off Advair and having problems

[Guest guest]

I have been on Xolair for 16 months now. Until about a month ago, I was taking

Advair 250 and Singulair. I was doing so well. I didn't even touch my rescue

inhaler for months at a time. I rarely needed it. And I didn't have any

serious bronchial infections during last winter - which is big for me. I don't

think I can ever remember a winter without being sick and I work with children.

So, since I was doing well and it was my goal to get off the Advair, my doc

switched me to Asthmanex.

After starting the Asthmnex and as I approached the day to have my Xolair shots,

I became sick and it seemed like allergies. My nose was irritated (inside), a

tickle that made me sneeze repeatedly and it was also runny. I went two days

past my shot date (I was traveling and thought I would be fine). My face broke

out and I felt horrible. I ate Benadryl like candy. At first, I was sure it

was some kind of allergy overload, but with such a stuffy and runny nose, I

worried that I may have come down with some kind of cold. It takes a day or two

before I feel the effects of the Xolair and as it entered my system, the

symptoms went away.

I do notice that I need my rescue inhaler more - sometimes almost daily. And as

I approached my second set of shots after stopping the Advair, the same thing

began all over again. I was due for my shots today and I have been so

miserable. I have had my shots, but I can't sleep. I have sleep apnea and it

is difficult to wear a mask when you are having sinus problems.

I am sure that it must be the fact that the Asthmanex just doesn't give me

enough coverage. I was hoping to leave most of my other asthma meds behind for

the Xolair, but I am not sure it is possible. I am going to have to take a

higher dosage of the Asthmanex or some other kind of drug. It sucks, because

the plan was to eliminate the Singulair too, but with the symptoms I am having,

I don't dare.

Kim

[Guest guest]

I never was able to get off Advair (500/50) while on Xolair. Advair does not

really control the asthma either but it's definitely better with it than without

it. By the end of my treatment with Xolair (about 18 months of 3 shots every 2

weeks) nothing was controlling the asthma. My sinuses, though, were better and

I could sometimes go for 10 days without pseudoephedrine. Not any more!

>

> I have been on Xolair for 16 months now. Until about a month ago, I was

taking Advair 250 and Singulair. I was doing so well. I didn't even touch my

rescue inhaler for months at a time. I rarely needed it. And I didn't have any

serious bronchial infections during last winter - which is big for me. I don't

think I can ever remember a winter without being sick and I work with children.

So, since I was doing well and it was my goal to get off the Advair, my doc

switched me to Asthmanex.

>

> After starting the Asthmnex and as I approached the day to have my Xolair

shots, I became sick and it seemed like allergies. My nose was irritated

(inside), a tickle that made me sneeze repeatedly and it was also runny. I went

two days past my shot date (I was traveling and thought I would be fine). My

face broke out and I felt horrible. I ate Benadryl like candy. At first, I was

sure it was some kind of allergy overload, but with such a stuffy and runny

nose, I worried that I may have come down with some kind of cold. It takes a

day or two before I feel the effects of the Xolair and as it entered my system,

the symptoms went away.

>

> I do notice that I need my rescue inhaler more - sometimes almost daily. And

as I approached my second set of shots after stopping the Advair, the same thing

began all over again. I was due for my shots today and I have been so

miserable. I have had my shots, but I can't sleep. I have sleep apnea and it

is difficult to wear a mask when you are having sinus problems.

>

> I am sure that it must be the fact that the Asthmanex just doesn't give me

enough coverage. I was hoping to leave most of my other asthma meds behind for

the Xolair, but I am not sure it is possible. I am going to have to take a

higher dosage of the Asthmanex or some other kind of drug. It sucks, because

the plan was to eliminate the Singulair too, but with the symptoms I am having,

I don't dare.

>

> Kim

>