Advair HFA and stress

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 17 year old daughter started taking Asmanex about two months ago and we are wondering if the very unusual activity she's experienced with her menstrual cycle this month might be related to the drug. With a few days respite scattered here and there, she's basically had a period that has lasted all of the month of November. In spite of the fact that we are aware that some irregularity is to be expected in teens, especially when they are under stress, this development is quite unusual for her. Anyone else experienced this with Asmanex?

Reduced sleep cycle: I am 31 and started on Advair 500/50 in 11/03. (I have been on 250/50 for over a year). Ever since initial use, I feel tired but my body does not permit me to over-sleep, (no more than 6-8 hours). There aren't any other significant factors, (for example, stress, caffeine, exercise, etc...), that have been as constant as the Advair. My asthma is very well maintained with the Advair. The use of my inhaler is limited to 3-5x/month.

It has been just amazing reading these posts. I'm headed to my allergist to discuss other options and I wanted to be as educated as possible before hand because I feel for sure he's going to think I'm crazy.

I took Advair 250 for the first half of last year and I notice weight gain and feeling lethargic. I thought the lethargy was just normal stress. In September my dose was bumped to 500 and by November I was so depressed I started seeing a therapist. I kept asking her "Why is this happening to me now?? I have no reason to be here!" She gave me all the typical answers about clinical depression.

We went skiing over the holidays and I forgot my disk. I noticed immediately that I felt better. Happy for the first time in months. I thought it was because I was on vacation. When we returned, I started my dose again and guess what??? Within 3 days I could barely get out of bed again - and that's when it hit me - this wasn't mental. It came on so quick and was so contrary to my mental state that it was literally like getting sick. I suddenly made the connection and threw that stupid disk in the trash. I immediately started feeling better and I'm saving a ton of money on bills from the shrink.

Thank goodness for this site !

I am a 36 male living in Australia and was prescribed Advair(Seretide) 4 weeks ago to treat a asthma induced cough.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and have scheduled visits to a cardiologist, the next one in a few weeks for an echocardiogram and follow up.

About 2 weeks after starting Advair I started having the following side effects:

Racing heart beart, dizziness & feeling faint,waking up with tingling in my hands at night, inability to sleep at night, anxiety/ nervousness.

Further side effects developed over the last few weeks:
hoarse, need to swallow, extreme anxiety and feelimg panicky.

Initially I put the symptoms down to stress and concern over the impending cardiologist visits.
But the situation worsened to the extent that last week I felt extreme distress at going to work.
I went to my GP who put it down to stress and referred to a pyschologist.
This site has been such a relief - thanks

I've had asthma virtually all of my life. I'm 34 yrs. old now. I've had allergy shots (they did nothing). I used to take Theo-Dur (Theophylline). I've tried Serervent (didn't work). But Advair has really improved my asthma symptoms. Before Advair I was using Albuterol 10x per day. I'd wake up during the night and take a shot of Albuterol. It was not a good situation.

I've been on Advair for about 3 years now. I was prescribed the 250 dosage, but I take it only once a day in the morning. The asthma is the best it's ever been.

I've noticed a lot of the side effects that many of you have. Some of the stuff is easy enough to live with. I can deal with the occasional soar on my tongue / throat. I can tolerate a scratchy voice every now and then. But there are other issues that I now attribute to Advair that I can't continue to live with.

My back ache is awful. I cannot get comfortable at all. It even hurts when I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep. I've gained weight too -- about 40 lbs. I'm 6'1" and 215 lbs. I was 180 in my beer drinking days. I'm not all that active, and maybe metabolism does slow with age ... but I'm not eating any more than before starting Advair. If it was just the weight, I'd blame myself and work out more.

The most significant change I've noticed was swelling of the lower legs. My shins would feel like they were full of fluid and they were tender to the touch. The medical term in Edema, and I saw a doctor about the Edema because it can be a sign of heart problems, etc. All tests came back as normal.

Now -- with the back pain and the edema and the weight gain -- all the doctors said the same thing. "Lose some weight". It makes sense, right? Less weight = less stress on your back & less stress on your legs. But I am thinking that the Advair is responsible. What can I do?

I'm not medical scholar, but I am pretty observant. I've experience the ballooning effects of Prednisone as a kid. I've see Jerry Lewis recently on TV all puffed up from the steroids he's taking. I've seen athletes transform themelves from lanky and athletic to puffy and muscleboud -- as a result of steroid use. And while it's a different type of steroid -- how much of the "bulking up" can be attributed to the medication?

Another symptom I have is slow recovery from workouts. When I lift weight (for toning - not for bulk), it takes me 3-4 days for my muscles to recovery. It used to take only 1 day.

I don't know what to do. I feel like I need the Advair to breathe properly, but it's making me very uncomfortable in so many other areas. I'd love to stop taking it and see if the side effects go away, but quiting a steroidal medication like Advair isn't supposed to be done "cold turkey".

Suggestions?

Hi,

I'm glad I found this board! My doctor was real adament about me not going off of Advair, which was a total change in the normal doctor she has been. I told her I didn't have a problem when I was on Flovent and Serevent, which another doctor had prescribed years earlier. I thought the stressful situation I was going through caused my high blood pressure, but after hearing Advair could cause this I began to question whether or not it was for me. My doctor's attitude has me wondering if they get some kind of kickback for putting patients on it.

Does anyone know if the side-effects can be reversed? I've had the raspy throat, bumps in my mouth that she said were stress related and to avoid acidy food to help get rid of it, my blood pressure is up and I've gained weight where my weight was stabalizing for awhile. Again, I attributed it to stress. Now...I'm wondering!

I tried Asthmacort years ago and it didn't work for me. I'm going to ask her to try Pulmacort next. Singulair helped until I went around a stray we'd taken in for a week and it has gotten my asthma out of control now. I took the Advair again, but want to go to the doctors with info to take her to back my reasoning for changing meds. If she continues to have an attitude...I may change doctors. I'm not going to stay on something not good for me. As is, I have to go to a sleep doctor next week. Now I'm wondering if some of those problems are Advair too and I do have the frequent urination.

Thanks to all of you for posting your problems! It helps others know they're not alone and we can tell our doctors just that!!!

Susette