Double dose of Advair made me sick

[rainbow_goddess]

I'm currently taking Advair 250 disc inhaler. My GP suggested I take two puffs in the morning and two puffs at night, instead of one puff in the morning and one at night, because I'm having trouble controlling my asthma on the one puff twice a day. I asked him if he would just prescribe me Advair 500 instead, as I didn't want to pay twice as much

Comments

[miafeliz]

That sounds pretty normal to me. I hate the stuff. Not everyone reacts that way to Advair. I have friends who love the stuff and can't rave about it more. I found that Symbicort works better for me.

Advair exacerbated my panic/anxiety disorder. I had aches and pains, was dizzy and weak. My heart was racing and I had panic attacks.

I find that both Albuterol and Symbicort still make my heart race but it's nothing like Advair.

Ask about something else. Also, has anyone tried the newish one called Dulera? Does that work?

[foundunicorn]

I’m on Dulera, the packing says “two puff twice a day” I got my doctor to proscribe a stronger one (200mcg/5mcg)
I take one puff only, and I do that in the morning, can’t sleep if I would take a puff at night.

[miafeliz]

Interesting. I've seen the commercials for it and wondered about it. I'm pretty ok on my Symbicort but I still have a mental need for albuterol sometimes.

[rainbow_goddess]

I can take only what insurance will cover. Insurance normally covers only Flovent, but I wasn't well controlled on Flovent so my previous doctor got special authority to cover Advair. I used to be good on Advair but the last couple of years my asthma has gotten worse; any exercise at all gives me an attack, as do changes in temperature. My GP won't send me to asthma specialist so I'm pretty much at his mercy for whatever he decides to tell me to do.

[miafeliz]

I'm sorry to hear that your GP won't send you to an asthma specialist. I've noticed that mine changes with weather and my cycle.

I'm lucky that mine isn't caused by exercise and when I'm in shape, which I'm not at the moment, it's actually better controlled.

[rainbow_goddess]

The best control I ever had was when I was on a combination of Advair disc inhaler and Singulair allergy pills. There were workers painting my apartment building, and the smell of paint didn't bother my asthma at all. Sadly, my (public) insurance won't cover Singulair for any reason whatsoever, and my doctor ran out of free samples to give me.

Everything aggravates my asthma, but exercise is probably the worst. Changes in temperature trigger it too, as do my allergies, and any kind of strong scent. Advair keeps it just barely manageable, but if I miss one or two doses I can barely walk across a room without coughing my guts out.

[wrin]

Dulera is very similar to Symbicort with two exceptions:
1) it's a different steroid, so people who have steroid-associated side effects may have changes in their side effects (hoarseness, thrush)
2) it's a different delivery device, so the technique is different in its administration. When it comes to inhaled medications, probably 90% of their effectiveness is good technique. If it doesn't end up in your lungs, it isn't doing you any good.

It's the same long-acting bronchodilator, so if you find the one in Symbicort doesn't seem to bug you as far as side effects (fast heart, jitters, anxiety) then Dulera probably won't bug you either. That said, if Symbicort works well for you, it's not really worth changing. Ain't broke, etc. etc.

[miafeliz]

Yep. I'm not really looking to change. I was just hoping that maybe a different med could help the OP.