Wixela Inhub for Asthma, Maintenance User Reviews (Page 2)

• Ric...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 11, 2021

"The Veteran's Administration is forcing this Wixela on veterans so that they can save $170 per prescription. This medication is not as good as Advair or, for that matter, Symbicort, or any other drug that contains the same ingredients. I refuse to use this stuff, aside from the terrible taste, it doesn't help my condition. As someone 67 years old and has had asthma all my life, I know garbage medicine when I use it. This is garbage."

• Moo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2020

"Inhub dispenser is awkward. Don't feel like I get the same dosage as Advair. Makes me tired, post-nasal drip, and on-and-off cough. Makes me anxious that I'm not getting enough med and fear an attack. Don't want to get sick, especially with Covid-19 about. I'd rather have Advair HFA."

• Sic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 26, 2021

"This medication is bad. It should be taken off the market. I got so sick on this. I got a very bad headache, racing heartbeat, and thrush, it made me nervous. I just felt really bad. The medication does not come out right - you either get too much medication or none at all. It does not get into the lungs, it just stays in the back of the throat, and that is how I got the thrush. My doctor now has it so the prescription is dispensed as written, so the pharmacist will now fill it with the Advair, thank goodness. Like I said, Wixela Inhub should be taken off the market as it is dangerous. If I could, I would give it a 0 rating."

• Vet...
• October 8, 2021

"The VA recently replaced my Symbicort prescription with Wixela. The VA pharmacy told me that it was at the direction of my VA pulmonologist, although he had retired 3 months before the change. When I complained about the poor results with Wixela, my primary care provider sent me a prescription for Symbicort, which I attempted to fill, only to find out I had to pay for it myself at $300 per month. The side effects of Wixela are mouth sores and minimal relief. I now use my rescue inhaler whenever I do any moderate physical activity. The VA should spend a little more money on drugs that work and less on their commercials."

• Dia...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 1, 2021

"I had what would be considered well-controlled asthma; taking Singulair, Breo, and my rescue inhaler. Once my insurance changed to Kaiser, I was informed that they do not prescribe Breo, and I was placed on Wixela. That was approximately three months ago, and my health has been in a steady decline as far as the asthma. I now feel that I have small elephants sitting on my chest all the time, I'm wheezing almost 24 hours a day, and am coughing up phlegm. I had none of these issues prior to being switched over to Wixela. I will be calling the doctor this morning; this is a totally unacceptable level of care. I would give this drug a '0' if I could."

• KAE...
• September 9, 2020

"I’ve been using Advair for years. It managed my asthma perfectly, and there was never a problem. I was given Wixela by my pharmacy the month it came out (they didn’t even tell me it had switched). Now I notice my throat hurts all the time, and I’ve got headaches. It still manages my asthma, but I’m not a lab rat, and I shouldn’t have these side effects. I’m going to see if I can go back to Advair."

• J C...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 25, 2022

"I was recently sent Wixela as a substitute for Symbicort. It is awful. It's about as effective as licking a Tootsie Pop. I have never used my rescue inhaler until now. I contacted my primary care at the VA and was told the VA doesn't offer Symbicort anymore. A day later, I received an email from my provider telling me the VA is 'trying out' two different medications, and they would send me the other 'trial' COPD medication, and if that didn't do the job, they would renew my Symbicort. Yeah!"

• OR ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2023

"Like many comments on this site, I was switched in early 2022 from Symbicort to Wixela. Symbicort, and before that, Advair Discus, had been doing a fine job of managing my asthma, but within a week of using Wixela, my asthma was no longer under control. My breathing was becoming labored, and I would wake up in the night gasping for air. For over a year now, I have had to use my albuterol rescue med daily, whereas before Wixela, I used albuterol about 3-4 times per month. Even more, I have now suffered from extreme, chronic dryness in my nasal passages, which have also become constricted, to the point of me having to consider a surgical procedure to address the difficulty in breathing through my nose. Wixela is supposedly (from the FDA) a generic equivalent to Advair, but something about it is so different for it to cause such negative side effects in so many people. It should be removed from the marketplace by the FDA."

• ang...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 25, 2021

"My daughter started Wixela 250/50 approximately 2 months ago due to insurance not paying for Advair. Her asthma on Advair was being well controlled. Since using Wixela, she has developed asthmatic lung and has coughing 'fits' so bad that she can't sleep, walk up stairs, and has barely left the house because she can't control the coughing. We've tried everything from caffeine drinks to honey to cough drops, but nothing worked. Her asthma doctor had to prescribe cough medicine and Tessalon Pearls to help with the cough. We are going back to Advair! This medicine is causing the same issues that we are trying to stop - difficulty breathing! It should be removed by the FDA."

• Bob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 14, 2020

"Have been on Advair for the past 18 years without problems. Now insurance changed to Wixela, and my symptoms have gotten so bad that I now have to use a nebulizer. This Wixela is not a good prescription."

• JFr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2019

"I had been taking Advair since it came out and only had problems when I forgot a dose. I switched to Wixela as soon as it came out, it was a $100 per month savings. I am extremely happy with it. I only have problems when I forget a dose. If they add a reminder alarm, I’d probably never have to use my rescue inhaler. I’m 56 and have had asthma since I was 3."

• Wix...
• January 31, 2022

"To my fellow veterans: the VA switched me from Symbicort to Wixela. Now I can’t breathe. I have to use two other inhalers. Went to the emergency room, they put me on steroids to breathe better. I thought I had COVID, the nurse even said the Wixela is rubbish. I kept trying to get my doctor to change me back to Symbicort. It takes an act of God to put in a request to the pharmacy. Then I got a letter with a box of a higher strength of the rubbish, so I tried the higher dose for about two weeks, and it’s even worse. Before, I was only using Symbicort and rarely a rescue inhaler. So I went to patient advocate, and thank God after five days, I got Symbicort in the mail. So just tell your doctor to put in a request for Symbicort, and then when you get denied or if he doesn’t put the request in, go to patient advocate at your VA, and I guarantee you’ll get back on Symbicort. Hope this helps."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 1, 2022

"Female and a vet. Express Scripts (ES) substituted Wixela for Advair without notice. Gave it a go, and it gave me asthma! Had been using Advair for decades without issues and rarely had to use my ProAir inhaler. Wixela side effects: tightened chest, labored breathing, coughing, therefore, could not walk short distances, sore throat, headache, plus hives! Notified my doctor and quit taking Wixela. Side effects subsided, hives disappeared, yet I had to use my rescue inhaler several times a day. Doctor submitted a prior authorization (PA) and new script for Advair, as prescribed, no substitute or generic to ES. PA was denied without any rationale. Was told by ES that only the doctor could appeal. Submitted a letter to my State Senators through the American Medical Association - Improving Seniors' Access to a Timely Care Act (S.3018), explaining this all. Also submitted a grievance to Medwatch - FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program. Others should do the same."

• 24h...
• February 6, 2021

"Forced by insurance to switch from side-effect-free Advair 500/50 to Wixela. At first, I could not figure out why I was nauseous every morning and evening, and it only kept getting worse. After five or six days, the nausea was extreme, and that evening I was vomiting and flu-like twenty minutes after my evening dose. Finally put it together and realized Wixela was not only causing it, but was probably the reason my cough and phlegm level had been worse that week. Of course, my doctor insisted it is 'the same,' and the insurance has denied my request to go back to Advair. This product is NOT the same. Reading the horror stories on here has convinced me that this medication is dangerous. I will be rationing my precious Advair. Cannot afford $400 a month for it. Hopefully, my doc will switch me to something else, but Advair works so well, I am livid."

• Doo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 17, 2021

"Using Wixela 500 for 4 months. Inferior product - shocking that it passed FDA. Mechanism is terribly awkward - difficult to open and hold while pressing down on 'release' handle, particularly with arthritic hands and fingers. Should be redesigned or taken off the market. Not even close in comparison to Advair."

• Wen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2021

"I ended up going to the ER after taking my first dose due to an adverse reaction. I had trouble swallowing, felt short of breath, tightness in my chest, face flushed, fast heart rate, and numbness and tingling in my fingers."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 21, 2021

"I have COPD and asthma. Wixela makes me cough. When you can't breathe well, trying to breathe in powder is ridiculous. It does not work as well as my Advair HFA did. Walking to the mailbox, maybe 60 feet, I shouldn't have to use my rescue inhaler."

• AJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2021

"I was on Breo for about 3 years and was breathing normally. I never had to use my albuterol inhaler. At the beginning of the year, the price of Breo skyrocketed for me, so I decided to try Wixela. It never worked. It started with a sore throat (I am very careful to rinse my mouth and spit out the water after each use). After a few days, the coughing started. I tolerated that only because it was a weekend and I couldn’t call my doctor. I am going back to Breo. I’m so angry that this drug was approved. My scenario was mild compared to what others are going through. Scary stuff."

• Brk...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 5, 2021

"I’ve only been on this inhaler for a week, and I had to stop immediately. It makes me extremely jittery - I feel like I’ve consumed 1000 cokes and coffees. It also gave me muscle spasms in my fingers and made my voice extremely hoarse. That being said, I do feel like my breathing got better, but I cannot deal with the side effects at all. I’ve since switched to another inhaler. Hopefully, that will work out better for me."

• ast...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 18, 2021

"Wixela is awful. Like many other folks here, my asthma was well controlled with another medication - in my case, a very low-dose Advair. When my insurance forced me to switch to Wixela, it didn't work at all. My doctor increased dosage a couple of times, and still no relief. In these days of Covid, every time I cough, which is all day long, people around me look terrified. (I've tested negative for Covid many times. This is just my asthma.) Why is this Wixela garbage even still on the market? I'd give it a zero rating if that were an option. It does not work."

• Sha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 4, 2021

"Due to my insurance not wanting to pay for the Advair I’ve been taking for years, I was given Wixela. With Advair, it worked perfectly. With Wixela, I couldn’t walk to my kitchen without being out of breath. I had such a hard time going up a flight of stairs. It didn’t control my COPD at all. I couldn’t function at work, and everyone could hear me breathe. On Advair, no one could suspect I had any breathing issues. Scientifically, it should work, clinically, it did not. Thankfully, my pulmonologist reached out to my insurance company, and I was given Advair again. Wish it worked, it is cheaper."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 3, 2022

"Please read this. I used Advair for years, then the pharmacy substituted Wixela. It did nothing. Went back on Advair, and it was great. Then the doctor asked if I could try the generic made by Prasco. It was very good and have used it for a couple of years now. Turned out it’s Advair's own generic. Give it a try. I have been very happy with it. It even comes in the same dispenser as Advair. I don’t know what the deal is with Wixela because it’s supposed to be the same medication, but I agree with what I’ve read here. It has a problem!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 2, 2022

"Previously shared my experience with Wixela on 1 Oct 2022 and wanted to share this update to help others. Had been using Advair for 23 years, and then I was switched to Wixela, which had horrible side effects. Although it is therapeutically equivalent to Advair Diskus, I discovered that it was the fillers used in Wixela that I had a bad allergic reaction to, which actually induced asthma (among other things). I had reported my experience with Wixela to the FDA; they did contact me, and I then gave them an update about the fillers as being the culprit. Tricare/Express Scripts did originally deny a prior authorization for Advair as prescribed, no generic; however, my doctor's office kept up the fight and finally gained approval. I now have my Advair back and am doing well, and I have prior authorization approved for a lifetime."

• Do...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 11, 2023

"I, like, many of you had been switched to this horrible drug for the same reason insurance not covering Advair. I have been sick for a month and had two trips to emergency and two trips to urgent care. It took me a bit to figure out what the heck was going on I did not make the connection as soon as I should have. My vision was blurred and declined, I had unexplained bruises, numbness in my legs and arms, fuzziness and dizziness, horrible indigestion, shortness of breath, and horrible pain in my upper back. One of the trips to the ER found a mass on my lung not cancer unsure at this point where it came from. Since I have stopped using it in only two days I feel human again I really thought I was dying, it was the scariest thing I have ever been through."

• Gar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 19, 2021

"I have more problems with the inhalers not working. I have returned one, and I have six more that are not working. When you try to use them, all you hear is a crinkling sound. Now I have to try and get my money back from OptumRX, which is a rubbish mailing prescription provider, and I will not be using them anymore. They did not care the inhalers didn't work and told me to call the manufacturer."