I am only 39 years old, and I have to were wigs.

I am very skeptical of all of the claims I have read here. I am no advocate of GSK or any other drug company for that matter, but I think people are getting carried away with attributing their symptoms to Advair. The known side-effects are readily available, anything else is purely based on assumption. I agree that Advair may in fact have many more possible adverse effects than they let the public know, but let us be careful about making ourselves little scientific researchers and concluding a causal relationship based upon a single case study (and an informal one at that). Talk to your doctor about trying something with less risk, such as Singulair, Azmacort, Intall, Fluticasone Propionate, etc. Please though, be careful not to be so quick to claim generalizable findings based on your specific case. I myself am going to work with my physician to attempt a gluten-free diet and a less invasive medication therapy. Advair is not habit-forming or addictive, so withdrawals are doubtful at best. Read up on the pharmacology of Advair (salmeterol in particular), and you can come to your own conclusions. Best wishes to all of you fellow asthmatics!

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?

I had been taking Advair 500/50 for several years, however, most of that time I only took it once a day (not the recommended 2X). My diagnosis is near fatal asthma/COPD. About a year and a half ago I began taking Spiriva in addition. I am stable, but with a low pulmonary function for the past year (peak flow remains around 200). I see an acupuncturist/herbalist and an currently trying Wei Labs products: Soup A and LC Balancer, that are supposed to reverse lung damage. I recently visited a new, conventional, pulmonary specialist who wanted me to retry Advair at its recommended dosage, which I did. I noticed a nagging headache (at my forehead), a tendency to be agitated very easily, and a diminished peak flow. His response was to continue and add another medication (Singulair, which I have tried years ago with no good result). I stopped the Advair (though I am continuing on the Spiriva, until I see more results from the herbs). Also, I am a thin person who exercises all the time, and I had noticed that my weight was about 10 lbs more than I would like it to be (this had been the case for a couple of years). I have yet to see if that will drop, I have only been off for a couple of days. Additionally, I have had the experience with conventional steroid sinus meds over the years; the meds would stop working after a month or two and I would end up with worse congestion. I ultimately had a surgery to clear polyps and extra tissue, and have been breathing well through my nose since 2004 without meds. I feel I need to get off the conventional meds for the asthma too, on them I appear to be in a slow decline.

All I can say is OH MY GOD. I'm a 23 year old female and have had asthma since I was 13. I started taking Advair two years ago. I didn't really notice any symptoms at that time except for a 10lb weight gain I attributed to 'getting older'. Last year I lost my insurance coverage and stopped taking the medicine (and imagine, I dropped the 10 lbs). Last month, I got a really bad sinus and ear infection and was having breathing difficulties once again. Since I am now insured I went to the doctor, and got an antibiotic. I took the antibiotic for 2 weeks. My sinus and ear infections are gone, but I have this HORRIBLE nagging dry cough (for more than 4 weeks), that NOTHING will cure. So I went back to my doctor a few days ago. He told me that due to my history of asthma, the previous infection I had, and allergies that bronchial inflammation can occur and I was put back on Advair. I took my first puff 2 days ago. I tried to ignore the jittery sensation, and light-headedness. I just took a puff an hour ago, and let me tell you I absolutely CANNOT ignore it. Currently my heart is racing, I am extremely light headed as I write this, and i cannot stop shaking my legs. I tried to relax in bed but the 'jitters' are just too much. If this does not subside, I think I might go to the emergency room. After googling "Advair side-effects" and finding this site, I now realize I am not alone, and this is not in my head. I WILL NEVER TAKE THIS MEDICATION AGAIN. I am convinced that what I am experiencing this very moment are the side effects of Advair. Don't let another doctor tell you there are NO side effects associated with it.
-Ashley Miami Beach, FL

My son came down with pneumonia about two years ago. After being hospitalized for his pneumonia for five days(his oxygen was at 83 percent), he was put on Albuterol and Pulmicort for about a year which was working ok till his wheezing started to get worse .His doctor said it was time to see a asthma specialist in Forth Worth, Texas named Dr. Rogers. Well, Dr. Rogers evaluated my son and took an xray of his nose, diagnosed him with sinusitis and with severe asthma . MY son was put on Advair 115/21 immediately and told to get off all other medicine including his Pulmicort. He was to use the Advair two puffs twice daily every day . HE was to use the Albuterol when he was coughing or needed it for rescue. I got the Advair and as a cautious parent , I always read all of the medication guide that comes with the medication I give my son . I read all the side effects and became at that very night I was to give the medication to him very scared but I was told by Dr. Adams that it would control his asthma. The next day I tried to get in touch with my doctor but was talked to by his nurse and assured the medication was safe. My son at the time also had an upper sinus infection and was put on Prednisone and Zyrtec for his allergies, Nasonex, and also Omnicef which is an antibiotic for 20 days.
Even one day after taking the medicine, my son was sleeping and started sweating really bad that night and he had tremors in his legs and his arms and his heart was racing . As I watched my son sleep even on that second night of taking Advair, I put my head to his chest and would listen to his heartbeat cause now I was worried . His heartbeat was regular at first then when I listened more his heartbeat actually would skip a beat every now and then and his body would shake when it started to beat normal again .
I called the doctor two days after he was on the medicine and he assured me it was the Prednisone my son was on and not the Advair and I told the doctor about the tremors and he also said it was the other medicine . Then I asked the doctor about all the information in the medicine guide that came with the medicine that was conducted in 2006 a few years ago and all the side affects and all he said was that Advair was the safest on the market at this time and that the study in the report was a horribly conducted study and that usually people were dying not cause of the Advair but the Salmeterol being used alone and not a bronchioldialator used to treat both symptoms . It has been four weeks, one month since my son has been using Advair and he is off the other medications he was taking for his sinus infection. These are his symptoms after he takes the medication. About one hour after he take his medication he is very hyper, nervous, his heart is racing a mile a minute without even running around, he is sweating, he can not sit still for one minute and he has muscle spasms. At night when he goes to sleep his whole body shakes as though in a convulsion and I have even had to be there with him to calm him down. He has bad leg shakes and his arms shake and every single night since he has taken this medication he has sweated so badly that it soaks the pillow through and the pillowcase down to the mattress. He had been running fevers at night for five nights now . I was told this medication was safe but when I look at my son his eyes are glassy all the time and he is just not the same and he does not seem happy with all these tremors he has with this medicine . If anyone is reading this please print these pages out and take to a lawyer so we can all get money from the makers of Advair because I'm sure like me we were all told this medication was safe and not harmful . I am calling my sons asthma specialist and telling him to take him off this medication immediately as I had requested before and he told me it wasn't wise because it was controlling his asthma . How can a medication control asthma symptoms that will cause a person to die from taking it and cause them worse symptoms when they try to get off of it?

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.

I can't believe all that I am reading. Thank you for your posting! I thought it was all in my head! The doctor prescribed me Advair 500 because I complained of a cough and have had pneumonias in the past. Doctor said it would help prevent the cough getting worst. I took for a few days and experience fast heart beat, chest pain and cramps in my lungs and hands. I also felt mad for no evident reason.Thought I was having a heart attack. I was scared to touch this stuff again and now that I read this, I am throwing it in the garbage!!! My cough as gotten worst since I stopped taking it but I trust there is better medication out there.

My son was prescribed Advair for his asthma a week ago. He has been having leg cramps so bad, his legs buckle on him. Dr said it's not because of Advair, but after reading this site, I'm taking him off Advair immediately.

I started taking advair 3 days ago when I had bronchial spasms and started having horrendous leg and foot cramps. I googled the two symptoms along with the new medication and came across this site. I am relieved that I am not the only one surprised by the side effects but now wonder if I should continue on my new breathing regimen or cut the advair and just use the xopenex and singulair. Anyone else cut back without major asthma return?

My husband is 24 and has been on Advair for about a month now since he started using it he has experienced horrible headaches,worse asthma symptoms then ever before,constant mucus buildup,severe stomach cramps,chest pains,cramps like a tightening sensation in his pinky,not able to sleep,tired all the time,bad mood swings,and worst of all he used to have 20/20 vision but within the last 2 weeks had to see an eye doctor for blurred vision now he has glasses.When he asked his doctor about side effects this drug may have he was told by the doctor none at all is that legal for your doctor to lie to you?THIS DRUG HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE PLEASE PLEASE FOR YOUR SAKE AND YOUR LOVED ONES SAKE DO NOT TAKE THIS CRAP!!! If anyone knows if his eye sight will get better please post your experience and let us know.THIS MEDICATION IS DEATH IN A DISK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was on advair for almost two years, It worked wonderful for my breathing. I been battling chest pain, hip pain, skin rashes, short term memory loss/complex problem solving, severe calf pain when sleeping, and always feeling lazy. I been to three doctors about my problems and have ask if advair is causing my problems. They all said there is no way it is. I spend thousands of dollars trying to figure out what is wrong with me and the doctors and my wife think I making everything up, that it is in my head. Last month I thought I'll try to quit using advair. My chest pain has be occurring alot less, like once a week instead of 8 hours a day, my rash is gone, I still have light hip pain and haven't had any calf pain while sleeping yet. I just hope nothing is long term. My breathing is kind of bad now because I'm not taking anything but its better then ever the effects. Has anyone notice their cholesterol being higher on advair?

I was on advair for close to a year. I noticed that the longer I was on the medication the worse my breathing became. I have stopped taking the medication and wish I never would have started taking it. Since I have been off the medication, I have been to the hospital with attacks two times. And the funny thing is, I have not had an attack prior to the episodes I have had in the past year since I was six years old and I am now thirty-one.

I've always had problems with leg cramps but now, since I've started taking Advair, every muscle in my body cramps -- BADLY. So I'm done, I'm going to call the doctor Monday a.m. & tell him I've stopped the medication. I just thought it was a fluke and I was having a bad time (have done that), but since getting on here and seeing that other people have had this problem, I'm sure it's the Advair. Occassionally I've forgotten a dose & the cramps have gotten better. So now I'm putting 2/2 together. As much as Advair has helped my cough, it's put me in so much pain I can't get one hrs. sleep before I have to jump out of bed and try walking a cramp out, during the day my back, arms, hands, chest, stomach muscles are all cramping painfully while I'm trying to work.

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've had a terrible experience with Advair. After only taking it for two days, my heart started racing and I felt extreme anixety. I thought I was dying. I've never been so sick in my life. It was much more difficult to breath with the medication.

I have been on Advair for YEARS.. and yes, it has been good to me as far as controlling my asthma.. but have had seriouse hoarsness isssues and hip and leg pain, as well as weight gain. I am starting a new medication today and hope to find some improvement upcoming.

My daughter has been diagnosed with Asthma since she was very young. Her symptoms always worsened during the winter, with viruses and such. A few years ago she was put on Advair as a controller, along with Singulair. She developed hives that same winter. I laugh now to think of it, out of pure irritation. She has been battling chronic hives every winter since. Winter is the only time she is on her asthma controller as well. No doctor has been able to give us a reason for the hives and says we may never know why. I have been doing my research and discovered hives are a side effect of Advair- Why on earth didn't one of the many doctors at U of MN or Mayo catch this???? Not to mention the initial doctor that put her on the Advair and saw her for the hives at the start of this catastrophe??? Her hives were so severe her eyes were swollen shut and her lips swelled. Needless to say, she will not be taking this medication again!

I am not cetain Advair is the cause of this but about year or so ago I started experiencing fainting feelings and almost passed a couple of times. The doctoer ran tests and everything seemed normal. One day I was paying attention to the side effects of Advair via an ad on tv and was stunned.
I stopped Advair a couple of months ago and have not had these "weak spells". Now it may be a coincidence but I won't be using it anymore so time will tell. Has anyone else experienced feelings like this?

In March 2007, Advair was prescribed to me from a lung specialist in which my primary dr recommended i go see.
It took me a while to get used to this medication as I never felt it worked properly as I inhaled the medication, I have said to a friend of mine over and over again that I don't think this medication agrees with me. For some reason, I felt it never did anything for me. Well lo and behold, the other day I decided to resume using it. I thought I was going to die. I had such a choking fit and could not grasp my breath. Today is Sunday but tomorrow I will be reporting this to my Dr.
I thought I was imagining things but now I've researched Advair side effects and I personally don't think this drug is safe, or at least for me it's not.

I have been taking Advair for 6 months and also received a set of precautions from my doctor as well. The most important thing he said was to rinse your mouth and gargle with WARM water NOT cold water several times after your dose. That will prevent the hoarseness many people experience.The medication has a steroid component and is very effective treating your lung inflamation. Mouth rinsing keeps this from entering other areas of your body. When you take a drug, there is always some tradeoff. I believe for me that whatever side effects I have are minor compared to the benefit of being able to breathe freely again. I have absolutely no hoarseness , but have some itchiness but I had that before I took this drug. If you follow the directions I believe this drug can work for you.

I have been on Advair 250/50 since it was allowed in the USA. I also take Spiriva. I told my pulmonary doctor last October that I would like a lower dosage. Now I am on 100/50. The side effects have not dimished and I am getting scared. My skin has aged and the forearms are like goosepumps. Just diagnosed with cataract in one eye and I was told I have severe osteoporosis. I have COPD, the reason for taking Advair. I now have HIVES. I do not suggest anyone try Advair. It is a killer. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my regular doctor for the hives and I am going to inquire about getting off Advair. I don't know if I need any other medication? I use oxygen at night when I go to bed (concentrator). When I was working I didn't need the oxygen during the day but I know I have a lot of anxiety which leads to depression. I have small canisters of oxygen in case I need it. When I get upset, I can use it but notice I recover on my own.

I am a 47 yr. old female. I have been taking Advair 250 for several months and have been sick for about 2 of the them. I get a flu-like feeling once a week. I cannot move. I also have trouble sleeping, sore throat, headaches, ear pain, weight gain, all of which I was not experiencing prior to this medicine. It took me a while to figure out what was bothering me. I am going to the doctor this week to change this medication.

I have an 8 year old who was put on Advair; after 3 months he started having pain in his chest and left arm, said it hurt to breath and had a fever. Within three days (continuing the Advair) it had turned into pneumonia. His asthma/allergist doctor who put him on the Advair took him off of it, only to have my sons pediatrician put him right back on it. One week after getting a clean bill of health for the pneumonia and being back on the Advair he started in with the exact same symptoms (hurt to breath, pain in chest & left arm and fever). Took him in right away only to have the pediatrician give him a prescription for acid reflux; He dismissed my concerns the first time and refused to even consider that it might be the Advair the second time we went in there. I took my son off the Advair that day, three days later he was able to sleep all the way through the night and the chest pain and fever subsided (did not give him the med. for acid reflux). I will not put my son back on this medication. I have also noticed a change in his behavior, not as irritable or anxious as he has been for the last month or so.

I have been on Advair for a total of about 5 months. I have experienced almost all of the various side effects that others have listed. I am just now realizing it was not in my head. I had the heavy chest feeling with pain that radiated into my left shoulder. My voice would give out before finishing a sentence and as someone else has already mentioned, it feels like something is stuck in my throat. I was exhausted and experienced pain in my neck and back. In spite of having excellent eye vision all my life I noticed I wasn't able to see clearly. Finally, I too had the ear thing going on. I would wake up in the middle of the night with severe pain in the ear I was sleeping on.

About one week ago I visited a pulmonary doctor. After a careful evaluation of my asthma, he promptly took me off the Advair. He prescribed a new medication that has worked wonderfully. It is NOT a steroid. In addition to this, I have noticed the side effects of Advair have completely vanished with the exception of my throat still feeling like something is stuck inside it. Although that too has gotten considerably better. This drug scares me! I don't recommend taking it without careful consideration. There are much better choices available!

i have been on advair 250/50 for a year. i have gained 50 lbs and if i miss a dose its apparent as i wheeze and suffer. i want off this medication the dr insists the advair isnt causing my weight gain but after alot of research i know diff, and i didnt change my eating habits. anyone suggest another medication i can ask dr to substitute? i take singular and have proventil but need something more. advair isnt it i dont think.

I am on Advair 250 and have been for three months. I have gained 30 pounds since taking Advair. I am otherwise healthy and have not had any change in diet. I also have a raspy voice now due to taking Advair daily. I am calling my doctor on Monday to get off of this medication!

I take Advair 250. Recently, I have been bruising very easily on my hands. Three days ago I accidently hit my hand against a wall and my hand is now all black and blue and painful. I have also had muscle spasms in my legs and a tingling sensation in my fingers. I am discontinuing this medication

Holy Shit! I thought I was crazy I have only been on advair for 3 weeks yes I also can't talk and I also FEEL DIZZY if I move my head to fast or close my eye's I feel like I'm falling. Trying to go to sleep as soon as I close my eye's I feel like my eye's are spinning in my head. I called the pharmacy today to see if the medication was causing this she said it sounds like the advair I will not be using it anymore as of today... How crazy they perscribe people like me medication that can cause so many problems

My heart is about to beat out of my chest. My mouth is drier than the Mojave Desert and my throat feels like I just ate a bucket of jalapenos. I dont think I like this medication.