Side Effects of Advair

Advair is a prescription medication used to treat and prevent bronchospasms. Bronchospams could be caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can occur in patients with asthma. The drug is available in two forms - the Advair Diskus (a dry powder inhaler) and Advair HFA inhaler (aerosol).

My doctor prescribed Advair Diskus 100/50 for a mild form of asthma which gets triggered by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke or excessive dust. While I found it very effective in controlling inflammation in the airways and excess mucus, I did not like the side-effects of Advair.

Within just days of taking the medicine, I experienced sore muscles and fatigue. Occasionally, I also got mild headache which usually went away with fresh air. Within a month of taking the medicine, I gained 6 lbs in weight. Most of the gain was from water retention in my tummy. I also felt frequently constipated.

Advair's more discomforting side-effect was blurriness in vision. This disturbed my daily routine as I had to depend on others to drive. This side-effect started becoming noticeable in the third month since the start of the medication. At this point, I decided to stay off the medicine and stick to preventive care.

It took a couple of months to get over the side-effects of Advair. The fatigue and muscle soreness disappeared quickly. My vision got better in a few weeks. I lost my excess weight with a good bit of aerobics and yoga. I stuck with a high-fiber diet and drank a lot of water - this helped with the constipation. I have been doing quite fine since I came off Advair.