Flovent and Weight Gain??? - Asthma Message Board

aktee · 07-18-2004, 11:48 AM

Hi Everyone!

My name is 'Tee' and I'm new to this board. I'm hoping that you all can help shed some light on this mess we call asthma. I will give you the rundown real quick: I was diagnosed in my teens with allergy induced asthma and was given albuteral to use as needed. Most of the time the inhaler would expire with only a small amount used. About 4 years ago I had a flare up and a doctor put me on Flovent. I was only on it for a short time as we both agreed my allergies were the culprit, once allergy season was over I quit taking it without any problems. In February we moved to Alaska and my asthma is worse now than it's ever been. After several trips to the doctor and a pulmonary function test I was prescribed Flovent (as well as allergy medication). Since using the Flovent I have only needed my albuteral one time (which is awesome don't get me wrong), but what I have a MAJOR problem with is the 10 pounds

I've gained in the month I've been taking it. I'll be the first to admit I gain weight by just smelling a Hershey bar but this is crazy. Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for listening to me ramble, I look forward to getting to know you all and gaining some knowledge from this board.

Tee

jp3892 · 07-19-2004, 02:45 AM

its one of the side effects of corticosteroids. Other more major side effects are muscle wasting, osteoporosis and diabetes!

aktee · 07-19-2004, 11:45 AM

Well that's nice... funny how the 2 pages the pharmacy printed out didn't mention that at all. I am soooo glad I found this board... I read thru some archives as well on this and found things that I didn't find out from my doctors.

Thanks for the info!
Tee

jp3892 · 07-20-2004, 03:08 AM

Doctors won't tell u because its rare that anyone will die from side effects of these drugs and u usually need them to get over your asthma (except in my case) so there's no question about taking them.

aktee · 07-20-2004, 10:59 AM

Well I called to make an appointment yesterday and somehow they had one available the same day. The doctor agreed that the Flovent was most likely the culprit and said I could stop it immediately. He said to have my albuteral with me at all times just in case but that he wanted me to have 3 weeks off of it to see how I did. If I am using my albuteral 2-3 times a day he recommended Advair but if I only need it 2-3 times a week then he said he'd be happy with that as long as I was feeling good. At one point a different doctor had told me she wanted me to get to where I didn't need the albuteral at all. I think I'd rather need a puff or two of albuteral every now and then than to be on Flovent every day. That's one frustrating thing about the military's health care system, you see a different doc or pa every time. So today is day one with no Flovent and we'll see how it goes. I went to workout this morning... with the unrealistic hopes that the 10 pounds will come off as fast as they were put on! LOL (Maybe I should swing by the weight loss boards now!)

Thanks for the info!
Tee