Allergy drug symptoms and conditions

My allergies caused nearly constant painful sinus pressure, drippy nose (I should have bought stock in Kleenex to profit from my box-a-day use), asthma, getting gradually worse all the time--it was as though I'd had the flu for 10 years (I'm 54). I was taking Claritin in the morning and Zyrtec at night, which only toned down the most severe symptoms. I was on Prilosec as well, as one doctor though acid-reflux might exacerbate the asthma. My family and I are avid hikers, but I haven't been able to breathe well enough to join them for years, even with daily Ventolin and Flovent. I've only been taking Singulair for two weeks, but it has made all the difference. I feel "normal" instead of sick for the first time in a long time. So, for me, it does work. But my stomach's been killing me--like a bleeding ulcer (which I had 25 years ago). I'm hoping that will subside or going back on Prilosec (expensive!) will counteract it. I've also had the weirdest dreams--very vivid and disturbing. Because I did research online before taking Singulair (Doctor uttered not one syllable about side effects), I recognize the dreams are from the Singulair. Because I understand what is causing them, I can easily set them aside when I wake up. I think anyone who's had mental or emotion problems could be sent over the edge by the dreams unless they had a clear understanding and acceptance that the allergy drug caused them. I would be easy to think something was wrong with you to dream such bizarre, violent stuff. (I'd give examples, but I've truly trained myself to forget all about the dreams as soon as I wake us, so I don't remember the dream events now.) I'm quite concerned about children taking this drug. Maybe not everyone has this disturbing-dream side effect, but how could you explain them away to a four-year old? How would you even know if a younger child was having them? Even children old enough to comprehend shouldn't be subjected to horrific mental images, like the 16 year old above. A tip for people who Singulair helps, but they have the weird dreams--try Melatonin (over-the-counter supplement) at bedtime. I've used it to help me sleep in the past when life events kept my mind too active to sleep for several days at a time. Unlike sleeping pills, it doesn't make your tired the next day, you can wake up easily, and it's not habit-forming--it just lets you drift off on days you otherwise can't. Since I'm concerned about the long-term effects of anything taken frequently, I don't take Melatonin very often, but I did try it after the fourth day of Singulair dreams. I had no memory of weird dreams when I woke up, so it seemed to work, and I didn't remember dreaming the next night either. I only tried it that one day because, as I said, I've trained myself to not be bothered by the dreams.

Wow, I am surprised to hear all the comments on Kenalog. Is it just me, or does it seem like it really effects females negatively? I am a 43 yr old male that has the worse year round allergies known to man. I have had sinus surgery, and been on every known allergy drug that is available. Went to an allergist and started the drop therapy under the tongue, which seemed to make my allergies worse, so after 9 months I quit the drops. I had tried everything, including air cleaners in every room of the house, no pets, and no carpet.
I went to an urgent care one day because I was 100% blocked and would have been happy if my nose was severed from my face at that point. My doctor asked if I wanted to try the Kenalog shot, and I replied give it to me , give it to me!
This was several years ago and I now receive the shot 3 times a year and have never been happier. The only thing that has ever helped my allergies! I don't have any dents in my rear, so maybe it effects females differently than males.

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. researchers found no evidence to support regulatory warnings that Merck & Co.'s Singulair asthma and allergy drug, taken by millions of Americans over the past decade, may be linked to depression or suicide.

The findings will be published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the American Lung Association said in a statement on PRNewswire today. The study was sponsored by the association, which doesn't endorse products, it said.
HOLY COW

Sales of Merck's asthma and allergy drug Singulair dropped 1% to $1.1 billion for the second quarter. U.S. sales have been hurt by the recent introduction of an over-the-counter version of rival drug Zyrtec by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), as well as concerns about the Food and Drug Administration's March alert of a possible association between Singulair and suicide and related behavioral side effects Got this off cnn money,i don't know but thought zyrtec and singulair were different drugs,my son at one time was prescribed both to take at bedtime

My daughter, now 7 years old, took Singulair (4mg crystals) every evening from 12/29/2004-4/3/2008 (with 5 days off in 2/2008 ONLY). She developed significant mood disturbance/mood swings, sleep disturbance/frightening dreams and anxiety/unexplainable fears during this time, which we have now attributed to the drug, Singulair - the ONLY MEDICATION SHE WAS TAKING besides occasional antihistamines (which caused no problem). The drug Singulair clearly caused significant psychiatric symptoms in my daughter which are strikingly similar to symptoms now being attributed to the drug by MANY parents across the country. I suspected Singulair of negatively affecting my daughter and talked to her allergist about taking her off it in 2/2008 (before any news broke about links between Singulair and suicidal thoughts/behavior). The effects of Singulair on the brains of children are NOT UNDERSTOOD and/or NOT reported. I believe that this is a dangerous drug. It has been very difficult to connect the use of this asthma/allergy drug to behavior/mood issues in young children for two reasons. First, improperly trained physicians confuse drug "side effects" with normal child development (a "phase") or psychiatric illness. Second, Singulair has been heavily marketed as "SAFE" (to the medical community and directly to patients and their parents) and therefore has not been suspected when these serious psychiatric disturbances are reported to doctors. Pediatricians and allergists have said for years, "It couldn't be the Singulair" because that is the impression SOLD to them by Merck.

Update about my post about the Chinese researchers who reported leukoteine receptors in the brain. There were a few people who misunderstood what I was trying to say to you. I was trying to say that yes it is possible or at least not impossible that Singulair does interfere with brain function in some people because at least one group of researchers found leukoteine receptors in the brain.

I located an article where a professor at Emory was quoted as saying that psychiatric side effects could be possible if leukoteine receptors exist in the brain. That is what I was trying to say without getting myself in trouble for giving misinformation. There is quite a bit more that I would like to say but I cannot find proof as of yet but I am working on it.

Merck’s Singulair likely to see prescription drop-off only in high-risk populations
By Beth Herskovits and Gayatri Iyer in New York

Published: March 28 2008 19:52 | Last updated: March 28 2008 19:52

This article is provided to FT.com readers by Pharmawire—a news service focused on providing insight into the most price sensitive issues in the global pharmaceutical market. www.pharmawire.com
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Merck’s asthma and allergy drug Singulair may see a decline in prescriptions due to recent concerns about suicidality, but the drop will not be precipitous, physicians told Pharmawire.

The warning will likely cause the biggest prescription fall-off among patients with a personal or family history of depression, or patients with mild disease, they add. The drug is taken daily to prevent asthma attacks and allergies, or as needed for exercise-induced asthma.

”Both my kids are on Singulair - and I’m not going to take them off it,” said Dr Lawrence Ciesemier, an allergist and immunologist who practices Kirksville, Missouri. ”It was a surprise to me that this data came out.”

Dr Gregg Santilli, an allergist and immunologist in private practice at AirCare in Plano, Texas, noted that he has prescribed Singulair - a drug he helped launch - for 10 years without seeing any suicides. ”Apparently this is an extremely rare event,” he said. ”This drug has certainly not been linked in a causative way to this.”

”The real question is whether the is greater than what’s seen in the general population,” said Dr Jay Portnoy, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. ”It’s still an extremely safe and effective medication.”

The FDA announced yesterday that it is ”considering” regulatory action after post-marketing reports seemed to link the asthma and allergy blockbuster to suicidal thoughts and action. Officials said in a statement that they are undertaking a nine-month review of Singulair and three other leukotriene modifying medications: AstraZeneca’s Accolate and Dey’s Zyflo and Zyflo CR.

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HERE IS THE PART ABOUT THE LEUKOTRIENE RECEPTORS IN THE BRAIN

Dr Douglas Bremner, director of Emory’s Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, noted that drugs can cause psychiatric effects when the targeted receptor also exists in the brain. But he added that it’s unclear whether the brain has leukotriene receptors.

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He noted that despite the updated label, the side effects ”sort of flew below the radar.” However, he painted a grimmer picture of the effect on the market, saying this would affect Singular sales badly. People are likely to stop taking it, he added.

Over the past year, Merck has updated its safety label to include reports of tremors, depression, suicidality, and anxiousness, the FDA said.

But Dr George Philip, senior director in clinical research for Merck, noted that none of the reports of suicidality came out of clinical studies. He added that post-marketing reports can be ”sketchy” and ”not well-defined” - making it more difficult to determine whether the drug caused the change in behavior.

Asked about whether certain high-risk patients should avoid Singulair, he said, ”It may be part of the dialogue moving forward. These are still unanswered questions.”

He added that other allergy drugs have also been linked to suicide, including Pfizer’s Zyrtec.

Santilli noted that he would consider each patient’s individual risk factors - and the severity of their asthma - before making any treatment changes. GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair has a black box warning linking it to an increased risk of asthma-related death, he said, and Zyflo patients must be monitored for liver toxicity.

”Every drug has risks and benefits,” he said. ”Singulair seemed to be a very clean, very safe drug.”

Ciesemier agreed. ”I prescribe Singulair daily,” he said, but conceded that ”maybe this wouldn’t be the first choice” for patients with a history of suicidality.

Patients who are taking the drug for allergies, a less serious condition, might be more likely to switch to an antihistamine, Santilli noted.

Singulair earned USD 4.3bn last year, growing 19%, and is the bestselling respiratory product on the US market, according to the company. Merck has a market cap of USD 96.57bn.

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My daughter was on singulair for about 2 years, off and on. Being a teenager, we thought some of the behavior problems were just a "teen" thing. She became dispondent, wanting to sleep all the time. She was hateful and resentful towards her family. She became depressed and talked of suicide. I didn't know what to do. We sought depression counciling.
My mother called me to tell me of the news report she saw. It described what we were going thru exactly!!!
I would NEVER have dreamed an allergy drug could have taken away my loving child and left a terror in its wake!
She has been off the drug for a few weeks now, and I can see a HUGE difference in her behavior. She is getting back to her old self. She told me she didn't realize just how bad it was until she stopped the drug and now feels so very good (read normal!). How terrible!
Even as I am typing this a singulair comercial is playing on TV. How DARE they!
Money and lawsuits will not bring back the years our children have lost, but big companies only respond when "profits" are involved. If there is a lawsuit, I too want no money from it. I do, however, want the drug company to have to pay and pay dearly for what they have done. The money could go to a children's charity.
Maybe the drug company didn't know before, but they know now and the drug is still being sold!

CANNOT STOP CRYING - I started taking Singulair one month ago. I'm a 28 year old female in her last semester of law school. I'm naturally neurotic and high strung, but I usually only cry one week out of the month. That week came and went and I still tear up at the drop of a hat. I watched a youtube Earth Hour video today and had to choke back tears so my husband wouldn't see them. My aunt mentioned Singulair's link to depression yesterday, so I decided to check it out. OH MY GOD! Is this medicine the reason I cried watching a trial the other day? Did this medicine cause me to lay in bed the other morning paralyzed with paranoia about school? I had to talk myself out of bed, and then I spent the rest of the day wondering if my mock trial partner hated me. ANOTHER NOTE - I thought it was the best allergy drug in the world when I started taking it last month, but I did notice that the pressure settled in my chest instead of my head. I'm now on my second round of antibiotics trying to kill the infection in my chest. Hmmm. I guess it's back to being miserable from mountain cedar - better than crying every time I watch a Save the Children commercial.

My son will be 4 next month he was only on Singulair for a month and a half to control his asthma and it has been such a stressful and sad nightmare for me as his mom. He was always been a smart and sweet kid, really calm and had a great attention span now after Singulair I feel like someone took my son and I can't get him back. His behavior is sporadic he has no attention span he can't sit still he has had leg pain, no appetite, not even for his favorite foods. He is about to be kicked out from his preschool because he has shown heightened levels of aggression for no reason and I don't know what to do. The pediatrician tells me that he has been off it for 9 days and it should be out of his system I don't believe it and I'm wondering when my son will be normal again. I feel terrible disciplining him because I feel like its not his fault its this medication that I didn't want to give him in the first place and I regret trusting her because of what its done to my son. There has to be a way to issue some kind of warning or lawsuit against this company this medication is NOT FOR CHILDREN! Please don't give it to your children.

I've been reading a bunch of these posts because my Dr just prescribed Singulair for me. Don't think I will be taking it, unless we can find a way for me to use the purest one, which is the one they give infants.
When the companies do the testing, it's on the active ingredient - the drug itself. And it may have limited side effects. But the inert ingredients that are added can cause a great deal of grief. Many of you have described symptoms that sound like classic reactions to all of the phenol related chemicals in the inert ingredients: the heart palpitations, inability to sleep, increased pain and more. (And that would be why I won't be taking it) There IS a test to check for sensitivity to phenol but hardly any allergists or other Dr's know about it or check for it. Until physicians test for these inert ingredients, people will get sick from what are probably safe enough basic drugs. Unless something has changed this year, (I haven't checked on it lately), there is not even a national database for the pharmacist to use to check for the INERT ingredients. So when they are checking for a potential drug allergy.drug reaction, they are only checking on the active ingredient, not the inerts. I probably need to start campaigning for such a database. LDR