Advair Diskus and drugs

I can't believe that this drug is legal and that it has not been taken off the market. I have been on it for a year and couldn't understand why I was gaining weight, nothing helped to get those pounds off. I started at 160 and now at 195 and growing. Three years ago I had triple bypass, weight 150, some of the meds caused some weight gain, but nothing like this. My joints was so sore in the morning I couldn't hardly walk, I just knew I was going to be using a walker if this kept up. BTW I'm 65 female, always been active and busy, now I just do what I have to or can and that doesn't make me happy. I have recently been having crying spells and sore throat, voice lost, and enlarged tongue. The enlarged tongue caused me to do some searching on side effects.....I am so glad I found this page. I haven't taken any puffs of Advair since., that was 3 days ago. My tongue is starting to shrink, my joints aren't as sore, my crying is stopping. The weight is still with me and might never lose it, time will tell. I don't seem as hungry and eating less so maybe there is hope. This is a drug that should have Big warning all over it. Advair has taken a year of my life at this point. If there is ever a law suit I would be the 1st to sign. I didn't have that many breathing issues and really didn't understand why the Dr. put me on it.
I usually check up on drugs before I take them, this one slipped through the cracks, guess cause it wasn't a pill. At this point I just hope that others find this in time and stop using Advair before it ruins their lives.
God Bless
Barbie Kay

I am a 45 year old female, I have been on Advair for about 4 years now. I tried to go off of it once because I was having heart palpitations, I had to go back on it because of my asthma, waking up in the morning feeling like I couldn't breath just didn't work for me. I have less heart palpitations and my asthma is in much better control, however (isn't there always a "however"! I have been dieting and exercising like crazy (ok, all my life, but seriously for about 6 months now.) The scale has not moved...and I mean nothing, not a pound! I could not put my finger on it until now...it must be this drug! What else could it be? So now I have to decide if I want to be thinner or breath! Huh....some choice!

I was diagnosed with allergy induced asthma in my freshman year of high school. I was given Advair for a couple of weeks to help deal with a major attack I experienced. After seeing an allergy-asthma specialist I was told to continue with the Advair until I could get my AIA under control. I was also placed on Singulair, Flonase, MaxAir AutoHaler (for emergencies), Acuneb (also for emergencies) and I was already on Zyrtec and an eye drop Patanol. At the time my Zyrtec and the Astelin I was on were not enough to treat both the allergies and asthma. I also began taking allergy shots. I was an athlete playing fast pitch softball, conditioning P.E. including weight lifting and running, and I was also doing aerobics in my regular P.E. class. I swam often, was an active outdoors man, rode horses, and ate a fairly healthy diet. I could not figure out why I weighed 145 lbs at 5'2. My doctor said I was healthy and that I shouldn't worry about my weight but now that I am a 19 year old 5'3 weighing 130 lbs I realize that my weight gain was not normal. Although I do not play softball right now, I practice belly dancing and yoga. I often go hiking, running and swimming and I walk about 30 minutes a day to get to and from classes at LSU. I worked hard to keep a healthy diet, and exercise often so that I would not gain the dreaded freshman 15. It took me two years to get down to 130 lbs and I never attributed my weight gain and inability to lose weight to my Advair until I was off it for almost a year and then had to start taking it again to deal with a flare up. In less than two weeks I had gained almost 10 lbs and was feeling miserable.After I got to college, I would often go for runs to help keep myself in shape. I got to the point where I had to quit running because I was always short of breath and I would have severe asthma attacks. I was on all of the above mentioned medications and often on Prednisone for sinus infections. I also experienced the dry cough and the tightness of chest. I experienced almost daily headaches -some were attributed to stress but I am not sure if the Advair caused the others. I was also very groggy, dizzy, and EXTREMELY moody. I disliked the way I was feeling while I was on Advair and took myself off it earlier than I was recommended. Since then I have been feeling a lot better and I am able to control my occasional flare ups with zyrtec and flonase and occasionally singulair if I feel my asthma acting up. I got dizzy easily for a few weeks after I took myself I was not told by my doctor that I needed to rinse my mouth out to avoid thrush, nor was I told about the possible weight gain and some of the other side effects. I am going to stop taking Advair unless I absolutely need it and I am not going to stay on it for long, especially if I start feeling like I was before.

I'm a 37 year old male and I've had asthma since I was a small child. I did the albuterol inhaler for many years but they took that off the market because of environmental reasons, so I had to switch to something. I wound up with the Advair 100/50 diskus. I noticed fairly early on that when I went to take the second prescribed puff at the end of the day, I didn't really feel I needed it. So, the combination of me being strongly skeptical of drugs and Advair being expensive led me to skip taking the second puff. The next morning, when I went to take my FIRST puff of the day, I noticed I didn't feel I needed that puff either, so I didn't take that puff. Long story short, I now take ONE puff of this Advair every 3 to 5 days. It's been working well for me for about 3 or 4 years. I also take many healthy supplements like Omega Fatty acids, multvitamins, Vitamin C, minerals, etc. So my message here is: Try taking LESS Advair... As little as possible. If your doctor figures it out, tell him/her whatever you feel like. Lie if you want. NOTHING (repeat) NOTHING is more important than your health, and unfortunately the ONLY person who REALLY cares about YOUR health is YOU. You have to protect yourself. Don't let your doctor's ego win out over your health. It is your birthright to refuse a drug, even if it does disappoint your doctor. You don't owe your doctor any anything except payment for your office visit.

I've been on Advair for years. I'm a healthy 32 y.o female, active, with severe asthma. Trying to get myself off of it and have been successful at taking the medication once every 3 days or so. I am working out more and need it less often - the more I build up lung capacity. Within the last year, I've noticed that I've been losing eyebrow hair. So much of it, in fact, that I went to the Derm. for a diagnosis. They think it's "alopecia" - and I say ... it's ADVAIR. Anyone else experiencing hair loss or eyebrow loss, who happens to be on an inhaled steroid? In my case, it's only ONE eyebrow - very annoying! Hair on head is fine. Can't help but link it to the drugs, since Alopecia seems just way too far removed.

I have been on Advair for about a month, and have noticed a new, unpleasant "me". This new me is depressed, anxious, moody and super-sensitive. I have also found that the corticosteroid has not stopped my allergic asthma, as I have had a couple of attacks in the past month. I just want to live life free of drugs!!