Warning for those who take advair

jcc64 wrote: My dh was taking advair for a few years when he started to feel crappy--having less satisfaction from his rescue inhaler (albuterol) when he was having an attack. He did what he always does--went online and started digging around for info. He discovered A LOT of controversy surrounding advair and serevent, and I posted what he found at that time here at PC. He approached his dr, who seemed unconcerned and didn't give much creedence to the studies' findings. Dh, not trusting his dr, took himself off of advair and demanded he be switched back to the older, less trendy and cheaper alternative, flovent, which is designed to do the same thing and was working quite well. He immediately started feeling better, and has been on flovent ever since. Anyway, this is a long way of saying, be aware that your dr is not always the last word on a medication's safety. Unfortunately, there is an unhealthy, potentially toxic link between drs, pharmaceutical companies, and the FDA. If my kid was taking advair, I'd take him off of it asap and switch to flovent, or at the very least, get educated about the potential risks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/health/p.../06allergy.html

cameragirl21 replied: Thanks for the 411, Jeanne, I take advair and have always preferred flovent but didn't even realize you could still get it, I thought they'd phased it out. I still have a back up stash of flovent...samples that I was given over the years that have mostly expired but are still usable that I have tucked away for a rainy day of sorts. I hated advair at first but have become used to it by now, I know there is controversy surrounding serevent, which is a component of advair.
I will have to ask my dr if I can still get a prescription for flovent, the problem is, I have heard that few pharmacies carry it anymore, which is what I meant when I said I thought it was phased out.

PrairieMom replied:
You can still get Flovent, I don't believe it is being phased out. I haven't heard anything about it any way.
Studies have shown that there can be an increased risk of fatal asthma attacks with serevent, however, the studies that I have seen show the main issue is in the Black population. They don't really know why. There has also been some concern with the studies them selves, they aren't sure if the problem is in the actual med, or in the way the medication was being taken.

if you are on Advair, DON"T STOP TAKING IT, talk to your Dr first.

MommyToAshley replied: I didn't read the link yet, and I don't know anyone taking Advair. However, I did see one of those commercials on TV from lawyers that anyone taking Advair and has suffered from a heart attack should contact them .... I guess there is some kind of class action lawsuit.

Jamison'smama replied: Thanks for the info. Jamison is on Flovent and has been for quite some time.

gr33n3y3z replied: I started back to my allergie asthma Dr again and I'm on a few other types of meds for my asthma and is working so much better and I'm also getting my allergie shots again.

I also have not been on advair for awhile now bc it just never seemed to work very well with me

jcc64 replied: Do the allergy shots work well, Lisa?

kimberley replied: thanks for the info. James has always been on flovent so luckily no problems there but i will definitely protest if they ever suggest changing it.

DVFlyer replied: Hmmmm.

My wife is on Advair....

Thanks.

ETA- Interesting to read in the article where people have been found dead holding their Serevent inhalers which are commonly known not to be rescue inhalers. In other words, if you're having an asthma attack, don't grab your Serevent or Advair, it won't do you any good.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: That is so scary! I will have to tell my mom-I do not know which medication she takes but this is the time of year she needs it!

gr33n3y3z replied:
Yes they do I wish I never stopped getting them 7 years ago

I also take singular and Patanase nose spray and Alveseco inhaler and also Xopenex inhaler when needed and also Xopenex for my neb machine when also needed
He feels when the house is done and really cleaned I should be off half the meds.

DVFlyer replied: Just heard on the news this morning, that Advair is not included in the warning because it has two drugs- the second is the one that makes it "safer" than the others.

jcc64 replied: Still the same, if I or a loved one were taking advair, I'd be looking for a less controversial substitute, of which there are many. I was listening to a show about it all yesterday on NPR, and no conclusions one way or the other are definitive. More studies are needed. In the meantime, why take the chance?

DVFlyer replied:
Imagine that... contradictory information in the media....

PrairieMom replied:
ITA, why take the chance if its not necessary. HOWEVER people on Advair should NOT stop taking their meds with out first talking to a Dr and getting on a substitute medication. Doing so could be more dangerous than being on the med in the first place.

jcc64 replied:
I can handle contradictory info in the media, it's not their job to analyze, just to report. The FDA and the drs, that's another story. Not knowing who or what to believe from the people we're supposed to be able to trust, that's disconcerting. The media, I'm not expecting them to have my best interests in mind.