... since roughly 2001. Medicare switched me to a new plan for 2013, since my old plan's prices have gone way up (I get extra help, due to finances, so money IS a big issue). Unfortunately, my new plan does not cover Advair, and I'm clueless as to what else will work in maintaining the status quo of my lungs. I only have a pain mgmt doctor presently, and he is happy to prescribe my asthma medication for me... I just don't have any idea what I should request to replace my Advair! I just can't afford to get a second doctor, pay the additional co-pay for office visits, etc
What is a good substitute for Advair? I've been taking Advair successfully for adult-onset asthma?
Question posted by guineapigslave on 8 Jan 2013
Last updated on 5 October 2022
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
19 Answers
stevedad
12 April 2019
Good news. As of Feb 2019, for the first time a generic has been approved for Advair all strengths. It is called Wixela. Look it up on the internet. It supposedly is selling for 70% less then Advair and has the exact same ingredients as Advair. This company also has a patient assistance copay card if you qualify. I think the manufacturer is Mylan. Is has not hit the formulary list yet on my Medicare advantage plan but my doctor has to put in a request for pre-authorization. Finally a generic for Advair and other asthma inhalers. Hope this helps.
ddaysr
5 Oct 2022
They forced my wife, who has been oin advair for some time onto Wixela and it caused breathing and wheezing issues in her.
Grphii7535
23 Jan 2018
I have been taking Advair but since my new health insurance will not cover it and it cost$388 which I cannot afford ,I was wondering if there is something over the counter that I could use as a substitute ?
THANK You
GRADY Phillips
Tmsestito
30 April 2017
I too am on Medicare, due to financial issues I also receive Extra Help and I subscribe to a supplemental plan, AARP United Healthcare Medicare, my cost after meeting the deductible is $47.00. I have found that the only inhaler that extra help covers is the Respi Emergency Inhaler. I however found out that I qualify for FREE Advair inhalers once I meet a $600.00 prescription total. If you are interested, I'd be happy to share this information with you and perhaps you too will qualify.
Dieseldon69
10 Sep 2016
I have plenty of advair disk,never opened.if you need it let me know,I've been in your position,I will help,if you need.Diesel Don.
Searat7
15 Aug 2016
In Thailand the Seretide inhaler is the same as Advair. I pay about $19 and it contains 60 doses.
advairuser
18 July 2016
Check out CanadaDrugs.com to find a generic equivalent for Advair. It's made in England and costs about 60% of Advair. I've been taking Advair 500/50 and the cost for me just jumped from $47 per month to $222 since I'm now in the "donut hole." I've used CanadaDrugs in the past and found them professional and reliable. (I have no connection to them other than being a customer.) The generic they offer is also Fluticasone proprionate and Salmetrol just like Advair.
robtuner09
31 March 2016
Where is my answer
Colleen42
27 Jan 2016
Flovent would be a good substitute
draugr 32
30 Oct 2015
Well when I ran out, I tried the nebulizer, with Budesonide an Albuterol sulfate. Up to Doc for mg an mcg you need.Anyway it helps pretty well, but I still feel like I'm not breathing well but maybe it's cause I've used Advair for awhile I don't know. I think though it might help you, everybody is different so I would.give it a try
Sherryk1957
2 Feb 2016
The Adair has steroids in it. Its the preventive where the nebulizer is fast acting. I have COPD and I register to do these trial medication. Its a win win. A doctor sees you and you get medicine for free plus gets paid for it. You can ask your doctor if he knows of any or check on internet. My pulmonary doc told me to get into them. Just a thought.
parblar
19 Aug 2015
I know that there are companies that work with nebulizers to replace advair. If you have Medicare part B, ask your Dr if they know of a DME in the area that can provide your meds that way. If you have a secondary, they bill that too so you may have no copay.
robertwc
28 May 2015
Have you called GSK Company they will give it to you free if you meet income criteria.
gffg4000
23 Nov 2014
At age 85 I have seen a lot of meds go thru my lips. If you would go to pharmacychecker.com you would see a list of worldwide licensed and registered pharmacies. Type in your drug and check them all out. Many brand names have generic alternatives including Advair, Symbicort and Spiriva. I only order the ones that are cheaper than my copay. Each pharmacy listed has a profile you can check out. It will tell you how they do, including reviews. A valid prescription must be faxed with each order. I always allow 30 days lead time. Shipping is usually 10.00 per complete order.
ctirish
22 Oct 2013
I don't know if you have resolved this problem but this is exactly the type of problem where you can get help from your State or U.S Senators. They have staffs that will help you get through the red tape to get the medication you need especially if you are on Medicare or Medicaid. I use Advair and I am on Medicare.
Good luck with this...
guineapigslave
24 Oct 2013
Thank you ctirish... that IS a good idea, although Florida (where I live) is swarming with Republican politicians who want to CUT my Medicare and don't give a rat's tuchas whether I breathe or not! I have resolved the problem... sort of. I'm using Symbicort, which seems to work well when taken properly. The problem is that it doesn't fit into my pathetically tight budget, so I have to stretch it by only taking half the dose prescribed to me by my doctor. Even with the "Extra Help" program I'm on, the Symbicort costs $34 and change for a prescribed one month supply (for those that aren't familiar with it, "Extra Help" is an additional discount available for Medicare prescription plan recipients who cannot afford the regular Medicare pricing... yea, I'm broke). I'd rather make sure my guinea pigs are supplied in hay and pellets, so I skimp on the Symbicort. Aren't I a good mommy?!
Hugs and peace to all!
Erica
ctirish
24 Oct 2013
Erica, I hear you. On 60 minutes a couple of weeks they did a show that documented the number of people on Social Security Disability and Medicare had tripled in the past 10 or 15 years. Evidently the ads on TV where you can hire a lawyer who promises to get you SSD has swelled the roles tremendously. They believe people fought for SSD because they ran out of their unemployment benefits. Now many senators want to throw everyone off it and start over with more stringent requirements. That will never happen but I do think they will weed out the ones that can work and reduce the numbers. I have been on SSD for many years and wish every day I could go back to work, I miss it so much. Just the camaraderie, getting out every day and learning new things would be great.
espiritalca
13 Dec 2013
I am ticked off at GSK who I believe makes Advair which I have been on successfully for 10 years. This year I entered the Medicare donut hole... for me Advair is now about $1.75 PER PUFF... twice a day. I would complain except that the U S government DOES offer Medicare to us seniors. Without Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson, I'd be s**t out of luck, having worked as a helping professional for 40 years. I'd be earning about $500 a month in pensions and have NO medical coverage, much less prescription discounts.
Come to think about it, I will complain... about the CEO's who take home $3-5 million dollars a year salary... plus stock benefits etc AND pay no taxes because their companies are not in the U S and money is off-shore somewhere. I think they deserve to be paid a good salary for what they do... but is anyone worth millions of dollars a year? How can it be that some people earn that much and others earn $7.25 an hour?
lilly231
29 Jan 2014
No and George Clooney making 25 million dollars for a movie and not like a CEO who actually provides jobs for people
lilly231
29 Jan 2014
Espa are you mad at athletes thtat make 100 million dollars, way more than CEO's, are you mad at Hollywood actors'actresses for making 100 million dollars? If your not it shows your hypocrisy and you know nothing.
lilly231
29 Jan 2014
Well Obama promised we would not lose are healthcare and doctors. WRONG. HE LIED. I now have obamacare and premiums are doubled over what I had. Advair is now not covered ovn Obamacare. Obama and all the democrats lied. To prove it, the democrats that voted for it got an exemption to obamacare and kept their private insurance. Even though as of Jan.24th 2014 70% of americans were against Obamacare they forced it down our throats. Yet the liberal media keeps supporting it even though people are against it. Hey Obama you lied , come tell my 2 asthma young daughters what your gonna do for them cost wise. You Liar
4N Substances
27 Feb 2013
Hi my friends, I was reading this old post this morning and really laughing-we do have fun, don't we, when we occasionally get off track?? Ha Ha Ha you are a hysterical bunch. And me I'm off the track (or off my rails?) most of the time!
But on a more serious note... what's with our inhalers?? Advair is now unavailable in the US until further notice??? I'm going back to pretending I don't have asthma I think. I know that is childish, but, according to JAMA, there is a school of thought in the Pulmonary Specialty that daily inhalers are actually not needed/effective. This was published last year. Well, I'm off to the aviary now to take care of my 15 rescue parrots. I know, I know, their "powder" contributes to lung problems. I might just love myself to death in the long run because of my birds.
Love to all of my pals...
Frenchie
guineapigslave
5 March 2013
Hi Frenchie! I haven't been on Drugs.com is quite a while, so I'm very sorry for the absence! My last 4 or 5 comments never got posted (and no, I did not use any curse words or other fluffery to get me booted!), which really T'd me off, since I spent quite a few brain cells coming up with apropos answers! In other words... I've been sulking!
Did you really hear that? That Advair is now unavailable in the US? Well, I guess that explains why it isn't on my Medicare formulary. Ugh! I hate to change my medication when it has worked so well for me. When I had no insurance and couldn't get my Advair, I was wheezing terribly, even with the mega-hits of Albuterol in my lungs!
Anyway, greetings to everyone... and hopefully THIS comment will get posted so you can read my greeting!
Hugs and love to my buddies!
Erica
Janetredhead
19 March 2017
Someone said they don't prescribe Advair in the us anymore. Not true. My dr. Prescribed that for me today but with insurance cost just under $400!!! I don't understand how they get away with this! Needless to say I couldn't afford that much money. I was told there was not a generic for this. My previous Dr. Prescribed albeuterol but didn't work well. He dr today said he wanted to try a different kind of inhaler hense the advair script. Does anyone know of an inhaler that works like advair and doesn't cost as much as my health insurance costs monthly?
rangerlove7
21 April 2017
I'm having the same trouble... my insurance plan makes me order three months at a time, and for some rude reason, no co-pay (have to pay everything) until I've paid in $3000. 3 months supply of Advair is $987. Needless to say, I absolutely cannot afford that. I've been living on my rescue inhaler (ProAir) and allergy meds until I can figure out something else.
And yes, I've looked at alternatives, the cheapest one is Dulara at $780+ for 3 months.
smileyhappy
9 Jan 2013
Just bring your list to the pharmacist! He will know which one is compatible to Advair for sure.
Good luck,
guineapigslave
12 Jan 2013
Smilehappy, you are correct! That's a good idea and I will get the formulary together and send my Jeff over there to see what the pharmacist can find for me. Thanks for the advice... such a simple solution, yet I never thunk it!
Thanks to everyone who has helped me with this dilemma! You are truly good people, and I pray for the health of everyone here!
Hugs to all! {{{{{hugs}}}}} Erica
smileyhappy
12 Jan 2013
Welcome!
eli4yoga
26 July 2016
I can tell you that spiriva and ad air are entirely two two different medications. Spiriva can be take in conjunction with singular, a steroid inhaler, and albuterol. I used to take symbicort or dulera as my steroid inhaler. I've taken medicines for copd because for a long time I use chromalain nasal and nebulizer solution and that helps a lot
There are other medications that work better than spiriva
It's like trudoza it works really well by itself, but I would say check with your specialist or pcp as what good for one may not be conducive for others and depends on other health factors. The doctors are good at what they do, so trust them. I've found many generics to work better than brand name steroid inhalers
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