Wixela Inhub for Asthma, Maintenance User Reviews (Page 3)

• choo-...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2023

"In the past, I've used Symbicort, which was always very effective. I haven't been using Wixela for very long, but it's way different than using Symbicort. With Symbicort (and albuterol), it's a slow, deep inhale, but with Wixela, it's a fast, deep inhale. I'm not used to that at all. The dispenser is awkward, making the transition more difficult. I haven't needed controller medicines for a while, but my asthma went wild a few months ago, so medication needs adjusting. I'm going from coughing and being short of breath all the time, constantly using my rescue inhaler to Wixela. I prefer the Wixela."

• Steven
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2023

"I only found this after my first use of Wixela because it tasted so bad. Within 30-40 minutes, my lungs unlocked, and the tightness went away. Don't get me wrong, Advair is the stuff of gods. Nothing's ever worked as well on me since Serevent (dating myself there, lol), but this seems to work too. It tastes like someone just crushed a strong aspirin on your tongue. I made a medicine face for a while, but it actually worked. It's too soon after my first usage to note any side effects, but about an hour after using, I'm doing great. Maybe it depends on your type of breathing issue too. I was in the hospital and even died once because of my asthma. I don't know why, but rescue inhalers seem next to pointless for me, comparatively speaking, to nebulizer treatments and stuff like Advair and this Wixela. I don't know, I'm also not too picky; what works works. If it makes it so breathing is comfortable, then it has done its job, which so far it has. Feeling pretty decent."

• James
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 25, 2021

"Was told I was being put on Wixela for my COPD. Tried for 2 days and noticed more shortness of breath, and within a day or so had swelling and sensitive red rash in my whole groin area. I finally got rid of most of that after maybe 1 1//2 weeks , but did not suspect Wixela. This was replacing my symbicort. After my feedback, I had to explain exactly how I used it, and insisted I try again for 2 days. The same happened with everything, and the rash and swelling was worse than ever. It was discontinued, but the rash persisted for more than 3 weeks."

• Kickn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 9, 2022

"VA removed Symbicort from my drugs after regular usage, and put me on Wixela Inhub. Gradually the change became evident with my lungs performance going downhill every day. I couldn't even keep my Drs. Appt. due to colder weather and humidity. I rescheduled hoping for nicer weather. No one seems to believe or care what the feeling is when you just can't breath. FDA needs to look at this drug again, and throw it out. It will take me many months to recover enough to be at all functional, if I ever get back to where I was... and that wasn't great."

• glzco
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2022

"So far horrible with Wixela, it does absolutely nothing for my asthma. VA changed my prescription from Symbicort to this, and now I can barely do any physical activity, stuff is rubbish gives me hoarse throat, cheat tightness, and rapid heartbeat! Please stop prescribing this!!!"

• Doodles
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 27, 2021

"Pharmacy switched out Advair without telling me. When used, the powder just coated my the inside of my mouth and didn't get into my lungs, therefore I went over two months without any medication. Now, four months later I am extremely ill with my lungs clogged with inflammation and infection and I will be a long time recovering. How can insurance companies not give the choice of staying on effective meds or paying the difference in cost."

• Nantais
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 12, 2022

"I was on advair they switch me to wixela 500mg. I had many side effects and could not breath. I could not stop coughing—bad headaches and nightmares. I ended up in the hospital 6 times and finally, they told me to stop taking it and switch back. I ended up in bed for months with chest pain and weakness in the legs. I could not eat or swallow anything. My vision went many times. I had a rainbow lightning vision. This should not be given to anyone. It should be off the market right away. It is not right to switch a person's med at the risk of someone's life."

• Al R
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2022

"I had been on Symbicort for many years for Emphysema, doing fairly well for a degenerative disease. A few months back the VA switched to Wixela. This is the worst drug on the market, and is primarily for Asthma, not Emphysema. How the VA could approve this is a good question, although the new VA Administrator seems to be doing everything he can to cut costs, rather than to properly treat veteran's health. My breathing has gotten so bad I have had numerous xrays and scans to see what's wrong, and I can hardly take a deep breath. I am now on home O2, as I can hardly breath without it. I can hardly walk anywhere, limiting my ability to take care of myself. The VA has offered a replacement as a trial, rather than going back to Symbicort. Let's hope this works well enough to keep me alive."

• bareb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 19, 2023

"I was just given Wixela instead of Alvesco, and was wondering what person in his or her right mind would breathe in this powder. I started using Wixela and I had trouble breathing and had to use a rescue inhaler. I would give this medicine a thumbs down."

• Dinos...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 15, 2022

"They want me to replace Advair with wixela inhub. Theoretically it is the same medicine. Well maybe but it GAVE me such terrible breathing problems I had to stop in in three days. It’s not just that it did not work it had an adverse effect of making me shorter of breath."

• Nan
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 10, 2022

"I had been using Advair since my lung cancer surgery 16 years ago. I have moderate COPD and no issues since using Advair. Tricare recently switched my med to Wixela without notice of change. The Inhub delivery system is useless. Powder stays on back of tongue, none in lungs. I have tried getting prior authorization thru tricare express scripts and was denied. Currently on appeal but not hopeful. Shame on the FDA for approving Wixela as a generic equvilant."

• 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."

• Nyssa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 4, 2021

"This medication has been amazing for me. I don't have asthma but have had a chronic cough for over 18 months due to idiopathic inflammation in the lungs. I started using the Wixela Inhub twice a day and within a week and a half, the cough was totally gone! I am so happy not to have everyone staring at me or angry at me because they think I'm going around in public when sick because I'm coughing all the time. I had to constantly explain to people that yes, I am coughing, but I promise I'm not sick! This medication has stopped the cough and I didn't realize how frequently I was out of breath until suddenly I wasn't anymore. I can't say anything about how well this medication works for asthma, but it is a godsend for idiopathic lung inflammation! I haven't had any of the side effects others have mentioned. The only side effects I noticed have been a slight increase in my blood sugar (average of 80 before eating to an average of 90 before eating) and a mild funny taste after taking it."

• jon
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 2, 2023

"This medication has been a game-changer for me. I started to have breathing problems again (after many years of being free from asthma), so I used an inhaler. Long story short, was using it 7-8 times a day. My doctor prescribed Wixela. I have used it twice a day for the last 3 months and so far, so good. I am a singer and have had no problems yet."

• Breat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 11, 2022

"After years of Advair Discus 500/50 (for COPD) paying as much as $1500 a month But having breathing greatly helped, I went for the generic as advertised the “exact same ingredients” FDA approved…!! From the first inhaled puff to now, after less than two weeks my inability to breathe along with extreme chest pressure has made me a wreck, sleepless and in pain. Getting etting any score at all is CRIMINAL…1.9 out of 10? Who set that up? Now I need to go back to my primary dr, to say I can do without anything but need to breathe. Need the Advair Diskus 500/50. Desperately and apologize for asking for the generic…. Cannot count on sleeping as I wake up repeatedly breathless needing oxygen…with an elephant on my chest!"

• Arthur
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 24, 2022

"I've recently asked the VA hospital for a Bone density scan, was told 2-3x days before I'd hear back from the results.. after I got home, my Pulmonary Dr called 30 Minutes and said I've got Abnormal Bone Thinning for a Male of 59yrs old"

• Dissa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 14, 2022

"Started on Advair as a kid, switched to Breo as an adult because Advair costs increased as I switched insurance providers. Five years after that, I had to switch back to Advair because Breo was no longer covered under my new employer-based insurance, but Advair was. Both Breo and Advair were great for my asthma maintenance. Fast-forward a couple of years to last December when I, once again, switched insurance carriers due to a career change- Advair is no longer covered so I was put on Wixela. I have been using it for about 3 months now and it is a joke. I may as well not be using anything at all. Shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, wheezing.. and having to use my rescue inhaler just so I can walk a mile. I questioned whether I was using it correctly so I re-read the instructions and made sure to follow everything precisely- no change. Maybe the inhaler construction is limiting the delivery of the medication, but it is not worth it. Wixela was a mistake."

• Brybear
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 19, 2022

"Absolutely terrible medication with bad affects. I got put on it birth control because insurance wouldn't cover my advair or symbicort. 100/50 numbed my lip, itchy face and roof of my mouth. Painful heart palpitations. I spent a scary night up all night because I didn't wanna go to hospital during pandemic. Yet it uses the same powders like Teva I was using that was fine. So why is this one so bad and being forced on everyone so hard. When it has so many bad reviews and why would a doctor ever prescribe this?"

• Craig...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 9, 2021

"I have not had a problem, until the counter went under 10. Just feel like I am not getting the correct dose anymore. Went to VA and got a new one. I was just here to see if this was a common problem, when it starts getting near the end."

• Jane...
• September 23, 2022

"I have been on Advair for about 20 + years and have had very good control. Insurance replace with Wixela. I assumed that it would be equivalent to Advair and started using. After 3 days, I was very short of breath. after 4 days, I was struggling to breath and could not move without getting so short of breath that I thought I was going to pass out. I was about to go to the hospital, but had some Advair left and went back to it. Within 2 days, I was able to breath again. Doctor ordered Advair brand name, as Wexela was ineffective. Tricare denied saying it was not medically necessary. So when did breathing become not medically necessary."

• Kris
• August 10, 2021

"Newly diagnosed with allergic asthma; I have no other meds to compare this to. That being said, I can safely say Wixela sucked. I only used it 3 times and quit. I got a strange tight sensation in my forehead after using it, but didn't link it to the med. The 3rd time I used the med, I started to get a burning sensation in my face that wouldn't go away and I felt woozy and anxious. I woke up the next day with tingling skin and a couple of welts on my legs and ankles. I decided to never take the med again and stick to albuterol until the symptoms went away. I noticed the same sensations would come back every time I used a prescription fluticasone nasal spray, which I used to tolerate before this. I can't really recommend Wixela, even for someone who doesn't have Advair to compare it to. The way you breathe it in makes it hard to tell if you're getting a full dose or not. The powder seems too thick. The only pro is that I didn't use albuterol for those two days."

• Weave
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 28, 2022

"I was prescribed the Wixela Inhub for my asthma cough. After three uses, it has already stopped dispensing the medication. The doctor prescribed this particular one because of the lesser cost, but when it does not work, it is just wasted money, time, and I still have a cough that won't go away."

• pat
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 5, 2022

"I have been using Wixela since VA switched from Symbicort approximately 6 months ago. It has worked better for me and with no thrush or other side effects. I have found it easy to use and far more effective than Symbicort."

• mofen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 2, 2021

"AWFUL!!! Doesn't belong on the market. I am new to this condition of copd maintenance and I am short of breath, Symbicort wasn't quite enough. This was the replacement to give me an extra boost. I was back on emergency inhaler 4-6 times a day within 36 hours. This instrument is a 30 supply, NOT!!!! I started this on Oct 5 with 60 puffs; a dose of 2 puffs daily. October the 19th the counter reflected 17!!!! 2 times 14 equals 28; 28 from 60 equals 32. What happened to the remaining 15 doses?? Am I getting the correct dose or is the counter defective??? Also the medication comes out in the form of small pellets that cause you to choke when they hit the back of your throat!!! Not for me!!!"

• bubba...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 12, 2023

"Absolute garbage! I was switched from Symbicort to Wixela by the VA like many others reviewing. I have COPD and never had any exacerbations before. I have had three since starting Wixela. And an endless case of thrush. I am going to stop taking it. My lungs are much worse since starting this garbage. I don't think it's the drug itself. It's the delivery method. Just a course powder that sticks in your mouth and throat. I don't even think any is even reaching my lungs."