Advair HFA and sore throat

I have been on Advair for about 5 months. It really controls my asthma symptoms well- I had wheezing with exercise and now can run without wheezing. However, I am losing my voice. I feel like I have to strain to speak and this leaves me out of breath, which is a problem since I teach 3rd grade for a living! I also have a chronically sore throat and a white coating on my tongue and throat, despite rinsing my mouth and brushing my tongue after using the Diskus. I am torn about what to do because I hate the asthma symptoms I had but I hate these side effects just as much!

Wow!!! I can't believe it! I just found this site. I've actually been on Advair 500/50 for years now, about 7 years at least. Just as a bit of a background, I'm 24 years old, used to be extremely active, played water polo, was on the swim team, and was just overall very active in high school. I've had severe chronic asthma since I was 8 years old, so in order to help me stabilize my asthma, my critical care pulmonologist put me on Advair. It was a "miracle drug"! However, while my asthma was under control, I was experiencing all these other symptoms that everyone else has been talking about.
Anyway, to make things worse, I just talked to my (new) doctor and she told me that the Advair makes it so that some organ (I'm sorry, I don't remember the name) actually stops producing prednisone (or the same stuff that your body naturally produces itself to keep your lungs working correctly) if on it for long enough. It makes sense because for the first few years it was prescribed to me, I really only filled the prescription as I was getting sick as a backup, but other then that I was generally under control. For the last I'd say about a year, I've been consistent and used it regularly as the doctor actually prescribed, every day, twice a day, whether I was sick or not. Now, I can't go even a week without it, otherwise I'm in the hospital.
During the last year or so that I've been consistent with taking the medication, I've had major depression, gained 45 lbs, fatigue, anxiety, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations, heartburn, leg pains, sore throat, sinus infections (we just finally decided I was just allergic to our animals and I've been on decongestants for pretty much the whole year, doing sinus flushes, etc and I'm still all stuffy!), unexplained bruising, crazy mood swings, muscle pains, headaches, heartburn, etc. I thought I was just completely crazy, I kept believing it was all in my head!!!
I'm going to my doctor today and asking her to prescribe me something else. The funny thing was, I was just on my way to the hospital b/c my doctor's been treating me for the last 3 weeks for vertigo accompanied by the heart palpitations and the nausea, she finally is giving up and is sending me to the emergency room. I figured before I went that route, I'd look into it myself. Go figure!

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 have just been started on Advair as of today and now I am concerned.

I have been ill for a month with a upper respiratory bug and my doctor is trying to help ease the breathlessness I have been experiencing with it.
But, after reading all these posts of the side effects, I wonder if there are alternatives I should ask my doctor about?

I don't need the weight gain, dealing with that thanks to Cymbalta (which I am off of now) and the other symptoms don't sound fun either.

The only thing I am having from today is a dry mouth and sore throat.
I say, that's enough!

I have adult onset asthma that has gotten progressively worse since I moved from a small Midwestern town to a larger city in the Sonoran desert. On account of this progression in asthmatic symptoms and flair-ups, I switched from Flovent 220mcg to Advair 500/50 about a year ago. For a long time, Advair really seemed to be helping my asthma. Outside of gaining 10-15 pounds in this year (which I asked my pulmonologist about and was assured that inhaled steroids cannot be responsible for), I have fortunately not had many of the aforementioned side effects. However, in the past month after experiencing a bad flair up while studying abroad, I have developed severe heartburn, nausea, acid reflux, a sore throat, and mouth sores. I take the medicine as prescribed and am always sure to properly rinse out my mouth, having been warned about this. After reading everyone else's entries on this site, I am now curious if Advair is doing more harm that good.

I have taken 100/50 Advair off and on for several years and hadn't noticed any problems. Three weeks ago I was switched to 250/50 strength Advair following a bad cold which I believe had become bronchitis but my NEW doctor believed was an asthma attack. I don't have asthma "attacks". I just have asthma which is always under control except for when I am exposed to smoke. Even then it isn't that bad. I just use a puff or two on my inhaler and I am good to go. So, I don't think I even needed to be put on the 250/50 strength! Right away, even with careful rinsing, I started to develop a sore throat. I had a constant cough, had to constantly clear my throat to try to speak and it hurt to talk. Within two weeks, besides the throat and congestion problems, I felt miserable as if I had a severe case of influenza: major headache, sinus and teeth pain, joint pains, severe fatigue, chills, burning eyes and blurry vision. I also developed an itchy red rash on my buttock and felt as though I was beginning to get a UTI. Because I felt so lousy, I told myself I didn't have to take the Advair which I knew would just make my throat feel worse. So, I went a whole weekend without the Advair and I started to feel better. Then on Monday morning, I took the Advair (which immediately made my throat hurt) and later went to see the new doctor in the afternoon. (We didn't discuss Advair because I hadn't made the connection and, obviously, he didn't either.) The doctor said I was negative for a UTI and thought my rash was cellulitis. He prescribed an oral antibiotic. I haven't taken any Advair since Monday a.m. because I read about its side effects on the Internet on Monday evening. My throat feels better. It is so good not to be constantly coughing and clearing my throat! The rash didn't respond to the antibiotic, but it did respond to the anti-yeast infection skin cream I decided to use on it. Unfortunately, the antibiotics DID give me a vaginal yeast infection and now I am also treating that! I am wondering if there is a connection between my skin yeast infection and the 250/50 Advair or if Advair just causes thrush (a mouth yeast infection)? Also, my eyes still burn and I still get blurry vision. Could I have a yeast infection in my eyes? I'm wondering because I have read on the Internet that steroids--just like antibiotics--can cause yeast infections. If so, then maybe thrush is not the only type of yeast infection that 250/50 Advair could cause?

I am a 39 year old female. I have been taking Advair for about 4 years now, since a bad attack landed me in the hospital. My pulmonologist initially put me on the 500 strength and told me to take it twice daily. After a couple of week of that my skin broke out in small bumps all over the place - my face, my chest, my back, even on my scalp. I suspected the Advair, told my doctor, and she advised me to reduce to once daily. I did, and the bumps were gone within days. After a few months she decreased me to the 250 dosage and I remained on that for 3 years with no debilitating side effects. Unfortunately my doctor retired around this time and another doctor took over her practice.

About a year ago I noticed that my joints were weaker, specifically my knees, and I had one bad fall caused by complete loss of strength in my left knee. My new doctor said I might be experiencing cartilege loss but did not mention it may be from the Advair.

Then a few months ago I had got an upper respiratory infection which went into bronchitis. My doctor put me on an antibiotic that I'd never taken before and increased my Advair to 500 again. Almost immediately I began experiencing racing heart, joint pain, extreme skin sensitivity, sore throat and ear pain. I also got a yeast infection, which is something I have never had before. I still did not suspect Advair as the culprit. Although I reported all these symptoms to my doctor, he also did not mention the possibility of Advair playing any part in them. He told me it was acid reflux, although I've never had a single GI problem in my life. He told me the muscle pain was stress, for Heaven's sake. I wasn't very comforted by his diagnosis, but couldn't think of what else I could do.

One morning a few weeks ago I woke up and for some reason decided to Google Advair, and found copious documentation from reputable sites like Mayo Clinic that detailed all the possible side effects of the drug. I was floored to see that I have been experiencing so many of them.

I have now taken myself off Advair. It's been a week thus far and my breathing has not gotten any worse but the heart racing has already gone away. I also feel less ear pain. The joint pain has remained. I suspect that bone and cartilege damage done by this drug will not be reversible.

Tomorrow I have another appointment with my doctor and plan on showing him the information I printed out from the Mayo Clinic site on the effects of Advair. I do not plan to resume taking that drug.

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.

my 8 year son was taken off the advair dickuss and put on the hfa because he was loosing his voice now he has a sore throat every morning from the advair hfa any advie?

After living with asthma and relying on a rescue inhaler for 28 years, I was prescribed advair 500/50 and it has changed my life. I have not used my rescue inhaler since. It is like a miracle cure. I know its not a cure but it really works great. Do you know what it feels like to leave the house without panicking because I couldn't find my rescue inhaler?

itching, muscle cramps in feet and now as of yesterday oral thrush, works great on the asthma though. The oral thrush is very scary. Sore throat in morning, hoarsenss. and chest pain. I will be calling my doctor to switch ASAP

I have been taking Advair for about 4 months. I have a lot of sinus drainage,so when it's bad I use Advair 2x a day so I don't end up getting sick. However, this last time I ended up getting an earache. I was wondering if that was related to the drug. Before the ear pain I had a sore throat for about a week and sinus drainage. If I leaned to one side or layed on one side I would have pain on that side of my throat and ear then if I switched sides the other side would be sore. Finally it stayed in one ear and I am going to see my Doc tom. I don't usually get ear infections. I wondered if anyone else experienced increased ear pain. It's almost like instead of drainig it just stayed up in my throat and ears.

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!

I have been taking Advair for about 5 weeks now and I have just started noticing a sore throat and difficulty singing. I wondered if it could be caused by the Advair. (Thanks a lot for your postings) I will try rinsing better after use and see if I notice a difference. I have also noticed that I feel like I constantly have to clear my throat and I wondered if this could also by caused by the Advair? I can say I haven't had an asthma attack since I began using Advair.

I have been on Advair on and off for 3 years and the recent side effect I am experiencing is sore throat and difficulty singing, due to this so I make sure I rinse well after use and I am seeing a difference. I can only say my asthma has been under control .

I have been on Advair since nov02. The advair was a great benefit to me and improved my breathing ability alot. Shortly after nov02, I developed urinary problems: slow urination, dribbles, constantly getting up at night to urinate,etc. I went to a urologist who checked me for an enlarged prostate but mine was normal, PSA was normal and DRE exam showed that prostate size was normal. I was also given antibiotis for 10 days as treatment in case it was an infection but that didn't help. Since that time, I've been taking Hytrin to control the urinary problems and it seems to work except at night when I must get up 3-5 times each night to urinate. As an experiment, I did not take the evening dose of Advair on three separate occassions and I was able to sleep 6-7 hours straight (without having to urinate)! Now I'm wondering if all my urinary problems are related to Advair???? I have asked my doctor about this and did not really get any response other than "I never heard of Advair causing urinary problems".
I also have most other symptoms others have described here like sore throat, horseness, fast heart rate,etc.

I would like to know if others have also experienced urinary problems since they started using Advair and what they are doing about it.

People complaining about sore throat - the packaging says to wash your mouth and throat out after you take the medication. I started at Advair 50, then went to Advair 250, and today I'm on advair 500. The doctor said he's serious about washing my mouth out immediately after taking the medication. He said it can cause your voice to get all hoarse, or cause a yeast infection in my throat.

Sore throat and laringitis.

I am sure glad that I found this site. I am a 58 year old male, I have been using Advair 500/50 for about 3 years but; I did not know there were side effects with this drug. I have COPD with approximately 15% of lung capacity left. Before starting on the Advair twice a day, I could walk app. 100ft before I got so out of breath. now I am lucky to be able to walk 10 ft. and even then I must rest and catch my breath. I have gained an enormous amount of weight, and at first with a change to my diet I would lose a couple of pounds, but; that was also with my cardiac rehab. The cough is getting much worse and I cough so hard I feel like I am going to pass out. I am nauseated, have no real taste for food anymore. It is hard to swallow even water. I get a sore throat and a lot of mucous and it has become at times very hard for me to speak. I have to speak slowly trying to form my words so they can be understood. I also have a heart condition, and was having real bad palpatations. Why I didn't know, I was hospitalized and was put on Warfain and Solatol which does help. I never would have associated any of these side effects if I had not read them here in this site, thank you for alerting me. I am at a loss as what to do, I am going to contact a lawyer, but; I still do not know if I should stop taking the Advair.

I've been off and on Advair for two years. I'll take myself off of it cause I don't like what it does but then the asthma goes nuts. So far I've been on this for three days - 2 doses per day of the 250/50. Massive joint pain like I have the flu, dizzy, ear-ache, nausea, sore-throat, hoarsness, headache, lethargy. I am also on Zyrtec every day 1 pill to control post-nasal sinus drip which kicks off an asthma attack. One more note. I moved to Massachusetts 6 years ago from Alabama. I had two sinus problems a year in Bama - bronchitis type stuff and that was it. I was diagnosed with Asthma 2 years after moving to Massachusetts.

I only used advair for one month,for bronchitis, and I have mild asthma, and I expereinced eye pains, and foot locking up, and stiff fingers.and joint pains.
Some of these side effects happened after I weaned myself off advair.
I still get eye pain, and need to get it checked.
During the time I used advair, I had a very dry mouth and sore throat, and difficulty breathing.
I still get the sore throat now and then, and I have been off advair for two months.....so I am not sure what it is.
Scary thought that advair is listed as a black warning drug...the most serious kind of warning for a drug.

Interesting reading. I have not had the sore throat. I have not had weight gain, but neither have i been able to lose weight. I haven't had joint pain, but a defintie sensitivity to it.

I've been taking advair for a year. The thing i noticed was a sensitivity to existing allergies. So for instance, i've always been allergic to mold but the symptoms have been minor and they have reduced over time. Now i have a constant pulmanary response where i cough up yellow phlegm. I've decided to go back to the flovent inhaler and see if this solves my problems. i don't know if it will but the symptoms started when i started using the advair. I've also suffered from fatigue and my pituitary gland is being overworked. Right now, my theory is that my body is being stressed trying to handle the overreactions to allergens in my environment.
As for joint pain, for me it seems to be a digestive thing, but that doesn't mean the advair is not contributing to a digestive problem, that is then causing my joints to hurt.

I've been sick for many years. One thing i've learned is if your doctor isn't listening to you, then you need to find one who will. In our culture we place drs in a place of high authority and we are taught not to question that authority. It's your body, your health and your life. It is the drs responsibility to know the products they recommend and to listen to their patients. It's the patient's responsibility to question when things don't feel right and to help figure out the solutions. Some times they tell me what is wrong; some times i tell them what is wrong.

Sore throat. Anyone else experience sore throats?

Nausea, burps, sore throat, weight gain.

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.

I started taking advair since this fall. i was really sick with cheat cold, sore throat, stuffy nose the works. I did not have the flu shot so naturally, having asthma, my symptoms were worse. I had about 6 asthma attacks before taking Advair 250/50. I sent to an asthma doctor nhe recommended this to me. Yes it helped. I still had about 3 asthma attacks while i was sick.

What i noticed was voice loss: squeaky voice, straining. I just thought it was me being sick. when i got better i noticed my breathing more. It takes me so long to eat or drink everything! It feels like there is pressure on my chest or the need to burp in order for me to feel better. I continue eating and it starts again. I didnt understand it at first but now i do. It has to be advair becuase i never elt like i had to burp so bad and stop doing my normal tasks.

I try to take Advair 1 everyday instead of twice a day. Today my sibling seen on the news that Advair is causing more deaths then helping asthmatics.

SO SHOULD I STOP TAKING IT ALTOGETHER? OR SWITCH TO SOMETHING ELSE? IF SO WHAT?

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

Took advair for one month
Quit taking it a couple of weeks ago

side effects:

sore throat, sore gums and a nasty rash on my neck, and dehydration of my skin, got wrinkles I never had before, dry skin dry mouth, dry eyes

In response to Tessa and the lady with the little girl, I too experienced a sore throat over the last month and I can say the acne is starting to fade away (I am happee41 from previuos entry). The sore throat was most noticable during the first week of taking Advair, additionally; it seemed that I got worse with my allergies. My dosage was Advair 250. As stated in my earlier entry, I think I was misdiagnosed. However, I have added natural foods to my diet, i.e. soy, sunflower seeds, vitamin E and fish oil supplements. I'm also not feeling fatigued and I can finsih my workouts now. I am trying the alternative route in the hopes that asthma symptoms do not reappear. It's only been 8 days and so far so good.

The pediatritian put my 9 year old daughter on Advair 2 weeks ago when her asthma was so bad she could barely function. She took 4 days of prednesone and started on a month's course of Advair. She is now complaining of sore throat and some other vague symptoms (could be some winter ill) and for the last 2 days her legs have been so sore it hurts her to walk. Thankfully, she can breathe now, but I plan to stop the Advair until we can get in with our pediatric allergist.

I just started taking Advair again last week. I was desparate since my asthma seems to be getting worse but I am only staying on this medicine until I can find something different. Immediately after I started taking it, I developed a horrible sore throat and I sometimes feel as if I am choking.

I started using Advair approx. 2 months ago in an attempt to get rid of a severe cough that I've had for over 25 years. I've tolerated it for this long, however, the cough has gotten worse as I've gotten older.

Although I very carefully rinsed my mouth my mouth out, as advised by my doctor, I developed a sore throat and almost fully lost my voice for almost 1 1/2 months now. The ears, nose and throat doctor has diagnosed me with a bad candida (yeast) infection in my throat and put me on diflucan and nystatin. He felt it was the Advair that caused this infection. After taking these medications for a little over a week I am slowly getting better, however, my cough is still there and possibly a bit worse from the infection and my throat is very raspy. I've also noticed moderate pain in my fingers and hands -- whether this is from the Advair, I am not sure, but it is coincidental to the timeframe I've been on it. However, I have also been on an nebulizer using albuterol so it's hard to tell which medications are causing which side effects.

I have been on Advair for almost 2 months. The first month I was on lowest dose and the second month on 500/50. I am prone to severe coughing mainly as a part of a cold or flu. I do cough ALOT with extreme emotions, when I get overheated and when I lie down. I went to the doctor and she stongly suspected Asthma. Even though I do smoke, my history of coughing as a child and my severe GERD is what made her lean towards Asthma. While in the process of getting referrals, x-rays, bloodwork she put me on Advair. With constant follows-ups,(every 2 wks) nothing was working and to make things worse I came down with some kind of flu. On the smallest dose of Advair the only thing that happened was a dry throat. After my flu was almost gone she increased my Advair.Amost immediatly I got the worst sore throat! My throat was on fire,my tastebuds on the back of my toungue were HUGE. My throat was so dry, I thought I was gonna choke on my own tongue. Then, within a day after that I was so hoarse I could hardly talk and the area where my voice box is, hurt and I was about to cough up a lung. At the same time I had a few small white dot's in the back of my mouth.....by the uvula. So I went back to my doctor. She tested me for strep and yeast both were negative! I left the office more puzzled and fustrated than ever. I continued for several days and then it came to me...."Could my asthma medicine be causing my problem?" The very next morning I quit all asthma medicine. It wasn't working anyway! Within 24 hrs I was 75% better! My voice box was still sore and my voice wasn't back all the way but loads better. By day three my voice was about 90% back and I could actually talk on the phone and yell at my five kids! LOLOL I think in my case Advair is not the answer and caused way more problems. I am do to visit the doc soon to see where I go from here. Has anyone had the same experience?

my doctor dismissed my coughing, sore throat and larygitis, and stated Advair did not cause these symptoms. it interferes with my work. also, when I got asthma, i got fatigue and weakness and now I have back, and joint pains. I too have gained weight and it is difficult to do exercise. The asthma is under control, so my pulmonary function tests are fine, but I can't work. thanks to you all for helping me feel sane again.

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

I am so thrilled to have stumbled across this site. So many lightbulbs are going on. I have been gathering pieces of the Advair complications in my life just recently after taking it for years. Finally so many things are making sense. I started taking Advair 100/50 in 1996, and like most people, I had almost immediate relief of symptoms. My alupent inhalers that I used to puff on regularly started to expire before I was even 1/3 of the way through them. What a miracle!
I experienced no MAJOR side effects until my dosage was bumped up last fall to the 250.

From that point on, I have experienced:

* a chronic raw, gravelly sore throat. I saw a specialist (who knew what amount of Advair I was on and never mentioned this as a possibility) He sent me on my way with a pamphlet on heart burn. I don't have heart burn, and my friends joke that I have a permanent new, husky smoker's voice!

* severe dry skin and horrible eczema, concentrated mainly on my lower legs and ankles-- this started almost exactly one month after my dosage was increased but I didn't make the connection

* thinning hair

* cuts, sores slow to heal

* yeast infections are a frequent and nasty visitor

* swelling in my ankles

* toe and leg cramps

* slight weight gain

* irritability-- my typically sunny attitude has shifted to a lot of depression and feelings of anger off and on

Also, like so many others here, when I tried to talk to the Dr. about decreasing my level of Advair, she told me not to mess with success and wanted to hear nothing about it. When I flat out asked her what the long term consequences could be of inhaling steroids, she responded by saying "Well, you don't absorb them in your system since you are inhaling it, so there's obviously nothing to worry about! Harumph.." She acted like it was the stupidest question she had ever heard and left me feeling angry and frustrated.

I consulted with my dermatologist in regards to my eczema.. I have almost been scratching my legs until they bleed because the itching is so insufferable and nothing has been alleviating the symptoms. She confirmed that the Advair use could definitely be linked to my increasing, chronic skin problems. Another patient in their practice had developed full blown Cushing's Syndrome after years of excessive inhaled cortisone. Her skin was thin and papery and her whole system was a mess.

I have an appt with a new dr. this week to begin a regimen of weaning off this stuff. I am quite scared and only wish I would have connected the dots sooner. It was my German brother-in-law, a doctor, who raised red flags with me when I told him about my symptoms and showed him the dosage of Advair I was taking twice a day. He was quite stunned and quickly convinced me the severity of the situation.

Asthma is under control. Allergens seem to have little effect anymore. Gained about 15% in before/after weight. I am a male, but have noticed increase in chest breast area. I have steady(daily) leg cramps. Have noticed vision change but maybe due to age. I am 47 on Advair for approx 9 months. Had previous C7 back injury. Thru exercise and stretching was symptom free for nearly 4 years, it came back within 1-2 months using advair. Dr. says coincidence on the back. He did admit advair to cause cramping like other steroids as they rob sodium from the muscles. I have noticed sore throat and bumps in throat also especially if I do not drink a glass of water after rinsing my mouth from usage. I am tempted to withdraw from it, but I hear it needs to be a gradual withdrawal. Want to talk to doc about it, anyone know about discontinuing it??

Whoa, am I glad I found this forum! I thought I was goin' nuts!

Let me preface this by saying I have never, NEVER had heartburn in my life. Until I started Advair.

I'm an asthmatic and have used Albuterol for years. It sometimes has gotten to the point where I've had to use it several times a day. That's when my doctor recommended Advair. Right off the bat, I could breathe easier (with Advair 250), and I thought I'd found my wonder drug. A couple weeks later I developed a bad case of heartburn with a sore throat. I was downing Tums like crazy. I thought it might have something to do with the Advair, so I went off it and saw my doctor. She dismissed the notion that Advair was the culprit, and told me to lay off the caffeine, tomato products, onions, etc. And to sleep in an inclined position. She also prescribed Protonix. So I went back on Advair and I was actually feeling better a couple weeks later when I had my follow-up appointment. The heartburn hadn't gone away completely, but it wasn't as bad. Well, after the follow-up, the heartburn came back with a vengeance. It got so bad that death would have been welcome. At that point I really had a strong suspicion that Advair had something to do with it. I stopped Advair a week and a half ago and went to see the doctor today. I finally convinced her that Advair could be the problem. Then she asked if I rinsed my mouth out when I used it. I admitted to her that I had not. She said that swallowing the residue instead of rinsing it could cause the heartburn. In any case, I swayed her in the right direction. I'm seeing a GI specialist next week and I'm gonna specifically tell him about Advair and the many posts on this message board. By the way, since stopping Advair a week and a half ago I still have the heartburn, but it's not as bad. It's not good, but at least I don't want to die. I wish I'd never heard about that stuff. If you've had a similar experience, let me know! =)

Been on Advair for six months.
Chronic sinusitis, constantly clearing throat, sore throat.

I also had raspy voice and minor sore throat. I gained 10 lbs in 30 days. I had a horrible time sleeping and it progressly got worse by the day. I quit taking it and after a week, I am slowly getting to sleep a little better. Having a problem with sore neck at the base of my skull. Not sure if this is related but it started a couple weeks after taking advair.

I've been using Advair non-stop for about three years. At first, with the exception of a slight sore throat and raspy voice by mid-afternoon, I felt great, to the point where I forgot I was asthmatic. I developed several other symptoms very gradually, so gradually that I didn't associate them with the medicine. I've experienced the following symptoms, some worse than others:

Sore throat, loss of voice, fungal infections of the mouth (this is really getting out of hand!) and vagina, slight headaches, painful joints and feet (soles), muscle stiffness; muscle cramping(neck, abdominal, leg and feet), dental discomfort, red eyes, blurry vision and "floaters", dark circles; difficulty sleeping; weight gain, especially around the middle. Slight facial hair; sallow, dry skin, and poor healing (slow healing of wounds and scars). The latest :sudden bouts of weakness and sleepiness.

I think it's time to take a break and cleanse the system.

I know that we all post messages here but there is no way for us to talk with each other if you don't leave you email address. Please post your message with your email address in it. We all are suffer with side effect lets talk to see if we can help each with information.

I am not sure how long it takes for side effect to go away. I have been off advair since July 3 and I still have slight joint pain and pain in my hips and lower back. My joints make popping noises sometimes in my hands. I still have sinus pressure between my ears. I don't take anything right now except advil to try to remove the pressure. I am also getting over the thrush and sore throat that I did have. I was on Advair for four weeks and this happened. My doctor told me that my symptoms are not related to Advair but I know that is not true. I have been in my body longer then my doctor has been practicing and I know when my body is operating differently. My email is ******

I have been on advair 250/50 about 6 months. The first couple weeks I had sore throat and slight cough, the symtoms went away. My asthma is under great control, breathing has never been better. The last 2 months I have had periodic bouts with diarrhea, stomach cramping and nausea. I have neck and shoulder pain. As well severe pain in my left leg and hip. I have sinus pressure, earaches, sore throat, occassional horseness and have been treated for cronic sinus and upper respitory infections. I am starting to feel depressed because I feel sick all the time. My husband said I was fine until they changed my asthma medication so I asked the doctor and pharmicist and was told the symptoms are from an infection not all like the symtoms I would get from taking advair. After veiwing this web site I am now convinced more then ever it is the medication.

Took Advair for 2 weeks for a mild allergy induced asthma condition which I developed after a long bout with bronchitis. My breathing was slightly more comfortable but every day my throat was becoming increasingly sore and my voice was very hoarse. One evening my throat was so sore that I didn't take the dose. The doctor gave me a lower dose which I took for a week but I stopped it after I couldn't tolerate the sore throat( I rinsed my mouth like it instructed). Anyway, since my breathing was better he recommended that I stop the Advair. Well it's been 3 months now and I am suffering from intra costal nerve vibrations, muscular weakness,palpitationsand feelings of malaise. The muscle tremors are most noticeable when I lie down.I feel very down most of the time for no apparent reason. I have even had a holter monitor test for the palpitations but the test was negative. Trying to get myself back to normal with vitamins,diet, exercize etc. Can't believe that it is taking so long for the residuals of the drug to leave my system.

I am 62 with adult asthma, GERD and high blood pressure -was under great control with my meds, changed doctors and on first visit he puthad me start taking Advair 100/50 July 2003. I went from mild manner grandmother to an agressive one in less than two weeks; headaches; progressed to being tired all the time, took nap in the morning and afternoon; reflux all the time standing, sitting or laying down; bad taste in mouth; dizzy and small black outs; excessive sinus drainage/congestion; irrated throat; coughing. On 10-22-2003 went back to pulmonery dr for check up, at that time my blood pressure was up had gained 5 pounds and was told my symptoms were not caused by Advair and that he would see me again in 3 months. I stoped Advair on 11-3--2003 and went back to my original meds. I had an appointment with my gastroentrolst 11-5-2003 for the constant reflux, being as I had just had a flex-sig exam 9 months previous he was not concerned just to watch what i was eating and know he did not think it was from the Advair because the Advair should be out of my system after 24 hours. I changed pulmonary doctors and saw my new one on 11-17-2003. He left me on my original meds and said some people do not tolerate the Advair but my asthma, and blood pressure was under control, the reflux, sore throat i still had. Since this time i have had a bladder infection 12-2-2003 (last one i had had was 40 yrs ago) and am now fighting the loss of my voice(since 1-15-2004) I am on a round of an 1000-mg of amoxicillin for infection of the larynx. But was also told by the ENT dr that this would not be caused by Advair.
I was feeling great until I took Advair and now I have no energy, I am drowning in my reflux and fighting infections from who knows where. Thanks for your website it helps me to know that i'm not alone.

After taking Advair for 4 months, I felt like a new person. I could breathe for the first time. I slept better. Downside: I walk 30 minutes a day and lift weights and clean 2-3 homes a day. I watch my diet but couldn't figure out why I was the same weight as when I didn't diet or exercise. I have the sore throat if I don't rinse my mouth out well after taking Advair. My legs have managed to shape up from exercise but the stomache won't go away. Vision has gone down hill. I may go off it for a little while to see what happens...I am thrilled to have found this website to know others are going through the same thing!!!

Started taking advair in March of 2003. Have gained 30+ pounds, constantly clearing throat, Hoarseness of voice with usually no voice at nighttime. Bloated stomach,always hungry, legs ache, dry cough and sore throat. Worked great for asthma, but side effects aren't worth it. Quit taking this week. Going to Dr. to try something else. Any suggestions?

thrush
sore throat
respritory infection

Have trouble swallowing
hoarseness when speaking
occasional sore throat
have some kind of nasal drainage

Using Advair for the past 6 months, considerable weight gain, frequent bloody nose, sinus problems abound, sore throat, ears hurt--asthma control great, no rescue inhaler necessary. Stopped taking the Advair and symptoms disappeared!