Quote Originally Posted by Pedal Wench View Post
Emily, one other thing to consider though - one of my doctors said that studies are finding the people who left their asthma untreated were more prone to emphysema late in life (in their 80's.)
Emphysema? Isn't that something only smokers get? Yikes!

In my case, though, my doctor totally agrees with and supports my decision not to use Advair. I went on it only because I asked her if I could try it to see if it helped with my breathing on the hills -- I felt I was struggling more than my bike club peers (this was in my go-fast mega mile days). I haven't had an asthma attack in decades but felt like I wasn't performing as well as my peers in the bike club. However, it didn't help much and did have side effects. Most of the folks posting on this thread have much more severe asthma than mine, which is classified "mild, intermittent".

I only use one rescue inhaler a YEAR; my asthma is that mild. They expire before I can use them up. I also tried Singulair, but it didn't help either and gave me the runs.