I was diagnosed with moderate COPD in Oct. 07. I too was put on Spiriva and Advair. About 3 mths. on these meds, I had the sickest winter of my life. Pneumonia, bronchitis and 3 months of painful pleurisy. I instantly stopped the Advair. Then, I stopped the Spiriva. And for almost 2 yrs. now, I am doing better without these meds, then when I was taking them. I don't suggest this stopping of meds for everyone. But, personally these meds made me much worse. I agree on the natural supplement approach. I do take a rescue inhaler. But, only when I have to. Just my experience and input.
As to Spiriva, I had to stop using it because it turned my lungs to glue. I stopped Advair because of serious choking that threatened my life. I have moderate COPD and am doing well on Duoneb (an nebulizing combination that contains albuterol) and an antihistamine. As for anything else I depend on natural supplements - vitamin B5, mullein extract, and MSM. I breathe more easily now than I have in two years. (Also Advair resulted in adrenal fatigue which I am now recovering from.)
P.S. Albuterol, if you are using it, is drying. That is another reason for using a mucolytic. I use an albuterol combination in a nebulizer. I can't do without it, but the B5 reverses the drying.
Try a mucolytic (mucus thinner). I take 1000 mg. of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) daily. It works very well and there are no side effects. It even got rid of my sinus headaches. I still eat cheese even though even though I probably shouldn't.
I have emphysema. i use advair twice a day and spiriva one a day. The biggest problem for me is that I always seem to havemucus build up in the mornings. My doctor has told me to try mucinex, but that doesn't seem to work all the time. So i try using albuterol in the morning to help loosen up the mucus so that I can breath better.
What exactly do you have? I have emphysema and coughing and phlegm is not an issue for me. Do you have bronkitis?