Generic Name: Wixela Inhub (fluticasone-salmeterol)
For Asthma, Maintenance "I was recently taken off Symbicort and it was replaced with Wixela. The VA changed to this medication most likely due to cost-effectiveness. I gave it two weeks to work and a couple of times after using it, within one and a half hours, I was actually gasping for air. This never happened on Symbicort. My physical activity has been reduced to almost nothing where before I could get in at least 6 hours of light physical activity daily. I have used my rescue inhaler more times in the last two weeks than I did for the first eight months of 2021. It is so sad when your quality of life is robbed because it's too expensive to give it to you."
For Asthma, Maintenance "Absolute garbage! I was switched over from Advair a week ago. My asthma has been completely under control for years with Advair. After one week of using this, my chest gets tight a couple of hours after using it, and I have mucus building up in my lungs that causes me to cough and hack all day. I’m actually better off just not taking any medicine at all. How did this drug get approved?"
For Asthma, Maintenance "Was on budesonide for 5 years. It worked great! Then somehow the prices got jacked up of meds that work, so insurance won't cover it. The VA won't cover it and Medicare won't cover it. This WIXELA CRAP is dumped on the poor, the veterans, and the unrepresented by congress. I want my Budesonide. I emailed Maggie Hassan. She says she's for the vets. Actions speak louder than words."
For Asthma, Maintenance "Terrible! Insurance just changed formulary, adding Wixela Inhub and dropping Advair for what they'll cover. I noticed a difference within a week, needing to use my albuterol inhaler nearly daily now when before hardly ever. I have a lot of mucus now when I didn't before. Everyone should be complaining to the FDA and their state insurance commissioner. Insurance companies should NOT be able to cover only cheaper drugs when they don't work, and the FDA should require this drug to be taken off the market. Horrible."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I was switched to Wixela from Symbicort within the VA. Does nothing for me except a sore throat. I engaged it to work and tapped it on a clean, flat surface, and the powder feels like a gritty, fine powder or sand. I think it ought to be removed from the market. Don't know how the VA was sold on this terrible product. Want my Symbicort back that works for my lungs."
For Asthma, Maintenance "So first off, check your expiration dates. I noticed my inhalers were only good for 5 or 6 months from the pharmacy pick up to expiration. Advair was always a year. Something's wrong with that. Next, I switched to Wixela due to Advair being over $400.00 to fill. The medication delivery was poor. I never felt much relief. I started getting tighter, coughing more, had frequent exacerbations, and was put on prednisone, nebulizer treatments, etc. I have not had to do that in close to 10 years. This drug is worthless! Back to Advair even though I'll have to get a second job just to pay for it."
For Asthma, Maintenance "My asthma was well under control until I was forced by my insurance company to use Wixela three months ago. Now, I have a chronic cough again, it's affecting my vocal cords, and I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest several times a day. I'm using my rescue inhaler all day long (I was using it MAYBE twice a month), cough medicine 24/7, sleeping practically sitting up, and buying/using cough drops like they're going out of style. But to go back to my original inhaler, I'll have to fork over $300 more per month (four months ago it was $40/month). The problem is 1) big pharma 2) insurance companies putting profits before health and 3) the device used to dispense the Wixela may be flawed. There is no way I am receiving the dosage I am prescribed."
For Asthma, Maintenance "After reading bad reviews, I gave Wixela Inhub a chance for a couple of months, and I have to agree with the reviews. The dispenser itself is poor and causes the powder to get all over the back of my throat and tongue instead of into my lungs, and I’ve been coughing and wheezing a lot more on Wixela than I did on Advair. I’m not gambling with my health anymore so that my insurance company can save money, and I’m going back to Advair. You should too."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I was switched to Wixela in the last three months and since then I have been getting sicker. I now have cold sweats, irregular heart rate, pounding heart, worsening asthma symptoms, three bouts with bronchitis, chronic cough, and having to use albuterol when my asthma was well controlled for 10 years. Wixela needs to be removed from the market."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I had just recently been put on Wixela Inhub like everyone else who was on Advair. I have been taking Advair for many years having NO side effects at all, and it working very well for my asthma. As soon as I started using the Wixela Inhub, I started to get severe heart palpitations/racing and after only a couple of days, had to stop taking it!!! WAY too dangerous!! My pharmacist said that if my Doctor fills out an 'adverse side effect form' on it, etc., that he will be able to put me back on Advair, and it still be covered!! By the comments here and how I feel from the Wixela Inhub, it should be taken off the market!!"
For Asthma, Maintenance "I agree with the comments. After 2 months on Wixela I am having severe problems with my asthma. 10 years on Advair with no problems. I too believe the dispensing mechanism is defective since the active ingredient must remain the same by law."
For Asthma, Maintenance "This Wixela Inhub inhaler does not work at all, and I think the problem, at least with mine, is that no powder is coming out. Like others, the first few times it spit a gross amount of powder in my mouth, but after about 10 uses that stopped, and now zero powder is coming out. I think it's a double-edged sword; if powder comes out, it comes out in a consistency that is too big and doesn't penetrate into the lungs. When it stops doing this, nothing comes out, which it's probably clogged, but there isn't any way to take it apart and clear a clog like you can with an aerosol inhaler."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I am a 50-year-old female with no health issues other than occasional mild asthma from air quality and high pollen count issues. I’ve used Advair as a maintenance inhaler for years with no problems. I developed cough variant asthma right in the height of COVID. The pharmacy switched me to Wixela without even telling me, I didn’t know until I opened the bag. I used it for 2 months and developed the worst raw and sore throat of my life, heavy chest pressure, and rapid heartbeat (I could feel my heart pounding). I stopped using Wixela 4 weeks ago, and the sore throat and chest pressure have gone away, but my heartbeat is still rapid, I can feel it when I’m in bed falling asleep! Now my doctor has ordered a stress test, etc., to figure out what’s going on with my heart. Stay away from Wixela! This is a very dangerous drug!"
For Asthma, Maintenance "Wixela is the worst! I was given Wixela for asthma maintenance at the worst of times (Pandemic). Everything you fear about COVID-19 is just about the same side effects as Wixela. I couldn’t stop coughing and have never had so much phlegm in my throat. I was horrified! Suffice to say, after taking Wixela for 3 weeks in March, I stopped as it was the only new thing I introduced to my body, and 2 days after stopping, my cough and phlegm disappeared completely. If it wasn’t for my wife not getting sick, I would’ve thought I was infected with the virus."
For Asthma, Maintenance "After using Advair for years, I was given a Wixela prescription. Within a month of using, I now sound like I did years ago before treatment began. Cough, irritation to the throat, and mucus. Had none of these with Advair. Insurance won’t pay for Advair since the generic is available, and the generic is making me more sick. There has to be something we can do!!"
For Asthma, Maintenance "I've been using Advair for years, and what a relief, as it worked great. I switched to the generic three months ago and have progressively been getting worse. This last month was terrible. I'm going off to see if another medication gets me back to where I was. I'll report results later. My condition seems consistent with others on the generic. Does not seem to work. Dangerous."
For Asthma, Maintenance "Mild asthma patient, with everything under control using Advair Diskus 250/50. As with others, my insurance stopped paying for the brand name and had to switch to Wixela. My symptoms went from non-existent (with Advair) to bad to worse. Stopped taking Wixela and things got better, and I only had regular (!) asthma. Paid out of pocket for the Advair and everything was wonderful again. One year later - chest pain is better, but not like it used to be. I now need a higher dosage of Advair than ever before, I will need to pay $4,000 a year for it, but it keeps me healthy. The FDA should do something."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I had to switch to generic due to insurance. I started using this a month ago and found my symptoms have increased. I have a lot of phlegm and coughing a lot. Due to the cough, I am sleeping less and feel tired during the day and very little energy. I have a call into the doctors to send a script for Advair 250/50 and will have to pay the high cost."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I was using Breo for years, thankfully because there was a coupon. Otherwise, my insurance would never cover it, nor could I afford it. The coupon was discontinued during the pandemic (of course!), and I could not afford to purchase it even with some insurance coverage. My doctor prescribed Wixela, and it is basically worthless. It requires two inhalations a day vs. Breo's one, the inhaler itself is strangely designed, and I can feel the powder all over my tongue. The biggest issue is that I cannot breathe. One puff of Breo and I was out running five miles. With Wixela, I am gasping for air."
For Asthma, Maintenance "Please don't use this drug, Wixela Inhub. I started using Wixel 2 months ago. I'm always afraid of new medicine, so I started taking it at 2 puffs a day for my asthma. I developed a sore throat, headaches, a hoarse voice, then heart racing. I have a neurological illness as well, so I thought it was the problem. 3 weeks ago, I had a possible TIA (mini-stroke). I'm only 55. I lost sight totally in my left eye for hours, with increased weakness and a headache. Today, I thought to look into this inhaler for side effects. Then I checked the reviews here. I won't ever use this again. I need to live to care for my daughter. This medication shouldn't be on the market."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I have used Advair for many, many years - it works great! Now they have switched me to Wixela, and I am constantly out of breath and using my rescue inhaler all the time. It is a miserable substitute!!!!"
For Asthma, Maintenance "I copied the review just below, as it is exactly what I have dealt with since the VA switched me from Symbicort a few months ago. My stamina and ability to breathe have gone way down, and I figured out it started within a month after the switch to this garbage. arsailman 'Short of Breath Taken for less than 1 month September 27, 2021 “I was recently taken off Symbicort and it was replaced with Wixela. The VA changed to this medication most likely due to cost-effectiveness. I gave it two weeks to work, and a couple of times after doing it within one hour and a half I was actually gasping for air. This never happened on Symbicort. My physical activity has been reduced to almost nothing, where before I could get in at least 6 hours of light physical activity daily. I have used my rescue inhaler more times in the last two weeks than I have for the first eight months of 2021. It is so sad when your quality of life is robbed because it’s too expensive to give it to you.'"
For Asthma, Maintenance "Very disappointed with Wixela, this new generic asthma medication. I was on Wixela Inhub for three months and finally had to go back to my doctor to get Advair. I had constant coughing followed by phlegm and chest congestion. I was using my emergency inhaler several times a week and several times on prednisone. I started using over-the-counter cough medication just to stop the coughing so I could sleep. During the day, I used throat lozenges to keep the cough from starting. I talked to the pharmacist about the differences between Wixela and Advair and was told that it had the same ingredients, except the fillers might be different. Some generics just don’t work, and pharmacies need to listen to the patients. The price difference is insane!"
For Asthma, Maintenance "This is the worst inhaler I've ever used. I was forced to switch to this due to insurance not covering name brand. I've had nothing but problems breathing since I started taking it. I've been fighting constantly with the insurance to cover the name brand, even at a higher price, but it's super difficult. How can they still sell this stuff? It's horrible."
For Asthma, Maintenance "I'm a 64-year-old female, and have been using Advair for years for asthma, it worked great! Now I can only get Wixela because my insurance won't pay for Advair anymore, and it's super expensive to buy. I only used the Wixela two times, and both times I was so light-headed I could hardly stand up. The second time I used it, I was light-headed and felt like the powder was so heavy and thick on my throat it choked me. Also, that afternoon I went to the store, my husband drove me because I was light-headed. I went into the store and my foot started to drag, and I couldn't lift it up hardly. I thought I was having a stroke, so I went to the hospital and had every test you can have: CT scan, MRI, MRA, and echocardiogram. Also, tons of blood work done, and everything came back great, nothing wrong with any of the tests. So they said maybe a possible TIA only because of symptoms I had, never had another symptom since that was two months ago. I will NEVER use Wixela again."
Advair Diskus, Advair HFA, AirDuo Digihaler, AirDuo Respiclick
Advair Diskus, AirDuo Digihaler, AirDuo Respiclick
