Advair HFA and nervousness

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.

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 have used Advair for about a year. My asthma seemed to be seasonal like an allergy. During the time I used it I had a few "panic attacks". The doctor was ready to put me on Zoloft, an anxiety med. I never made the connection to the Advair usage. This stuff is dangerous. Increased heartrate, nervousness, tremors, all of the above. Get help elsewhere

Wow! Maybe I'm not just falling apart. I was put on advair 500/50 2 months ago after a 12 day stay in the hospital for status asthmaticus. I was on the ventilator for 3 of those days then bipap. I have gained 13 lbs, and have joint pain-worse in my fingers. My fingers also feel stiff. Thrush has been a constant problem that started before I even left the hospital. I also have mouth pain even when there are signs of thrush. Now I have 2 strange looking small white bumps on the roof of my mouth on the soft palate. It seems different than thrush. I found thisweb site trying to figure out if it is a side effect. I had no idea that all of these other symptoms I have been having were from the advair. I have so much anxiety and nervousness that i shake sometimes. I am also very moody and have no sex drive. I have headaches almost every day. I do not have the leg and foot cramps, but I do have muscle tightness and pain in my back. I just cannot believe this. My pulmonoligist kinda looked at me like I was crazy when I was telling him about all of these strange symptoms that I have been having. I was beginning to think maybe I was! I stay tired all of the time and have no energy. I am also on singulair, protonix for GERD, and i take flovent and xopenix nebulizer, and allbuterol inhaler. my asthma has been pretty much under control compared to what it was, but I still cough and wheeze. I'm scared to take myself off of it. I don't want to end up back in the hospital again.

I've been on advair 100/50 (twice a day) for only a week and got the following:

upset stomach, runny nose, muscle and bone pains - arms fingers, hoarsness, red dots on my skin, shakyness/nervousness

Asthma has improved significantly though.

For information to the previous posts:

I have been off Advair now for 10 days (last post was on March 2). I switched to Qvar and it is working great. It took a week to get rid of the after affects of Advair - legs cramps, palpitations, nervousness, not sleeping at night.

For the last year and a half I wondered what the leg cramps were about; why I wasn't sleeping soundly at night (I thought it was pre menopause); all these different palpitations at various times; waking up in the morning feeling a "heavy" feeling. I also developed diabetes during this time. I really believe the Serevent in the Advair was doing a number on me.

I wrote to the FDA regarding this. On March 6, 2006 the FDA put out a new warning regarding Advair and Serevent (it's on the internet).

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE TO TAKING ADVAIR OR SEREVENT. BUT SEE YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STOPPING SO THAT HE CAN PUT YOU ON ANOTHER TYPE OF ASTHMA MED. AND CHECK THE PRESCRIBING INFORMATION!!!

I started Singular a month ago and added Advair 250 to it 2 weeks ago, and stopped using the Singular. I noticed slight weight gain with the Singular and rapid weight gain with the Advair, overall 10 lbs in a month. I've maintained the same weight for many years, and am a fitness instructor, nothing else had changed in my lifestyle. I've also noticed muscle heaviness, and muscle soreness, chest heaviness when climbing stairs, extreme nervousness, anxiety, and sore, sore throat. After 13 days I quit the Advair entirely. I will pursue more conservative methods of controlling my asthma. I'm not convinced these steroid concoctions are the way to go.

Rapid heart rate and nervousness. Insomnia after taking a dose before bedtime.

In response to the person who's 6 year old daughter who was recently put on advair: my son is also 6 years old and was put on advair 3 weeks ago treat mild asthma. He suffers frequent coughing episodes when he is beginning a cold. His coughing has caused him to miss school frequently. Although the advair has kept him cough-free, he is suffering from nervousness, anxiety in school, exhibiting some obsesive behaviors, is moody and preoccupied. I am very concerned because he seems like a total different child. YES I agree with you. This seems more like a child with ADHD than asthma. I am taking him off of this medication NOW. I think even he is confused as to why he is struggling!!

I started taking Advair about two years ago. The Doctors say I have COPD,and I was given Advair to help me breath. Since I started taking this drug I have developed cronic pain in my legs,arms and sholders, weaknes in my intire body, numbness in hands, cramps in legs,feet,hands and sometimes in upper body .I have a problem sleeping, nervousness,hoarseness. I have no quality of life any more. I loved gardening but cannot do any of that any more. Walking in my home is a chore now. I have told my Doctor but he seems not to believe me. Maybe we need to go to school to learn how to treat our illnesses. I hope some one will investigate this drug and its side effects. There has to be another drug to help open our air passage ways to help us breath. Peggy

I took myself off Advair over a month ago and am still having side effects. Some of them have improved but not all.

Nauseau-much better
Dizziness-still there
Itchy ears- still there
Migraines- still there
Edema- still there
Lethargy-still there
Fatigue-still going
Vision Changes- those stopped when i went down to one dose a day
Frequent urination-oh yeah
I've also had a number of uti since going on advair with no other reason
canker sores- still going
weight gain-same
heartburn-i have acid reflux now which i didn't have b4 advair
heart palpations-a little better
tremors-those stopped when i went down to one dose a day
restlessness & nervousness- a lil better
memory problems-same
scratchy irritated throat- same
thrush- had about 4 times in the last year, currently last wk and i've been off advair for a month...
burning pain in stomach- went away when i went down to one dose a day.. my doc said i probably got an ulcer.

I'm 29 and I feel like I'm 40. I'm exhausted. If this doesn't go away I guess it might be something else but I think maybe my side effects are still lingering.
i know someone says it gets out of your system shortly but it sure doesn't feel that way for me. but then again i've been on it continuously for almost 3 years.

My daughter has been on Advair 100 since October 2004 when she first developed asthma. She is 4 1/2 years old. She recently started a cough and our doctor increased her Advair to 500 until the cough goes away. Within 2 days of the increased dosage she has become very agitated, thrashing herself against us and furniture. She screams at the top of her lungs and will not cooperate with us. We have to hold her down and try to soothe her until these "fits" pass or she is exhausted. We took her off the 500 Advair after we related the fits to the increased dosage (these fits came before when her dosage was increased to 500). Within 24 hours of going back to the 100 Advair she has returned to our sweet, loving 4-year old. I'm glad I thought to check out this site and found that excitedness and nervousness are side effects of Advair.

My unabashed opinion - do whatever you can to get yourself OFF Advair - then, off of Corticosteroids, too. I'm a 39 year old, 5'2", 95lb. , athletic woman. First daignosed with Asthma when pregnant with first child, 6 years ago. Immediately put on Azmacort throughout remainder of pregnancy, and beyond. OK, diagnosed with Preecclampsia during labor (dangerously high blood pressure), then, severe post partum depression. Also, kept feeling like I was blacking out or fainting. Continued for months, until I requested an MRI - diagnosed with "WORST SINUS INFECTION THEY HAD EVER SEEN". Ok, finally a bit better - then, started having severe Anxiety / Panic Attacks - Many times to ER. Therapy and anidepressants prescribed. Knew that Paxil and Celexa felt REALLY bad - weaned myself off. THat resolved those. Next - multiple repeated sinus infections. And, since all colds go directly to my chest, which causes my Ashtama - that was bad. Put on ADVAIR about two years ago, after my second child. Since then, I've had:

Meningitis (unknown source)
Shingles
Repeated Infections
Headaches
Arthric joints
Urinary Tract Infections
Pain / Weakness in Arms
Heart Palpatations
Mood Variations - severe bad moods
and, much more

NOTE: prior to my first experience with steroids - I've NEVER taken any medication - not even Antibiotics (for 25 years)

Last week, I just had it. I had already instructed my Dr. to lower my dose of Advair to 100/50. I had been on 250/50. I was on that for over a month, but still felt awful. Most notable side effect was nervousness, and anger. Just instructed him to put me on Flovent 44. (One of the components of Advair). Two days later - nervousness has stopped significantly. Also, much lower resting heart rate. I'm going to an Osteopath next week. I want off of everything, soon!

I was prescribed advair last week for a breathing problem that my dr could not diagnose. At first i was thrilled to be feeling better but now notice a horrible shaking in my hands and legs as well as nervousness and a general feeling of anxiety.

I also have experienced sleeplessness and leg pain and am going to immediately stop taking this drug.

What side effects should I watch for?
Although side effects from fluticasone and salmeterol are not common, they can occur. Tell you doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

dry or irritated throat
cough
difficult or painful speech
tremor
nervousness
dizziness
headache
upset stomach
diarrhea
cough
dry mouth
throat irritation

If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
vision problems
white spots or sores in your mouth
swollen face, lower legs, or ankles
cold or infection that lasts a long time
muscle weakness
increased difficulty breathing
skin rash
unusual bleeding or bruising
rapid or increased heart rate
chest pain or discomfort