Advair HFA and phlegm

I'm 35 and I've have had mild asthma since I was about 10 year old. At times I've been able to go weeks without needing to take anything, then stress, envirnoment triggers etc fire it up. I started taking advair 100/50 a couple of years back, and right now my breathing feels just about the worst it ever has. Without the advair I feel an uncomfortable tightness that I've never had before, a whole lot worse that the wheezing. Over the past couple of years I've lacked energy, been a lot more anxious and I've been warned of potential heart issues. I have a very healthy lifestyle and I assumed I was just getting older and more fragile...after reading these posts I'm seeing a possible connection.
Like some other people have said I sometimes feel like something is stuck in my throat / top of my lungs, it almost feels like phlegm but I can't cough it up.
I've stopped the advair for 3 days as of today, so far the tightness is managable, and the rescue inhaler is at hand (although I haven't had to use it yet). I'm hoping I can get back to previous drug free times.

My GP put me on Advair in the summer of 2006 because I was having trouble with so much phlegm in my throat and losing my voice by using Combivent. I also have a weakened voice as a result of asthma medication. For the first three weeks the Advair was great. Then one weekend at our cabin, I had a severe asthma attack -- to the point that my husband wanted to pack up and drive an hour to an hospital emergency ward. I thought it was from something in the cabin or in the air. As a result of some research on Advair, I truly believe that it was from taking this medication. Not realizing this, I have continued to take Advair at the advice of my GP. I then noticed that my skin was very itchy, mostly on my legs at that time. My GP said it was excema. It started spreading to my hands, wrists, elbows. I started reading about the side effects of Advair -- from the insert that comes with the discus -- itchy skin is one of the side effects listed. In December 2006, I went to the lung specialist that has been treating me for asthma for several years. I asked him about the itching and mess on my wrists, etc. He indicated that it was excema and not a reaction to the Advair -- and proceeded to write me a presription for more Advair. In January 2007, I went back to my GP because I couldn't stand the itching and red blotches anymore. She wouldn't give me anything to relieve it, but sent me to an allergist. I asked him about the mess my skin was in and he told me that it was very rare that someone would react to Advair in this manner and he didn't think that was the cause. He decided that I was allergic to dog and cat dander. Just the other day I was finally sent to a dermatologist. She was appalled at the condition of my skin, as the ithing and redness had now started to spread to my upper arms, under arms, breasts and stomach area. I took some research about Advair with me to this appointment. She has now taken me off the Advair for a two week trial and given me an ointment help with the healing. Finally, a specialist that really might think the Advair is the cause of this itching all over my body. I sure hope that these doctors will realize that I really have an adverse reaction to Advair and will find another medicaiton that will be suitable, but not cause the problems I am having now. my voice is still strained, but I am sure as the Advair leaves my system, this will improve too.

45 yr old
advair for 10 years
cataracts, both eyes
episcleritis
corneal abrasions
increased phlegm and hoarseness
joint pain and swelling (constant)
difficulty sleeping
itchy skin
bruising

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.

have had asthma for as long as i can remember. i am now 35. i started taking ad-vair about 3 yrs ago. i have since gained alot weight and have tried dieting,exercising to no avail. i also have phlegm all the time, at first i thought that advair was the best thing since sliced bread but now not so sure. i have the " moon face" always sleepy, always coughing, gained weight, moody, tender skin, if i do skip a dose i get sore on my behind just like with prednisone. it has the same side effects as prednisone i don't care that the dr.'s say it has a low dose of steroids i can't tell it and neither can my body. also have noticed my spine curving, numbness in my hands, fingers and arm for no reason. it is like when you bump it in just the right place it has the numb feeling but i didn't bump into anything. if i had i would have had a bruise, because i can barely touch something and bruise. i have tried getting off of it but then i wheeze and can't hardly get out of bed because i can't breathe so i need decide if the side effects are worth having, or if i can get over the withdrawl effects. if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

I HAVE BEEN ON ADVAIR FOR 5 YEARS STRAIGHT. I HAVE HAD ASTHMA SINCE I WAS 17, DURING THESE 5 YEARS OF USING ADVAIR I HAVE GAINED 65 LBS AND HAVE HAD CHRONIC BRONCHITIS AND CONSTANT PHLEGM THAT NEVER GOES AWAY. I HAVE WHAT THEY CALL A "MOON FACE" AND ALL THE WEIGHT I HAVE GAINED IS AROUND THE MID SECTION. I AM ALWAYS TIRED, SO TIRED I CAN'T EVEN PLAY WITH MY CHILDREN. THIS IS THE FINAL STRAW! I AM ADVAIR FREE STARTING TODAY. I TRULEY BELIEVE IT HAS MADE MY ASTHMA WORSE THAN EVER, I HAVE A CONSTANT COUGH AND THE PHLEGM IS ALWAYS THERE NO MATTER WHAT I TAKE FOR IT AND BELIEVE ME, I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING TRYING TO RULE OUT THE ADVAIR AS BEING THE CAUSE OF MY SIDE AFFECTS. I DON'T CARE WHAT ANY PULMONOLOGIST SAYS ABOUT IT BEING TOO LOW OF A STEROID TO CAUSE ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS. I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT IT IS THE ADVAIR. IF YOU USE ADVAIR NOW, MY ADVISE TO YOU IS TO GET OFF OF IT A.S.A.P. BEST OF LUCK.

5 years ago my left vocal cord was paralyzed. Doctor felt this was caused by virus. I had surgury to fix then. In November 2006 my allergy doctor changed my allergy medicine to Advair. Soon after my voice starting giving way and I started choking, coughing and had severe phlegm. I passed this off as a bad cold and did not catch the connection. My wife noticed my voice was getting worse through the holidays. By January this year I starting gagging and choking for no reason. My center of my chest felt as if it was severly bruised. I had the gurgling, trouble sleeping at night and I could not breath. It felt like my throat was blocking after coughing and I could not get air in. Constant nasal drip. I made an appointment with my specialist thinking something with my vocal cords was going on. They did not see any major issue with my vocal cords but could tell my voice was in bad shape. I go for more testing end of February 2007. I have a constant metalic taste in my mouth. We saw the post made here after I could not breath. My wife was almost ready to call the ambulance. This stuff is REALLY SCARY. I went off Advair immediately. We called the specialist to tell him. I feel better now but know that something is wrong here. I'm still choking some but not like I was.

I recently began to take Advair (about 2 months) and have experienced very few side effects. My voice gets a little heavy by the end of the day and I sometimes wake up with a sore throat (once a week). But my doctor had warned me about these effects and so I was not surprised. I do have more phlegm, which I hadn't associated with Advair, but rather with allergies. Overall, I am very pleased with Advair. I had a chronic cough for almost 3 years and used Albuterol inhaler 2-3x a day before begin prescribed Advair. I have not used the inhaler once in 2 months. I will continue to use Advair as prescribed, 2x a day!

after returning to Advair for breathing problems, (was on Spiriva) i have had several sever bouts of vertigo, plus my voice has become husky and increased phlegm. taken off spiriva due to contradicytion of other meds,

dry mouth, phlegm, joint pain
cough due to post nasal drip

I have been using Advair on & off for a year. I too suffer from post nasal drip, phlegm, dry mouth & coughing fits.
I heard about the side effects on the Today show this morning and had just taken a dose of Advair. I immediately went to the web to research this drug and after reading dozens of postings detailing the same side effects, I am convinced my lingering cold-like symptoms are a direct result of using Advair. I've taken my last dose and I'm anxious to see if my health improves.

I am 20 years old and have been on Advair 250/50 for 5 days. Already I am experiencing extreme fatigue, a sort of spacy, hypnotic feeling, anxiety, depression, mood swings, dry mouth, thick phlegm, constant throat clearing and it is ruining my life. I'm in a tap dance company and have not been able to perform even simple rountines. It has also placed a strain on my relationship with my boyfriend due to the mood swings, depression and increased irritability. I am harder to be around and he doesn't understand why. I am so glad I checked this site. I thought I was going crazy.

Hello my name is Tiffany, I have a 13 year old daughter whom is going through alot of issues and I now guessing it is all caused by advair not sure yet. My daughter suffers from Asthma, acid reflux, allergies since she was born, she was a premie and only seems to suffer with the asthma issues. She has gained over 60 lbs now weighing 204 from 160 last year. She is constantly complaining about back pain, phlegm in her troat, headaches, mentral cramps. can't sleep, now she seems to be going depression, the doctores wants her to see an therapist he wants to put her on lexipro. My god she is only 13 what is she depressed about, she is always nervous, and upsets easily. She missed over 40 days of school last year. Advair seems to be the only thing that has helped her breathing she has not had as many attacks but she is suffering in othe areas. What do I do. she has been on singular, flovent, provental, pretizone when she is suffering. She is on xopenex for her daily nebulizer treatment or when needed now. She takes flovent, allegra, advair 250/50, topanex for headaches, all of this daily. We are finally getting to a pulmonoligist this month hopefully he can relieve her of some of this medicine. I am going to do research on this serevent we have not tried that one yet. Now since she has been on the advair she has not had problems with her acid reflux. She did change her eating habits. Can someone tell me if they have childred suffering from this medicine as well.

I cannot take the leg and muscle cramps anymore. I am stopping Advair today - Jan.9, 2006. I have been on it for about 5 years. I need to actually sleep through the night without my feet/legs waking me up and making me leap from bed. The pain after an 8 mile mnt hike trip on this past Saturday, even after a long soak in a friend's hot tub, lead me to this site. I could certainly do without all of the phlegm, too.
If ANYONE finds a different drug we can use, please post it. I am going to try just singular for now.

to all those suffering from dry throat and other phlegm-like side effects..............be sure to rinse and or gargle thououghly after inhalation. i lost my voice and suffered the above symptoms until I use the above mentioned solution.

does anyone know if advair affects the uric acid production? i.e. the liver and kidneys. it seems that after taking advair for 18 months i developed gout.

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.

Recently, I contracted some sort of virus or infection and had been coughing for 6 weeks straight. Coupled with asthma and allergies, I was just miserable and *so* tired of coughing. My doc prescribed a Z-pak and Advair. I had taken Advair before and stopped, but I couldn't remember why, I thought it was because I was adverse to taking a steriod, in any form. The Z-pak stopped the cough, and the Advair helped me breathe MUCH better. However, now I remember why I stopped taking it before. I started getting a sore throat, very dry mouth, and it felt like I had a lump in my throat, and phlegm that I could not clear from my throat. I've stopped already, I had been on it only a week and started feeling the dry, sore throat after only three days. It's getting a little better now, but I'm just glad I stopped when I did. The irony is that it does work for me, and in the week I was on it I didn't have to use my albuterol once. I would just rather suffer with a known ailment rather than be surprised by new side effects.

I saw a couple posts here that had statements along the lines of these side effects being in our heads, and while in some cases that is true, keep in mind that every person has a different reaction to medicines. Every human is unique in their body chemistry. I didn't experience any of the muscle cramps or nausea or other effects, but I have taken medicines that have done that. When I started Advair 100/50, I took the proper twice a day dosage, and it was in good faith (i.e. I didn't know about or expect any side effects). Using inhalers and nasal sprays and the like is very common for asthma sufferers, so I wasn't "looking" for something to be wrong, so to say. And yes, it did work for me very well. In the day and a half that I've been off it, I've already gone back to needing my Albuterol. So, before a person can try to say that the side effects are made up out of paranoia, please do remember that we are all different, and we all react to foreign particles in our bodies differently.

Jessica

Has completely eliminated stridor and made breathing much easier.
But now there is an ever present frog in my throat and I constantly feel the urge to clear my thoat. This feels to be around the epiglottis area. Ocassionally I am able to expectorate a small amount of viscid phlegm which breaks loose from the bottom of my throat,(not my lungs).