Advair HFA and fibromyalgia

My son (9) was on advair off and on for a while for severe asthma. I noticed depression, anxiety, fatigue and fibromyalgia type pains all over his body. I had him checked for lupus and other diseases and all negative. He also developed a severe rash between his legs causing much pain and discomfort as he had to walk like a bull-legged horse-riding cowboy. Showering often never helped. I assume he has candidis yeast infection(systemic). He was finally put on Prozac and I took him off Advair against my doctors advice. i took him off slowly and your body may need to make it's own steriods and not go into shock. He takes as much albuterol as needed to get him better and then i give him prednisone for 3 days when things become an emergency. tTe prednisone leads my son to anger and suicide but it goes away after he finishes his course, but it saves his life. He is now 13 and much happier and his face and body has thinned out by half. I will never give my son Advair again.

Similar to P.O.W. interrogation. Great torture. After two months, my muscles were in a perpetual state of motion. Starting with but not limited to my calves, my muscles would turn into tight knots anywhere, anytime, for no apparent reason. Constant pain and muscle cramping, exhausted, vomiting, losing weight. Sent to multiple specialists before my 6 month asthma recheck. Diagnoses ranged from viral syndrome to fibromyalgia. One quack actually told me that my job(E.M.T.) was too stressfull for my age(34) and that I should change careers. Symptoms started to resolve about 2 weeks after stopping the Advair, completely resolved after 2 months, One year for the muscle/tendon damage to heal, psychological damage still uncertain.

WOW! I can't believe what I'm hearing. I have been on Advair for almost a year. 500/50 dose. I have severe asthma and it was my only hope of getting off oral steroids. YEAH it worked! I even lost 60lbs do to being off steroids. But about 5 months ago I woke up with horrible pain in my muscles. They haven't let up. It has been hard to go about my daily life. I can't walk sometimes and it feels like I have arthritis. I have been to several docs and no one ever mentioned Advair as a possible reason. I now have to wonder after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. That is how bad my pain is. I also have repeated sinus pain. I had sinus surgery but the pain is still awful. I have ear pain, throat pain, mouth/tongue pain. My anxiety has been so bad over all of this. I will talk with my asthma doctor about this.

began advair 100/50 twice a day for asthma approx 1 year ago. dose
increased to 250/50 after 6 months. has REALLY helped my asthma but after stumbling upon this website i am left wondering about it's side effects. i have experienced:
unexplained calf and feet cramps
pimply rash over stomach and back
moodiness/irritability
feels like i have a ball of mucous in the back of my throat
high blood pressure (for the first time in my life)
high blood sugar (diabetes does not run in my family and i'm 5'8" and only weigh 115 lbs.)
dark circles under my eyes
SEVERE dryness on the sides of my mouth
easy bruising
increased heartburn
stomach pain
hip pain, making walking difficult at times
overall increased joint/bone pain (prior diagnosis of osteoarthritis with
recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia)
frequent sore throat
blurred vision
inability to stay focused at times
i am unsure if my advair use has caused any or all of the above symtoms but after reading the similar side effects experienced by other
advair users, i am SERIOUSLY considering stopping my advair. i will be
back in touch once i reach my final decision and let you know if any of these conditions improve

I have been on Advair since it first came out and am so glad I found this site!! I have so many of the symptoms listed here. I thought I was falling apart. At first, I felt so much better taking Advair than Pulmacort. Then, I started getting terrible stomach pain, diarhea, constipation, gas and bloating. I have awful abdominal and breast swelling, breast itching, and menstrual cramps. I have fibromyalgia, but wonder if the Advair has not made things worse. My left hip and leg absolutely kill most of the time. Funny thing is my sister had all the same symptoms after starting on Advair. I do believe that the manufacturer must be aware of these side effects and fear that, like Vioxx, it'll go unchallenged. I am contacting my doctor to get off this medication. I look back over the last 3-4 years of such a decline in my health status and wonder if this all leads back to Advair.

OMG - I am SO glad for finding this site.

I have been on Advair for almost 3 years now. I started off on 250, and then went up to 500 when I had a severe attack in the spring of 2002. I use to be a relatively healthy person (besides my severe asthma and allergies) - since starting advair (coincidence? i think not) - I have developed a RASH of medical ailments. To the point where I can barely exercise now, I have gained over 40 pounds, and have hyperthyroidism. I experience fibromyalgia type symptoms on a daily basis as well. I have tried a VAST range of diets from weight watchers to atkins to sugar busters to south beach (which I am now on) - I have been unable to lose ANY weight on ANY of these diets. NONE. ZILCH. I tried an exercise plan for about 4 or 5 months - for 4 or 5 days a week, doing all the exercise I could stand to do (even though I felt like I was goin to pass out, and my heart rate was through the roof) - but I simply gained more weight. I have striae (stretchmarks), dark purple ones ALL over my hips, the insides of my legs all the way down to below my knees. I have seen women 200 pounds heavier than me that don't have stretch marks like these. My back constantly hurts, as well as the center part of my chest (around my sternum). I bruise easily. And it feels like I'm constantly having to clear my throat. As if I'm always congested. In the winters I get this insanely dry skin (which I never experienced before Advair). It gets to the point that I am constantly applying lotion because my skin cracks so severely that it bleeds. I cannot be in the direct sun longer than about 45 minutes, or I experience heat rash. And recently I had a raging case of hives, that did not respond to medicine lasting for about 2 months.

My anxiety is through the roof. I've dealt with a little bit of anxiety on and off my entire life, but NOTHING to this extreme. I can hardly do alot of the things I use to love (big sporting events, movies, weddings, etc) due to it. Just 3 days ago, I had a panic attack so severe, it sent me to the hospital, because I thought I was having a heart attack (again I am only 27).

I presented the notion of Advair being the cause of all of my problems now to my doctors. And they both (endocrinolgist AND GP) both laughed it off - saying that Advair is not systemic, and would not cause any of my problems (even though cortiscosteroids are KNOWN to cause hyperthyroidism *which I have now*).

I love the fact that I never need my inhaler. I love the fact that I can be around animals, and if I sneeze it won't send me into an asthma attack. I love being able to breathe, and not having to carry around my breathing machine with my wherever I go.

But I don't love who I have become EVER since starting Advair. Literally. I am 27 years old, and I feel like I'm 96. I can barely walk half a mile now. I always feel horrible, and I never quite feel like myself. I am lucky I have an office job that I can sit on my ass all day, because I don't know how I would survive otherwise.

Why are doctor's so quick to dismiss Advair as a culprit for these things?!?!? Are they that eager to just make our money? Is there an Advair quota? Do they get a bonud from the pharmaceudical reps for selling more of it?

I just don't get it.
Especially now after reading all of this.

After starting Advair last Nov. I suddenly had so much pain in legs and arms. Difficult to walk or lift anything. This pain continued until spring when I demanded a diagnosis. It was diagnosed as polymyalgia rheumatica. They do not know what causes it. I already had fibromyalgia. After prednisone for one day ALL pain and stiffness disappeared and I need to take prednisone for one year. I noticed others with fibromyalgia had much increased pain after Advair

I got on this site just to see if all the side effects I am having since starting Advair is my imagination and now I hate to say, I see it is not. I was scared to death to start this steroid because I have taken steroid's off and on my whole life for my asthma. I have ended up with a depressed immune system and in the hospital every few months when on them and they have a lingering effect sometimes for up to a year or more.
My Respiratory specialist assured me, that being an inhaled steroid, Advair has a very very minimal systemic effect. Well obviously that is not true for everyone! I am having just about all of the side effects that a lot of the other of you are having. Even though, I rinse my mouth out carefully after each inhalation. I am on the 500/50 dose. I have been on it only 2 weeks. I can't quit eating! I crave something constantly and have already gained about 7 pounds this last two weeks. My face is breaking out and I have pain so bad in my hands, fingers, and legs. I have fibromyalgia and arthritis also and have a lot of pain, but this is different and much worse!
My eye sight seems to be getting worse, and I can't even see to read well with my glasses. I too am very disapointed because as far as my asthma, it is much better and I could see a difference from the very first inhalation. I am due for a dose right now, and I am not taking it. I am done. The side effects are not worth the better breathing.
I have headaches, swelling of the face, hands, fingers, and legs. I have pain in my chest and I feel generally achy all over. I have also been feeling extra moody. These are steroid effects!!

I got on this site just to see if all the side effects I am having since starting Advair is my imagination, I see it is not. I was scared to death to start this steroid because I have taken them off and on all my life for my asthma. I have ended up with a suppressed immune system and in the hospital every few months when on them and they have a lingering effect sometimes for up to a year or more. My Respiratory specialist assured me, that being an inhaled steroid, Advair has a very minimal systemic effect. Well obviously that is not true for everyone!
I am having a lot of the same side effects that some of you are having, even though, I rinse my mouth out carefully after each inhalation. I am on the 500/50 dose.
I have been on it only 2 weeks and
I can not quit eating! I crave something constantly and have already gained about 7 pounds this last two weeks. My face is breaking out and I have pain so bad in my hands, fingers, and legs. I have fibromyalgia and arthritis also and have a lot of pain, but this is different and more intense! My eye sight has gotten worse too, and it is a strain to see well enough to read even with my glasses on.
I too am very disappointed because I could breathe better from the very first inhalation. I am due for a dose right now, and I am not taking it. I am done. The side effects are not worth the better breathing. I have headaches, swelling of the face, hands, fingers, and legs. I have pain in my chest and terrible bloating in my abdomen. I feel generally achy all over. I have also been very moody. These are steroid effects!!