Asthma allergies symptoms and conditions

Our son, who is now 6 was prescribed Singulair at the age of 3 due to asthma/allergies. He was prescribed this by an ENT/Allergist. I thought our sons mood swings were due to the fact that we were expecting another child. He was always so happy/loving and playful. When the baby arrived 2 months later, his behavior worsened. Again, I put it on the new baby sister in the house. His moods/anger/outbursts increased. He hit, threw things etc. I told the doc about this and he said it was due to his enlarged tonsils, and they were then removed. Well needless to say, his behavior did not change because he was still on the Singulair. I mentioned the possible side effects to his pediatrician and she said it was a possibility, but to keep him on it because he needed it. Well, 3 years later, in March of this year I took him to an allergist that I had seen years ago. He immediately took him off the singulair (and all inhalers). His moods seemed to brighten a bit, but not they are worsening again. Is it possible for the Singulair to have long term damaging effects. I understand kids have tantrums, etc. Kids are kids, I get that. But he punches, kicks, screams, cries etc. My husband are at a loss. We don't know what to do. Oh, and he is now on Veramyst as needed (march-june, Aug-Oct.). Has anyone else experienced long term effects due to Singulair?

I must admit I am very surprised by all of the side effects of Advair. I have been taking Advair 250 for years and have NEVER had any problems. I'm 28, healthy, thin, and happy. I exercise several times a week. ALL drugs have side effects. I don't think it's fair for anyone to say "don't take Advair, it's a horrible drug" because it works for some of us. I was taking Flovent before but it didn't work for me. I needed a rescue inhaler several times a week. Since I've been taking Advair I don't even fill my prescription for my rescue inhaler! All drugs have side effects, but they don't effect all people!

My son was on a cocktail of Singulair, Zyrtec, Astellin and Nasonex. Like a miracle, his severe allergies cleared up almost immediately. Months later, behavioral changes started to surface. Extreme irritability, major meltdowns over nothing, problems in school and pulling out his facial hair including eyelashes and eyebrows. We stopped the medication in April and he improved. By mid summer, the hair pulling stopped. When his allergies started up again about 10 days ago, I put him back on the Zyrtec, because I was certain the Singulair was causing most of the problems. Within 3-4 days, the emotional outbursts started, panic attacks that never happened before - he said he couldn't breathe. Now the hair pulling is back. Everyone thinks I want to blame medication for his problems, but I am certain that Zyrtec has something to do with these problems in addition to Singulair. We have taken him off Zyrtec 2 days ago. We have a dr. appointment in 2 days and we will discuss all of this with him. In the meantime, his allergies are back and he is miserable. I would rather him be physically sick than mentally at this point.

I am so thankful I found this site! My 4 year old son who suffers from asthma & allergies was just prescribed Singulair on Tuesday 10/21 along with Pulmcort inhaler & Xyzal.The doctor said to give him these daily for a month due to it being Fall. I do not like the idea of him being on any drug let alone 3 at one time. So today I started to do research on them. I will NOT be giving him the Singulair ever again!! He only had it the past two nights. He only had one pill on Tuesday night and by Wednesday night at his basketball practice he was saying he was tired and laying on the floor...this is so not like him. I believe it probably was from this medicine already having an effect on him. I am glad I found this site before he started to have these horrible symptoms that so many innocent children have had. I am going to call his Doctor and ask for something else to give him. What have doctors prescribed for your children in place of Singulair????

I can not believe what I'm reading. My 5 year old was also given Singulair to treat asthma/allergies. He began having night terrors that increased in intensity over the past year. I stopped the Singulair on July 1 and the night terrors have reduced greatly. I am concerned about his asthma though. He has a consistent cough at night and I feel like he needs some type of treatment. Any suggestions?

An element of the side effects of Singulair that are listed here are musculo-skeletal symptoms. Quinolones such as levaquin are known to cause those issues. Singulair is a quinoline, while not the exact same category, their roots are similar. It makes the possibility that the symptoms have a common cause worth pursuing.

Here is an example of some poor rats in Tokyo that were selected to prove that the symptoms in humans were real. Maybe we should tell the levaquin board that at least some of their problems have been known since 1997.

1: Toxicol Pathol. 1997 Nov-Dec;25(6):635-43.Links
Toxic effects of quinolone antibacterial agents on the musculoskeletal system in juvenile rats.Kashida Y, Kato M.
Drug Safety Research Laboratory, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. JDN07402@niftyserve.or.jp

Quinolone antibacterial agents have adverse effects on the musculoskeletal system in humans, consisting mainly of myalgia and arthralgia, and additionally of tendon disorders and rhabdomyolysis. The present study was conducted to examine the toxic effects of quinolones on the musculoskeletal system in juvenile rats using light microscopy, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Single oral administration of 900 mg/kg pefloxacin (PFLX) or levofloxacin (LVFX) was found to induce lesions in the muscle + fascia, tendon + sheath, and synovial membrane, in addition to articular cartilage in the fore- and hindlimbs. Articular cartilage lesions were not necessarily associated with changes in the muscle, tendon, and synovial membrane, or the reverse. Among all lesions, the ankle and elbow showed the highest incidence and severity. Changes were more severe in the PFLX than in the LVFX group. Lesions in the muscle + fascia, tendon + sheath, and synovial membrane were similar and characterized by edema and increased number of mononuclear cells, many of which were positively stained with BrdU, as well as vascular endothelial cells in the Achilles tendon sheath and synovial membrane in the ankle. Electron microscopic examination revealed an increased number of fibroblasts and macrophages and collagen deposition in the matrix of the synovial membrane and tendon sheath. Capillary endothelial cells were hypertrophied, increased in number, and stratified. These results suggest that quinolones have toxic potentials in the muscle, tendon, and synovial membrane in addition to articular cartilage, and that local vascular hyperpermeability may contribute to the development of these lesions.

PMID: 9437810

Our son started taking Singulair when he was 2 for severe allergic rhinitis and cough variant asthma (in addition to Zyrtec, which didn’t control all of his symptoms). He is 5 now. For the last three years, he has been an increasingly violent, difficult, defiant, argumentative, volatile child who has intense mood swings--one minute he’s laughing uncontrollably, the next he’s weeping over nothing. His doctor and therapist recommended that we see a psychiatrist to have him evaluated for bipolar disorder, which used to be unknown in children. Because he has such chronic sleep problems, the doctor also suggested we take him off Singulair (and increase his Zyrtec dose) to see if it improved his sleep issues. Within a week, he was sleeping much better and was a calmer, happier, gentler boy. He suddenly could take “no” for an answer without flipping out and trying to hurt me. We thought that we were just in an unusual, calm window that would shift either to mania or intense sadness or both, any minute. We also thought that his behavior change might be due to sleeping better. We were enjoying the rare reprieve. Over the last weekend, his springtime allergies really flared up. We gave him Singulair on Monday and by noon, he was completely out of control. I had to strap him into his car seat at one point to keep him from hurting either me or himself. It finally occurred to me that Singulair might be causing his “bipolar” disorder. Of course, we stopped the Singulair. After two days he was a new boy. Yesterday, I Googled “Singulair bipolar children” and got a few hits. I am stunned to read how similar other families’ experiences have been to ours and I feel sick that we gave this drug to our child for three years.

I am starting a new post in the hopes that others will see what I am trying to say about the delayed reaction in those that took Singulair for allergies.

If it is consistent that Singulair does not stop allergy symptoms immediately, then the pathways that eventually stop allergy symptoms involve a change in the mast cell function, development and migration (or some combination).

I asked this question for a reason. Are allergy symptoms stopped immediatedly. My question below:

I have a question that will help me continuing looking for information. I can understand that in the case of asthma that Singulair would provide immediate relief. If it is used for seasonal allergies or other allergies without asthma, does it work right away or does it take a period of days or weeks to be effective? If it takes time, could you tell me how long it took in your situation?

My thinking was going in the right direction if the answer below is consistent of everyone or most.

about 2 hours ago on Apr 11, 2008 by catherineevans, #7045
My granddaughter was put on Singulair for allergy symptoms without asthma. Itching, red eyes, terrible congestion, etc. dark circles under her eyes all the time. When we first put her on this, we didn't see any consistent results for 2-3 weeks, then it seemed to 'kick in.' I don't know if this helps. By the way, she was 9, now she's almost 12 and was immediately taken off when this story came out 2 weeks ago.

Then after seeing one response, I gave my reason for asking.

I asked this question because I have a theory of how montelukast really works for allergies as compared to how it works for asthma.

Asthma is a hyper-sensitive state that gets going because the mast cell has a receptor (the leukotriene receptor that Singulair blocks) that sends a signal along a pathway that causes lung tissue to have that extreme response - the wheezing, the airway constriction.

On the mast cell is another receptor the histamine receptor that causes the secretions that make our noses runs and and stuff up. This is not the same immune response as the asthma response. When I saw a post that somebody's doctor said that Singulair is an anti-histamine, NO it is NOT.

So if Singulair does not block histamine immediately and your child's allergies did not go away immediately, then maybe Singulair is working through some other means such as changing normal mast cell homeostasis.
I know that this seems like "what does this mean?" I am really writing this hoping to God that there are people reading this site that know what I am talking about.

Thank you so much for responding. Your answer actually told me what I wanted to know and confirmed my hypothesis. More answers will help. I hope others respond.

PLEASE respond about the length of time that allergies disappeared if you took Singulair for allergies.

Has anyone else that has taken Singulair for awhile tried getting off of it and noticed that their asthma was worse than it was before they started on Singulair? I'm a 29 year old male, been on Singulair for 2 years. After reading these blogs 2 weeks ago, I decided to see if I noticed any difference in my energy level, moods, etc after dropping Singulair. I didn't. But what I did notice during my week-long experiment was that my asthma was way worse. Prior to Singulair, I would only have to use my inhaler if I exercised. During the week that I dropped Singulair, I had to use my inhaler 5+ times daily because I was wheezing...especially waking up in the middle of the night not being able to breath. This never happened to me before I started on Singulair. In any event, I'm back on Singulair now to keep my asthma in check.

My 4 y/o son has very bad asthma/allergies it's been 3mos ago that his Dr. put him on Singulair and he has had no asthma or allergies !!! I was so relieved since he's already been hospitalized 3x for the asthma prior to the meds. The behavior thing is not an issue at home but it is a big issue in public, he starts bouncing off the walls, and is non stop, I don't like taking him anywhere because he gets so wound up,he just starts running from my husband and me, he screams and hides from us. He's in daycare during the day but his teachers say he is a good boy for them. he used to get high strung when he was taking the albuterol / asthmacort (steriods) thru the nebuilzer. So maybe it's just a age thing? I'm not going to just assume it though, I'm going to call the Doctor tomorrow and see what he thinks......

My 8 yr old daughter has severe asthma & allergies. She has been on
Singulair for a few years now. I thought that this was the answer for her.
She's been so much better and hasn't been to the hospital in about 2 yrs.
I am devastated to hear this news but also relieved because now I know why my once confident child has turned into this anxious person with no
self esteem at all. She constantly complains of headaches,stomachaches
and leg pain. She suddenly is afraid of everything, from going in elevators
to going to school. She gets dizzy around a lot of people. She basically does not leave my side. She is missing out on so much fun because of fear. She was never like this. She always says that she is not good enough, pretty enough and hates herself most of the time. She is the middle child so we always passed it off on her not getting enough attention.
I want my confident child back so I took her off Singulair three days ago.
Her doctor recommended giving her Zyrtec if her allergy symptoms flare up.

I have been taking Singulair since it has been on the market. At first along with Advair (that's another disappointment) and now with Loratadine. I have had huge problems with depression, suicide thoughts and horrific mood swings since starting Singulair. It has affected my job performance as I have no motivation to do the work. I have lost interest in being around other people and just want to stay home. I have headaches like no other headaches I ever had; experience anxiety and anger for no apparent reason; sinus problems and troubles with my tonsils getting hard, hurting and producing much crypt fluid. I really don't feel at all like me and this has caused me real concern and diminished my "friend pool" and respect among colleagues because I am erraditic in moods, avoid contact and my anxiety and lack of confidence anymore induces incessant talking. I have read many of the posts and feel so sorry that children have suffered so much taking this drug. I have been in cognitive behavioral therapy and my family physician has a real concern for my well-being and really tries to remedy my depression. I have stopped taking Singulair for 2 days and I know it is awfully soon to make any sound conclusions, but I feel stronger today and better able to cope with people. Being a teacher, I should hope so. I would have never believed that a drug for asthma/allergies would have such untoward effects. Singulair along with Advair should be removed from the market or at least only given to those who show no apparent emotional effects, it's not worth losing a life over.

I have a 10 year old daughter who took Singulair from age 3 until this past November. She has severe asthma/allergies. When she was 6 the night terrors started I informed the pediatrician of this, but they said she probably had sleep apnea. Her concentration level kept her in trouble in school. I never considered that it might be the Singulair. She developed a speech problem and the school speech teacher referred us to a speech pathologist because they thought she might have vocal fold dysfunction. Several specialists later, we wound up at an allergist's office who IMMEDIATELY took her off of Singulair stating that it was a dangerous drug and should have never been prescribed to her.

Her health has IMPROVED off of the singulair and we are doing allergy shots and symbacort with allegra. I wish I could have saved her the emotional roller coaster ride - all because of this drug.

I'm just heartbroken over this. My 6-year old identical twin boys have been on Singulair for 4 years to help control severe asthma. Looking back...I now realize there was a definite "personality" change in both of them after going on it. I've been living with it for 4 years now and have just "gotten used to it." Since October, one of my sons has experienced severe back pain, abdominal pain, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes (though I don't know if this is related), and sadness. I have put him through tests because I just knew something was wrong - he has had an MRI spine, CT chest, abdominal ultrasound, and lymph node biopsy (all negative). I am just crushed because I wonder if I have put him through these tests for absolutely NO reason. That all along, it has been the Singulair. My other son has had insane mood swings for the past 4 years and I had just chalked it up to his personality. He can be extremely mean to his brother and has indicated to me that sometimes he just doesn't "want to be."

The only positive thing out of this is that I learned how insightful my pediatrician is. He took both boys off the Singulair about 6-8 weeks ago. I have noticed a slight improvement in his symptoms, but they have not yet all gone away. I'm hoping there's not lasting damage...

I have been so worried about my 8 yr. old daughter for the last few weeks. She takes Singulair for asthma/allergies and she has become a different person recently...She has been abnormally worried about being forgotten at school, karate, and even church. (She has never been forgotten anywhere!).
She cries at the drop of a hat and is unusually nervous about things.

I was really concerned about it to the point that I was about to take her to her pediatrician and then last night I saw the information on the news, so I have stopped the meds for now, but I don't know what to do to treat her asthma. She has not had an attack in almost a year and I don't want it to start back up again. We only take the Singulair during her bad seasons (spring and fall)...Have put in a call to the Ped. to get an answer...

My 13 year old son was on Singular for several years. I can't remember how long it's been since we took him off, but it's been better than 1 1/2 years. We began a nutrition product for our family and after hearing so many stories of people coming off meds, had the confidence to take him off. He'd been symptom free for a long time. Our family has experienced SO MANY wonderful health benefits from RELIVE products that I'd encourage anyone to check this out and see changes in their health. It makes so much sense to nourish cells so they can help the body combat challenges instead of throwing medication into our bodies every time we turn around. There certainly is a place for proper medication, but let's not always use it as a first resort. Stephen's grades have improved drastically, he has fewer mood swings, he's an all around happier child. I had attributed this to the nutrition but now wonder how the Singular may have factored in to his prior behavior. Please look at nutritional alternatives. Anyone is free to contact me if they'd like to talk more about what we've done. It's been life changing for our family in so many ways.

Hi. My eight year old daughter has been on singular for 6 months. She has had chronic stomach pains that she says feel like pressure. Her appetite is terrible. She always says she isn't hungry. I have to search for anything I think she will eat. She is very tall and very thin for her age. She grew an inch in the last year but gained no weight. First time her growth just stopped. No surprise as she doesn't want to eat. I took her to the doc several times and they think she has acid reflux and have given her 2 different acid eliminators ( which freak me out as well) Said she should see a gastroenterologist. We have appointment in March . I started reading this site and thought well maybe it's the singular. So I called her allergist and told them I was taking her off to see if that's why she has the stomach problems. They said I could since it wasn't a big trigger time(seasonal) and she wasn't sick with any cold or flu) She gets mild asthma when sick. Her allergist asthma doc thinks her stomach aches are related to the mucus dripping into her stomach. I have taken her off all meds to try to see if it could be the Singular. She also has been very tired and can't keep up in her dance classes. Her school teacher had to put her in the front of the class because she said she wasn't paying attention. She seems to lose it over anything that requires focus or attention.She also seems kind of depressed. She is worried that something is really wrong with her. This child used to eat normally and is gifted academically .Her tests results(taken while on the Singulair) went way down from last year. She was put in gifted pull out program from last year results but would have barley made it in this year based on her much lower scores. That does not make sense to me. Never has had attention or focus problems before. I will keep everyone posted. Does anyone know how long it might take to get this drug out of her system? Has anyone else had this kind of reaction to this drug? I also wonder whether she had reflux before but this made it worse? I had her blood tested for Celiac and general stuff and nothing showed up.I wanted to get the Singular out of her system before we see the G.I. doctor. anyway thanks, Elizabeth

I'm a 38 year old male who has had asthma, allergies, and bronchitis ever since I was a small child. I've tried many different medicines and steroids over the past decades to try an control my asthma. I recently was introduced to Singulair by my doctor, and in the first 2 weeks I had no symptoms and my asthma was miraculously controlled. However, after those first initial 2 weeks I started showing some serious symptoms; nausea, joint stiffness, dizziness, lack of energy, dehydration. But the worst side effect is the MIGRAINES! I used to suffer from migraines in the past (about 4 per year that would each last about 2-3 days max.). Now I have had a migraine for the past 10 days, and if you've ever had a migraine before then you would know how crippling it is. I was waking in the night because the headaches were so bad. I put this solely on the Singulair because I am not taking any other medication except Ventolin (which I have used since I was 5), and I've juggled my diet trying to see if it was a food reaction but it wasn't. I have stopped taking the Singulair for 3 days and counting, but I still have my migraine, I know it takes some time to get it out of my system. Originally I was excited to see the Singulair working but now I can't wait until its gone, its made my life hell. I will go back on to SYMBICORT because it did help manage my asthma, and most importantly; it didn't suffer any side effects from it.

My daughter has asthma/allergies and takes Flonase, Flovent, and Albuterol as needed. Recently she started on Singulair, and she's been behaving horribly, saying mean things, yelling at us. And now she's started saying things like she wants to hurt herself, that she's stupid, that she doesn't like herself. Tonight I was giving her her dose of Singulair and my husband asked if maybe the medicine was causing her symptoms. I immediately wished I had not given her that dose, but it was too late. I came right to the computer and found this site. I'm so distressed reading about other people who are irritable and can't sleep, she hasn't been able to fall asleep easily the past several days, now I think I'm understanding why! I'm immediately stopping this medication. I just wish I knew how long it would take to get out of her system.

a Doc put me on Singulair today, and when i saw Merck was the manufacturer, I was hesitant to take it. Besides having other drug side effect issues, Merck is also a pesticide manufacturer, and pesticides are one of the main causes of asthma and allergy and other respiratory problems.

I was trying to tell the doc I had an infection -- a fever, and he just wanted to fixate on post-nasal drip.
I took one Singulair leaving his offiec and by the time i got home I was yelling at my daughter. My mouth was so dry it was almost unbearable.

I knew I was really sick so i went to an urgent care for another opinion and i have strep.

So I won't be taking any more Singular, especially after reading your comments.

One thing I know -- if you have asthma/allergies, get rid of all the synthetically fragranced products from your home, including and especially laundry products -- i can have asthma attack sleeping on sheets washed or dried in scented products.

use only boric acid for pest control and soap, Dr Bronner's, will kill insects on contact. Dr Bronners or any safe soap will do without poisoning the air. Get rid of those antibacterial anythings -- they are toxic, and get an air purifier.

Products by Nature's Sunshine herbs (like Sinus Support) have helped me tremendously -- stay the hell away from steriods if you can.

I have been on Singulair for about a month. I have always had asthma/allergies.When I was first prescribed it I was very ill Sinus infection and phenomena. So my nose was stuffy and I could not smell or taste (from being sick. so as the weeks passed and I did not get my taste or smell back I was concerned. Singulair is the only new thing in my life so I have to point to it. I also have been having Very bad noose bleeds a few times aday. My sinuses and back of throat feel numb. I have been very angry/irratable( I just thought PMS or something) now seeing other peoples claims I realize that too is from Singulaie. My stomach has been very upset too. Constant bathroom visits. I could see how a child could have an accident. I have a very very hard time waking up in th emornings. No one can wake me. I feel druged. So I will discontinue

I posted a long time ago, but have had some updates since then. 3 year old son with asthma/allergies on Singulair, having nightmares and agressive behavior. Had been on it before when he was one year old with no probs. Called pharmacist and said to read package insert. Sure enough, "uncommon" side effects included nightmares (can't think of the exact wording they used but close enough) and agressiveness. Those cautions did not use to be in the insert and was placed in there I believe in 2004 according to pharmacist. Please read the package insert for possible side effects. This really is a miracle drug, have taken it myself, but side effects are too extreme to warrant continued use for my and my son.

It makes me crazy to see so many people suffering from asthma, allergies, and more. Please research and try to find healthier, safer products that can dramaticly help reduce the triggers. If anyone would like to know where they can find such products do not hesitate to contact me. e-mail momswin_ny@yahoo.com Stay well!

I started taking Singulair 3 months ago for Asthma/Allergies and like most of you loved the immediate results. For the first time I could make it through the night without using my inhaler or nebulizer treatments.

But, I noticed that over the last 4-6 weeks I have had severe reflux and feel like I have a constant pressure under my ribs. I have also felt really bloated in my stomach, and had some sharp shooting pain under my ribcage on my right side. I thought it might be my gallbladder, so I went to the doctor and had some lab work done and found out that my liver enzymes were elevated. Also, my weight was up 10 pounds since I started the singulair three months before. My doctor said these were side effects of Singulair, and asked me if I had experienced any other side effects on this list she had. As she read them off I wanted to cry.

I was shocked!!!! Over the last six weeks I had experienced so many side effects that I had simply contributed to other things. Things like.......increased headaches (one so bad I missed work a day) , itching, nausea, earaches, puffy eyes, and water retention. The stomach pain was due to an inlarged liver....not my gallbladder like I had suspected. My doctor did some research and found that I was not the only person to come in with abnormal liver function that she was treating with Singulair. She is now considering dropping this drug from her usual prescribing list.

Like most of you who have posted here, I too saw remarkable & remarkably quick improvement in my asthma (& even some allergy) symptoms. However, I'm also discovering that it is not worth the side effects!!! I would rather have the sneezing & wheezing than what I've been dealing with the last week or so!

And just to help put it in "context": I'm 31 years old & have had asthma & allergies since the age of 4. When I was younger it was really bad, I was often in the emergcency room 2 or 3 times a week, was prone to bronchitis & sinus infections, etc. When I was a teenager, I mostly outgrew it (though I've always had a rescue inhaler & some type of allergy medication, I just didn't have the severity/intensity of symptoms/attacks I did as a kid), but in my late 20's noticed that some of the symptoms seemed to be coming back, not too seriously, just "uncomfortably". I was using the Albuterol as my rescue inhaler with the Flovent inhaler & Allegra & was having good results, with minimal to no side effects, but when Claritin went over the counter, most insurance companies stopped covering the Allegra. I went in to my doctor's office almost 2 weeks ago to see about getting my treatment options updated... what I had in mind was perhaps getting upgraded to the higher dose of the Flovent inhaler & having the doctor right a letter so the insurance company would cover my Allegra, and was put on Flonase & Advair instead. Over the years I've taken Theophylline, Albuterol, Proventil (inhalers), Flovent, occassional rounds of Prednisone, allergy shots, Allegra, nebulizer treatments.. you name it.... and I can honestly say that as awful as some of that stuff made me feel (particularly the Prednisone & Theophylline), I can't EVER remember there being a time when I'd rather have the bad asthma, than the icky side effect!! This stuff is awful!!!!! I'd stopped taking the Flonase, but then realized 2 things: 1). it's the exact same ingrediant as the Flovent, which I'd had no problems with & 2). I was still taking the Advair & feeling crappier & crappier. It's the most god-awful stuff I think I've ever taken!

I've only been taking it since the evening of March 31st (it's now midday on April 12th) & here is the list of side-effects I've noticed, and that seem to be getting worse instead of better:

nausea (pretty bad too, have had days where all I can eat is saltines & gingerale!)
dizziness (have actually fallen twice! This from someone who dances, rides horses, does yoga, etc!);
ringing in my ears (LOUD)
earaches & itchy ears
headaches
joint/muscle stiffness, swelling & tenderness (feels like I've got arthritis or something & my back & neck muscles just ache all the time!)
sinus pressure/tenderness & blood when I blow my nose (just short of full-on nosebleeds)
depression/lethargy/extreme fatigue (again, I'm someone who usually enjoys things like walks, puttering around the house & garden, riding horses, doing yoga, going dancing... & all I've wanted to do is either sleep or lay around... yesterday folding a load of laundry made me soooo tired I wanted to cry!)
emotional changes (irritability, weepiness, etc.)
sleep disturbances/insomnia (not getting restful sleep, feeling to wound up to sleep, nightmares like I haven't had since I was a kid, etc.)
vision changes (blurry, those weird silvery traces/flashes somebody else here mentioned)
itchy skin -- ALL OVER!!
dry skin
1st diahhrea, now constipation
frequent urination
weight gain -- which is strange considering I'm too nauseaus to eat anything most days
strange & constant taste in my mouth (very "chemically" & slightly metallic) -- nothing tastes right
heartburn/indigestion (which I've never had!!)
heart palpitations/tremors/restlessness/nervousness
inability to concentrate
memory problems/"fogginess"
scratchy/mild sore throat
tender roof of mouth (eating toast is difficult)

The list goes on & on.... and, I am really good about taking it exactly as prescribed (had even cut back & that's not helping) & being sure to rinse my mouth out with water (& gargle!) & so on.... what I find most strange is that many of the symptoms would seem as though they couldn't possibly coexist... that they would cancel each other out (e.g. having insomnia & sleep disturbances at the same time as extreme fatigue & constantly wanting to nap; intense hunger pangs & weight gain when I'm too nauseaus to even want to think about food, etc.)... but there they all are!!

What scares me is that aside from having allergies & asthma, I've always been a very active & healthy person.... and in the last week I've gone from feeling like a young healthy person with some uncomfortable asthma/allergy symptoms to feeling like a sick, decrepit, feeble & exhausted old person.... my 89 year old grandpa has fewer physical complaints & is in better shape at the moment!!!

If it wasn't for this website, who knows how long I've had let myself think it was due to something other than this god-awful medication... thanks!! I've taken my last dose of Advair!! I'm just going to have to explore some other options to treat my symptoms (I hadn't thought I was actually "bad" enough to need something like Advair in the 1st place), or get the insurance company to cover my Allegra!