Guest guest Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I have read so much negative press about Avair that I stopped taking it after Xolair was working for me. I had discussed it with my doctor and he said to try it. I actually felt better off Advair. My doctor was not happy, though. But I still feel better. I also had long ago stopped taking Nexium, preferring Zantac when needed, which is rare. The GI system is one of the first lines of defense against illness, and I'd rather mind be working. I do the flu vaccine (no egg allergy), and did the pneumonia vaccine. I agreed with the doctor's assessment, at least for the meds I know about. Carol Belsky wrote: This is a very scary article as it misses several reasons a drug might be prescribed! People need to talk to their doctors and do a risk management analysis. Drugs are not without dangers, but there are many times the benefit is worth the risk, especially when there really is no alternative. The alternatives offered for many of the drugs were more dangerous to me or my family member who are on the drugs. For example, I have a child on Nexium that didn't know what heartburn was and couldn't/didn' t voice it, but had erosions in his esophagus and stomach due to excess acid production. Zantac or other OTC acid reducers did not touch it and he would have been at much higher risk of esophageal cancer without the Nexium. Now we are looking into possible surgery to get him off the Nexium. But for the general population, the surgery is an extreme. For myself and possibly my son, it is a necessary step. Interesting that they did not mention the pneumonia vaccine to help prevent pneumonia, but did push the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine would possibly kill me due to my severe egg allergy while the pneumonia vaccine has helped me so much. I used to struggle with illness triggered asthma 2-4 months out of the year, and then 8-10 months have allergic asthma issues. Thanks to both the pneumonia vaccine and Xolair I have so much better asthma control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 For me Advair is a " must " if I am to breathe and sleep throughout the night. Otherwise I wake up in a state of panic feeling like I'm drowning. The emergency inhaler before going to bed does not last through the night. Singular made me feel weird, in fact, in the news recently there were some comments made about it having psychiatric effects in some patients. I also had long term frequent colds on Singular and it made me feel anxious. Wish there was something else that could keep me breathing well but nothing out there long term w/o even worse side effects. > > This is a very scary article as it misses several reasons a drug might be > prescribed! People need to talk to their doctors and do a risk management > analysis. Drugs are not without dangers, but there are many times the > benefit is worth the risk, especially when there really is no alternative. > > The alternatives offered for many of the drugs were more dangerous to me or > my family member who are on the drugs. For example, I have a child on Nexium > that didn't know what heartburn was and couldn't/didn' t voice it, but had > erosions in his esophagus and stomach due to excess acid production. Zantac > or other OTC acid reducers did not touch it and he would have been at much > higher risk of esophageal cancer without the Nexium. Now we are looking into > possible surgery to get him off the Nexium. But for the general population, > the surgery is an extreme. For myself and possibly my son, it is a necessary > step. > > Interesting that they did not mention the pneumonia vaccine to help prevent > pneumonia, but did push the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine would possibly kill > me due to my severe egg allergy while the pneumonia vaccine has helped me so > much. I used to struggle with illness triggered asthma 2-4 months out of the > year, and then 8-10 months have allergic asthma issues. Thanks to both the > pneumonia vaccine and Xolair I have so much better asthma control. > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I had no problems when I was taking Advair before starting Xolair. As for Singulair, that was an awful experience. I felt nauseous, dizzy, had raging headaches and actually felt worse because of the side effects so that any benefits were totally negated. I lasted about 6 weeks on it before calling my doctor and getting off the stuff! I LOVE the original sudafed--the PE stuff does nothing for me--but now am limited to buying 48 tablets at a time for me and my husband (which at the height of pollen season lasts about a week) and have to practically sign-away my first born and get looked at like a Meth lab cooker every time I ask to buy the largest box of generic my local pharmacy carries. The bottom line is that you can choke on a pretzel or get hit by a bus tomorrow and both those things are still legal to eat and drive. Life's too short not to take medication that works for YOU because it didn't work for someone else. Only you and your doctor can decide what the best treatment is for you. At best articles like this are irresponsible--at worst, they dissuade patients from getting effective, and in some case life-changing treatments that offer options when all else has failed to work. > > > > This is a very scary article as it misses several reasons a drug > might be > > prescribed! People need to talk to their doctors and do a risk > management > > analysis. Drugs are not without dangers, but there are many times > the > > benefit is worth the risk, especially when there really is no > alternative. > > > > The alternatives offered for many of the drugs were more dangerous > to me or > > my family member who are on the drugs. For example, I have a child > on Nexium > > that didn't know what heartburn was and couldn't/didn' t voice it, > but had > > erosions in his esophagus and stomach due to excess acid > production. Zantac > > or other OTC acid reducers did not touch it and he would have been > at much > > higher risk of esophageal cancer without the Nexium. Now we are > looking into > > possible surgery to get him off the Nexium. But for the general > population, > > the surgery is an extreme. For myself and possibly my son, it is a > necessary > > step. > > > > Interesting that they did not mention the pneumonia vaccine to help > prevent > > pneumonia, but did push the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine would > possibly kill > > me due to my severe egg allergy while the pneumonia vaccine has > helped me so > > much. I used to struggle with illness triggered asthma 2-4 months > out of the > > year, and then 8-10 months have allergic asthma issues. Thanks to > both the > > pneumonia vaccine and Xolair I have so much better asthma control. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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