Advair HFA and sleep

I was on Advair for 3-4 years...initially it was OK. Then I developed tight, tight muscles...I couldn't relax no matter how hard I tried. One day I simply went off the Advair and it was like my muscles all turned to marshmallows...such a relief to actually relax and not feel tight all over. My sleep has gotten much, much better, too.

Okay so I'm going to say something good about Advair HFA. I have been on it for 6 months. And, yes, in the beginning I had leg cramps, heart palps, slight depression and hoarse throat. Early in my treatment my doctor dropped my dose down to 1/2 of what I was taking. Suddenly those mentioned side effects went away and the only thing I find slightly annoying now is the hoarseness of my voice and some increased post nasal drip...but all I do is pop a few guaifenesin mucous thinning pills and up my water intake and that goes right away. I think it's important to realize that inhaler technique is VERY important in decreasing the amount of side effects one can expect to have or not have. I have found that if my technique is good every time, I am able to get by on less medicine - meaning less side effects. Still 12 hour dosing and proper sleep, nutrition, and stress management are in order. For me this is the best thing out there....and I have tried everything! Not EVERYBODY will have a bad reaction to a medication. Thumbs up to the makers of Advair HFA!

Good day.

I was started on Advair HFA about 35 days ago. A little background about me is that I'm 35 years old, in good physical shape. I'm a competitive cyclists doing road races anywhere from 45-100 miles, I work out 2-4 hours everyday. I've had lifelong chronic asthma, but have fought the disease with my healthy lifestyle. I also play the saxophone.

Since I've been on Advair I've developed a constant sore throat. Been coughing up stuff constantly when I'm out training on my bike. Can't seem to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. The worst side affect has been the leg cramps which are killing my training for up coming races. I have constant leg cramps that force me to get out of bed over and over to work them out. My energy levels have dropped to the point that I can't do even half a workout without being totally wiped out. This is coming from a guy that averages 60miles a day on the bike, the other day I couldn't even do 15 miles and had to stop from the constant cramps and tiredness. This stuff is a nightmare. I've gone back to using nothing but my albuterol inhaler. I'll continue to do lung exercises 4 times a day and completely clean up my diet and basically get this stuff out of my system. Let this be a warning that you can't get something positive without something negative as well.

I've been on this med for 6 years. It was not until I started reading this site that I figured out that my problems might be related to Advair use. I've had sore joints/muscles for years. Terrible insomnia, in fact my doctor has me on prescription sleeping pills, but I still can't sleep. I've gained 50 lbs in five years. My eyes bother me continuously. I feel depressed for no good reason. The bottoms of my feel are so sore in the morning that I can hardly walk. I can't exercise - just too tired. (and I used to all the time).

I've recently quit taking advair - cold turkey, but I'm not sure if that's wise. It's been two weeks and today is the first day that I haven't felt very well. I'm wondering how long the body stores this stuff and if I should have weaned off more slowly.

Thanks for all your comments and for this site. What a blessing!

Hi All, I am here for the first time in desperation trying to ascertain if my problems are Advair related. I have been on it for over 20 years (started as a study patient). I probably would be dead if it hadn't come along - seriously - and I had been on prednisone a lot. But, to add a voice to what others are saying, I can't sleep, and always wake with the most terrible headache, along with other general aches and fatigue. I was coping so so until I was rear-ended and developed some neck issues. Now I live with never ending headaches and fatigue and a tendency towards depression. Pain killers and sleeping pills get me through the winter months and then in the summer with lots of activity outside I rebound so that I can go through another yearly slide downward. What is really a killer is that I can't get going in the early mornings and have been hassled by my employer who has determined by a psychologist that I am a malingerer because there is little proof of physical illness! If I didn't have a history of having been, and still being, a very hardworking and persistent individual I would think I was going nuts (I'm 60). If anyone has a similar story, please comment further. Thanks

thank gosh I found this website. I seriously was thinking I was losing my mind! I have been on Advair for 3 days...and I'm not kidding I have barely slept ten hours in those 3 days. I can't sleep...I shake so bad I can barely type this and my heart is beating out of my chest.

I called my doctor...he claimed it was not a "normal" reaction and suggests I stop drinking caffeine. I've been a caffeine addict for years and have never had this reaction. I'm so frustrated because I have bad asthma, and it's only controlled when I'm on medication, but this is ridiculous. I'm sure it works wonders for some people, but for me...I think I'm stopping it ASAP.

I was on singulair before this and had sort of the same reaction. I was also on another medication that made my asthma worse...so I'm beginning to think there is no hope out there.

I have taken Advair 250/50 for approximately 7 years. It was a life saver for me. My asthma was out of control. I slept with my albuterol inhaler in my hand at night. Advair was the wonder drug. It worked when nothing else did. I had bouts of depression and weight gain over the years, but nothing really major. I ran out of Advair a few days ago and just hadn't had the chance to get a refill.I had been experiencing daily headaches, and an inability to sleep at night. I felt lethargic and beginning to feel a little depressed. I contributed it to the lack of sleep, but wasn't really sure why I wasn't sleeping. Today while sitting in class (I am a Nursing Student & will graduate in December 2009), I got a horrible cramp in my left leg, then my left arm went numb. I got a little light-headed and my head was busting! My heart rate felt fast, so I had my instructor take my Blood Pressure. It was 164/105. Now my B/P has NEVER been anywhere near this. I went to the ER, had labs done (all normal) and an EKG (perfect). After about 4 hours my B/P went back to 117/78, normal for me. The Dr. had no explanation for what happened or why. My husband came home, got online and found several forums addressing these same symptoms. I have made a decision to talk with my doctor about alternative treatment.

So I never sleep I now I am short tempered but Its way worse... Even when I have a few beerz I cant sleep more than a few hours I am on like day 26 of my first 30 day dose and I was haven leg cramps but I thought it was lack of
potassium so I take it in a pill. the charle horses would be so bad I would wake up screaming and unable to walk for a while.... I never associated with advair... I went to bed at 11 and I been up since 2 I cant sleep and my throat hurts too ,,, so i was like i should look up some side effects on this stuff.. low and behold... i am miserable and i just got a refill

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 have been on Advair for a little over two years. At first I thought it was very helpful, I had a very rough summer last year and it was the only thing helping me. But lately I've noticed an increase in frequency of my migraines, muscle cramps, constant edema in my legs and always being tired. My sleep is broken due to leg cramps, back spasms, or very strange dreams. I had also gained a lot of weight, but thought it was just natural slowing of my metabolism due to age (I am 46). I am cutting back to one dose a day and plan to stop altogether soon. I also stopped my Zocor because that seemed to make my leg swelling worse and the lasix the doctor prescribed just made me pee a lot and my legs were just as swelled up as before.

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.

I couldn't handle Advair for more that 3 weeks!

Had no problem with lower dose, other than voice changes, but prescription was not strong enough.

Higher dose: Couldn't sleep more than 3 hours per night; Indescribable Depression; Weight gain.

Stopped the Advair cold-turkey. Within 2 full days I was feeling almost human again, but still not my normal self.

In 4 full days feeling like myself and needing to use Albuterol inhaler again.
Advair was fantastic for my asthma, but mental health is equally important.

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.

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.

After an allergic episode about a year ago, I was diagnosed with asthma. The doc put me on advair (2 puffs - twice a day) . After 4 months, I started having an anxiety issues. I couldn't turn my mind off, felt restless and was stressed out and full of worry about dying from the asthma. At this time I got a job 80 miles from where I was living and had to move. My family and friends attributed my mental state to my life change. Up until now, I had never had any issues with anxiety or depression. Over the course of about another 4 months things got worse and I went to see a asthma/allergy specialist. He put me on Allegra for my allergies and prednisone for the asthma. Needless to say, things got exponentially worse. i could not sleep, was restless and found that I would just get up and run around my backyard. The anxiety had gotten so bad with the lack of sleep that I almost couldn't take life. The doc never let me know about the side effects of the prednizone. A month later (now almost nine months from my original diagnosis) I went back to the doc to see what was wrong because of the depression and anxiety. He sent me to the pysc unit to arrange counseling. That never happened due to the business of the clinic I was at. 2 weeks later I stopped taking the Allegra and Advair. Within a day to day and a half I felt like a huge weight had lifted and it took a couple months to get back to what I would call fairly normal life. I share this just in case someone else is having similar effects or life events. It has taken almost 6 months to shake the mental patterns from the few months of exposure that I experienced. Know your body, listen to it and don't blindly accept what a doctor tells you without research. Doctors are a great asset, but science only goes so far and then God.

This is unbelievable. I was checking on another drug and stumbled in here. Have been on advair for several years. I've had chest pain, short of breath foggy head, joint aches, numb hands and feet,upset stomach all the time every test known to man and they find nothing. ALL the symtoms mentioned here are wrecking my life. No energy, insomnia. I used to be hard working , hard sleeping. Got caught up with ambien for sleep. I sleep, but still feel terrible. My dentist gets mad just looking at my teeth, which used to be great. I have gained 40 lbs in 4 years.No matter what I do it won't come off. Time to cut back or something.no more ambien, even if I die awake. Bad combination of meds, all legal. enough already.

My 14 year-old son was diagnosed with asthma after he was given a breathing treatment. He was prescribed Advair and it has been terrible since then. Advair caused him a severe insomnia. He cannot stay in school because he is so sleepy but cannot sleep at all. I am getting ready to sue the company and the doctors who prescribe this knowingly. Someone needs to do something before these drug companies and doctors kill more people on their way to being richer!

OMG, I was prescribed 100/50 Advair today at the Dr. I have a cough with some "wheezing" that is because of severe allergies. The Dr. and nurses were adamant that this was going to help me. I read all the literature before I went to try it, but was suspicious because there was no side effects section on the package insert. I entered "Advair side effects" in a search engine and this is the first site that came up.

BOY AM I GLAD that I never tried this stuff. I am going to throw it out right now. I won't ever try it, so glad I never did. I want to sleep tonight, and I already have trouble with anxiety, thanks anyway....all of you people can't be wrong!!!

I was put on Advair 100/50 about 5 years ago and took it faithfully twice a day. I started having hoarseness and several times felt like I was having a heart attack.
I also noticed a trembling in my right hand which I did not know what to attribute it to. I could not hold anything in my hand before gradually dropping it.
I also started having leg pain which would grow worse at night and I couldn't sleep through the night. I had to get up a nd take some ibuprofen to get some sleep. I blamed it on my spinal stenosis.
For the past two years I have had an eye problem. I am losing sight in my left eye. The doctor sent me to a retinal doctor last year and I went thru all kinds of tests. He thought it was a wrinkle in my retina. I was examined again this year and it is the same.
This year my doctor couldn't figure out what was causing this and had a brain MRI done. This showed nothing.
I have slowly stopped taking the Advair and my leg pain has gone away and I am getting some well needed rest at night. As to my eye problem, there still is a Question. I will not go back on Advair again.

AC
Estero, FL

My 12 year old has asthma and has good and bad years. Her asthma seems to be linked with the amount of flu/cold/viral infections she gets in any given year. This past year she has had strep, viral infection, sinusitis, and several viral infections consecutively. She has been hospitalized for masks and has taken 3 course of antibiotics, Prednisone, ventolin puffers, nasonex, and has recently been switched from flovent to advair. Since taking advair, she can't sleep, she has severe headaches every day, her vision is blurred, her asthma doesn't seem to be better, it seems worse, she loses her voice regularly and is up in the night crying because of pain in her throat.

I'm at my wits end as to what to do for her. This has disrupted our lives and she has missed a significant amount of school. She has currently no quality of life to speak of as she is always at home not feeling well.

I'm looking for some help.

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 wrote into this forum on February , 2008 about my son who was taking Advair hfa 115/21 . On Thursday, February 14, 2008 I called his asthma allergist in Forth Worth, Texas after reading all the side effects here and seeing similar and more symptoms in my son with the use of Advair .Needless to say, I talked with my sons asthma doctor that day for at least 40 minutes and told him I was not comfortable with the Advair and told him that my son was having such bad tremors all over his body at night that he was shaking uncontrollably in his sleep and I also told him that my son was having such bad fevers and was super hyper and was very irritable after his medicine( Advair) . The doctor convinced me that this was not from the Advair and continued to tell me that he was convinced the medicine was safe. I was not after my son experienced these symptoms. Well, after talking with my sons doctor, I told him I wanted my son to be put on Asmanex twisthaler. He finally called in the prescription to my pharmacist here in town , but it was hard to convince him the medicine isn't good for anyone especially for all the bad and terrible symptoms that accompany the medicine. The doctor said I could switch my son right over to the Asmanex from the Advair . The pharmacist had to order the medicine cause they didn't have it . I didn't give my son his Advair in the following morning cause I was switching him over to Asmanex . Anyhow, to make a long story short, I took my son to the doctors in the morning without having given hin his Advair and let me tell you what happened. It was like watching someone coming off of a bad drug addiction. He was uncontrollably hyper and more irritable than before and he couldn't sit still for a second and my son is normally a calm and well-behaved child. We took him to the store and he was screaming at me and my husband like he couldnt control his emotions and he was really really really angry for on reason at all like hitting angry and I really was so surprised he was acting this way . I knew it was the downside from Advair cause my son has never acted like this ever before . When we got home , about 8 o clock that evening I gave him his new prescription of Asmanex 220 mcg twisthaler and in one hour he was calm. his breathing had returned to normal, and in two hours he was in bed sleeping so deep and peaceful with no tremors at all, no muscle spasms , no rapid heart beats , no skipped heart beats. I believe this is the first night in four weeks that my son has slept so well without having his whole body shake. I am so glad I did the research I needed to save my son from all the horrible symptoms on Advair the doctors refuse to admit to . I had stayed up all night researching many many many pages on the internet for safe medicines for my son . And at 4:30 am I went to bed after I had found out bout Asmanex and was assured I was finally doing something I knew was good for my son in order for him to fell better and to be safe . While in my search, I came across a website which I would love to share here about a natural medicine I will be adding to my sons asthma treatment to also try and alleviate asthma symptoms as best as possible.***
While researching the internet I also read about new asthma drugs approved by the FDA for kids ages 4- 11 and found out that Asmanex is trying to get regulated for children in a dosage for 110 mcg to come out later in the month of February this year, 2008. My son is finally sleeping all night for a change and breathing so so so well . yeah!!!!!!!!!

I have been using Advair 250/50 for about 4 or 5 months to control my exercise induced asthma primarily when cycling on my 50-60 mile rides. So far I am pretty happy with how it is working, although I have noted that others have had initial success only to have some serious problems later on. My only complaint is the hoarseness, coughing and dry throat it gives me. I now have that somewhat under control with some aggressive cleaning of my mouth with water after I take a dose. I swallow some water and swish it around my mouth very aggressively, spit it out and then make sure I drink 4 or 5 gulps of water to clean my throat with the emphasis on gulp. Now the hoarseness and coughing is relatively minor. I also take two puffs of Albuterol about 20 minutes before riding. This is pretty standard for those that do vigorous prolonged exercise.

WOW!!! Now that I have read all of these postings I feel so much better!!! Well not physically but mentally. I am a 29 yr old female. I really started to think I was going crazy! I had been on Advair for 2 years until I just recently decided to stop smoking and start taking better care of my body. Well today is day #25 for me to quit smoking and stopping Advair. Still till this day I am having terrible chest pains! I thought that I would get better when I quit smoking. but whoa!, I'm really starting to think that the Advair did all of this to me. (I know smoking isn't good either) but this drug is terrible!! I have had so many anxiety attacks from this. lack of sleep as well, gained 60 lbs in 2 yrs. I have been using my albuterol nebulizer treatments every 8 hrs just to get me by. does anyone know if this will stop or when it will stop?????? PLEASE PLEASE HELP!! THIS FEELING IN MY CHEST IS HORRIBLE! I feel like my chest is being crushed in. is there anything I can do to make it feel better??? any suggestions????

Two weeks ago my Doctor put me back on Advair 500/50, My voice went hoarse immeditialy (still that way), I also started having headachs, unable to sleep, muscle pain, my blood pressure has increased and I have a rapid heart rate. The problem that drives me crazy is I have difficultly swallowing and I feel like someone is strangling me. I also have a bad cough and thick mucus that doesn't seem to end...not to mention mood swings and problems thinking.
I was previously on advair for years, stopped taking it cause I did not feel right. My Doctor remains firm in her option "advair has no side effects" and thinks I make this up...Wish I never started back on it and stopping using it today.

HI I am 61 and took one puff of Advair and the joint pains that night were bad. I took it for three days. Three weeks later it is still very bad. about a 8 or 9 on the pain scale. I am weak in the joints and stiff. I would like to know if anyone had it like this and if it went away and how long did it last. Excedrin works the best, have a prescription for the night time but it does nothing so am using aspirin also.I called the company and they contact the fda also. The mornings are the worse because nothing lasts at night and I don't know why. I can hardly walk and get ready for the day and around 7 at night I get so cold and shaky. Has anyone had it this bad and does it stop. I don't know if the doctors even believe me. I do have a appoint for a arthritis doctor, but not until feb and the blood test I have had so far say there is nothing wrong.

I'm 58 with COPD and the Dr. put me on Advair for breathing. I have been having severe join pain the last two weeks and believe it may be from the rx. also, have reccurring pneumonia, thrush, and sleep disturbances. Sound familiar? let me know if you have the joint pain.

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 suspect Advair is responsible for my having come down with pneumonia,stabbing chest pains( which the Dr. at the ER suggested was Pleurisy) and severe back pain in my lower back. I haven't been able to sleep in bed for at least 6 weeks and must sleep in a chair with my feet propped up on an ottoman.I have used Advair since July 2007, first 250/50 then 500/50 and now back to 250/50 in order to reduce hoarseness. The pneumonia is gone after 5 days hospitalization; the pleurisy pain has just subsided with pain killers and anti inflammatory meds . But the severe lower back pain is still there; my orthopedic Dr. has recommended physical therapy which I plan to initiate. However, stopping the use of Advair may be exactly what I need to end the back pain. I would like to mention that I did experience Thrush upon using Advair and I found that it completely went away when I started drinking pure Pomegranate juice.It doesn't taste great but it was recommended by friends during the time I had pneumonia, and lo and behold, it seems to have done away with Thrush. The Advair along with Siriva does seem to help my asma but these suspected side effects are very debilitating.