Pretty scary, huh? I used to take Serevent for years—sure am glad I'm still alive! The bottom line is lots of people stopped taking Advair, Serevent, etc. after the black box warnings were issued.
But is that necessary? Should these drugs be taken off the market?
The answer is "probably not." It comes down to analyzing the risk vs. benefit. It's also important to realize that the number of deaths in the studies may have been what is considered "statistically significant", but that doesn't mean the numbers were large. In other words, the risk is large; the numbers not so much.
If you are taking one of these medicines (or one is prescribed), it's important to talk with your doctor. Every treatment decision should be based on individual factors. People who have severe persistent asthma, in particular, often do very well on one of these medicines, especially when used in conjunction with an inhaled steroid.
Inhaled steroids will always be the drug of choice for asthmatics starting out. They are effective, relatively safe, and easy to use. But they won't bring asthma under control in every single instance. In those cases, doctors will look to expand the treatment plan, possibly to include a long-acting bronchodilator.
If you are taking an long-acting bronchodilator like Advair, Serevent, Foradil or Symbicort, it's important to know that if your wheezing worsens and/or won't go away, you MUST let your doctor know right away. It could be a sign that you need a change in medication.
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