Asthma problems symptoms and conditions

POLL: If you or your child have been adversely affected by Singulair could you please reply to this and let me know what ethnicity you are and skin tone. (fair, med., dark, etc.) I'm interested in the demographics of this drugs effects.
Thank you!

I was started on Topamax late 2007 after a week long migraine that did not respond to my usual migraine medication, Relpax 40mg and Xanax 1mg and I needed the second dose 2 hours later. I was given samples of Topamax 25 mg with a schedule to slowly increase the dose. The first 3 days I noticed an improvement in my migraine. By the 4th day, I started coughing. As I increased the dosage of Topamax, my coughing got worse and more frequently. I had to return to the doctor a week later for the cough. I thought I had been exposed to bronchitis because I had worked in the church nursery.
However, the doctor heard a wheeze with my cough and stated I had asthma. This came as quite a surprise because I have never had any lung problems or asthma problems and I am 52 years old. I was referred to a pulmonologist who put me on 2 inhalers (one steroid, one rescue inhaler, nebulizer treatments, chest x-ray, Oxygen to be used a night.
I was still having severe coughing spells every time I moved or tried to talk. I would have to run to the bathroom every time I started to cough because the coughing was so violent that I experienced severe urinary incontinence every time I coughed. I checked the internet and with my pharmacist, both stated that developing a cough was very common with Topamax. After learning this, I slowly reduced the Topamax until I could stop using it. As I was reducing the Topamax, my cough started to decrease. When I mentioned to my doctor about my problems with Topamax, he stated that Topamax did not have any respiratory side effects. I had a brochure from his office for Topamax that stated Topamax should be used with caution with people with lung or asthma problems.
I am now taking 800mg of Magnesium, CoEnzyme 100mg, and Vitamin B 2 100mg twice a day as a preventative. These supplements were prescribed by my neurologist. Since starting these supplements, my number of migraines has decreased.
Kay/redpoppies

IS THIS SITE AN ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS?

A little while ago less than two hours, after a very emotional, difficult battle with my daughter, we had yet another heart to heart to try to do better. At the end of our talk WE PRAYED for guidance to know how to help the situation. So I'm here looking for a link to her behavior fron the ADHD medication and I see someone had posted about Singulair side effects. I was floored! I have never thought that Singulair was not a safe drug. No doctor has ever mentioned any negative side effects to me regarding it. The more I'm reading about it the more in shock I am. Have I and her doctors been doing this to my daughter? My 12 1/2 yo daughter has been on Singulair for probably 10 years. She was a 28 week preemie and had severe lung issues so it was a needed medication. Her behavior has worsened the older she has gotten. Because of mostly anger issues and problems in school about a year ago she was started on ADHD medications. We are currently trying to find "the right one" . I feel so awful. Could all her misery have been caused by this little pill that was suppose to help her? Why has her pulmonoligist continued to give it to her although she has not had any serious asthma problems in years? I think I will stop all medications and see what happens. My daughter has also been on amytriptylin for about six months also for severe migraines. What do you think? Should I stop all of them cold turkey or gradually decrease one at a time? I would GREATLY appreciate any advise.
Thank you

I am so glad I found this web site I just wish I had found it BEFORE I took my Singulair this evening. I am a 54 year old mother of 12 year old twin boys and I only just begun taking Singulair 9 days ago for lingering asthma problems I could not shake. My difficulties with Singulair started right away with headaches (though I didn't realize what was going on till I found this site) and by day three I was starting to have the dreadful nightmares that everyone is describing. Now it is also obvious that an extreme depression has settled over me and seems to be getting worse every day. I feel like I am living in the shell of myself and almost as a third party observe the awful way I have been treating my family. It makes me feel so miserable all I want to do is to be by myself, shut down and sleep. I read in the other letters about body/back aches but not about what I have been experiencing. Just a few days ago - terrible leg pains/cramps began pulsate along the back of my upper legs and sometimes the lower back. I am stiff and uncomfortable during the day but at night it is terrible. Each night it has gotten worse. The pain in my legs is nearly unbearable even as I write this and is what propelled me to get back out of bed at midnight and to the computer and to this site. Thank goodness and thank everyone who has written - it is obvious you have saved me much pain and grief - hopefully my letter will help someone else. But for right now this six month supply of Singulair is going in the trash immediately!
Lauri

I am very skeptical of all of the claims I have read here. I am no advocate of GSK or any other drug company for that matter, but I think people are getting carried away with attributing their symptoms to Advair. The known side-effects are readily available, anything else is purely based on assumption. I agree that Advair may in fact have many more possible adverse effects than they let the public know, but let us be careful about making ourselves little scientific researchers and concluding a causal relationship based upon a single case study (and an informal one at that). Talk to your doctor about trying something with less risk, such as Singulair, Azmacort, Intall, Fluticasone Propionate, etc. Please though, be careful not to be so quick to claim generalizable findings based on your specific case. I myself am going to work with my physician to attempt a gluten-free diet and a less invasive medication therapy. Advair is not habit-forming or addictive, so withdrawals are doubtful at best. Read up on the pharmacology of Advair (salmeterol in particular), and you can come to your own conclusions. Best wishes to all of you fellow asthmatics!

My son is 10 years old and has been on 5 mg. singulair for 3 years. He has been getting frequent headaches,and is in the bathtub right now screaming with one! Also alot of depression.I just came upon this website accidently ,by searching the internet for what might be causing such headaches in a child. I was shocked at all of these symptoms! I am not going to give him any more singulair.But what is everyone doing to replace it and deal with their kids asthma problems? My son has had so may behavioral issues and being so unreasonable and always thinks were picking on him.To extremes! Very hars to deal with,constantly! TC

I have been taking Singular for over 5 years for mild asthma. My allergist has told me several times that taking it is "as safe as drinking city water". Last year I had trouble with palpitations and had the cardiac testing including the Holter monitor. All the tests were fine. I have had trouble sleeping for a couple of years--waking in the early hours and finding it nearly impossible to return to sleep. Additionally, for the past 6 months I have had an annoying tingle in my feet and lower legs. My PPO just set up an appointment for a Brachial index test to test my circulation. The tingling is worse after lots of walking. Most recently, people have said my skin looks yellowish! No, I am not gorging on carrots! Just the other day I came across an old sheet that came from the pharmacy when I filled a Singulair prescription. I noticed some "unusual" side effects with long term use--yellowing of skin, palpitations, tingling in extremities, sleeplessness! Yikes! I have stopped taking Singulair. So far, so good, no asthma problems. But this is very scary. Has anyone else had the tingling, the yellow skin? I've started taking B12 and B vitamins as I read that the tingling is from a B12 deprivation caused by the Singulair.

I took this yesterday after suffering with asthma problems off and on the past couple of months. After two trips to the doctor, the final consensus was that I had a sinus infection, and that the continuous dripping into my chest was causing the chest congestion.
Anyway, within one hour of taking avelox, I had a full-blown anxiety attack ....I was dizzy, lightheaded, my head felt like it would explode, had diarrhea, couldn't breathe, and thought I was dying. I almost called 911. After about 4 hours of this I took half of a 1 mg lorazepam pill to calm down. I continue to feel completely unwell all evening, shaking and anxious. I finally took a hot bath, and a full lorazepam, which allowed me to sleep. I am telling you that the whole afternoon and evening was a harrowing experience. I am also wondering if the side effects were exacerbated by the Astiliin (nasal spray) I took, since this morning that drug made me feel extremely groggy and tight in the chest.
I will NEVER take this drug again,and now I am so afraid that I am scared to take the zithromax the doctor prescribed in place of Avonex, even though I have used zithromax in the past with no side effects.
At this point, I am ready to consult a naturopath or acupuncturist to help with my condition - most of these new-fangled drugs seem to cause more problems than they "cure".

After a month on Lisinopril, I started noticing shortness of breath. Then awoke one morning with pain in shoulder and numbness in arm - thought I was having a heart attack! ER diagnosis was asthma. Advair, methylprednisone (steroids) and albuterol helped at first, but after two weeks, breathing problems all came back. Started using a nebulizer which provided only short term relief and was then referred to a pulmonary specialist. He put my on Advair, Singulair (another side effect horror story), Nasonex, Intal inhaler, albuterol inhaler, the nebulizer as needed. Upon follow up two weeks later, it was all still going on! He rx'd another prednisone pack, but NOW he notices in chart that I was taking Lisinopril, which he said is KNOWN to cause breathing problems - and to stop taking it, immediately. Within one week, all of these horrendous asthma problems WERE GONE. It's been two weeks and I have since discontinued ALL asthma medications - everything - not to mention the Lisinopril. How could prescribing doctor and ER doctor mis-diagnose Linsinopril side effects for asthma! How could I? I would like to think that if they're going to prescribe this stuff, they would be familiar with possible side effects as such. I'm just lucky this stuff didn't kill me and that I didn't get rid of my cat!

In July of '06 I received a Kenalog shot in my buttocks because of asthma problems. I never knew why my skin was sinking in, at the same place where I received the shot. Now, nine months later, I can almost sink my fist in my butt because the dent keeps getting larger. I just learned a few days ago that it was because of the Kenalog shot. Is the dent going to keep getting larger or is there some way that I can stop it. Somebody please help me.!!!!

My 5 year old son was put on Singulair in October. He was having asthma problems after a hurricane hit our area. He was fine through Christmas but then I started to notice that my happy little boy was now very sad almost all the time. He started crying in school, he had only cried at school once before when he was stung by a bee. The change in his behavior was so major that his teacher was concerned about him. At school he would start crying if anything got on his paper. When he's at home he doesn't sleep though the night at all anymore. His legs are constantly moving and he has nightmares. I have taken him off Singulair and in the past week he seems more like my happy child. We have had to use our puffer but atleast he is able have a normal day now.

I have had major asthma problems for years - usually needing prednisone 3 or 4 times a year, using albuterol inhaler around the clock. I have been using Advair for about 2 months now and I have had absolutely no asthma attacks at all. I can exercise and feel like a normal person for the first time in years. I have had several side effects that are problematic - one of them being dizziness, scratchy thoat and chronic sinus congestion. What is worse, debilitating asthma or a chronic sinus infection? I have decided breathing is better than anything so I will stay on it.

hello
i am 37 and have had severe chronic asthma all my life. as a child,teen, and young adult i was in the emrgency room at least twice a year for cold related asthma problems. i started taking theophylline at the age of 16, used over the counter inhalers til my mid-twenties when was given albuterol, and have gone on prednisone treatments numerous times. about 2 years ago my condition started deterioating, none of my previous medications were working well. by this time last year i was so bad that i went through an albuterol inhaler every two weeks, and i was constantly sick with lung infections. thats when my pulmonary dr (same one for almost 20 yrs) put me on advair and singulair. i noticed a MAJOR, near miraculous change for the positive almost right away, i could breathe again! i haven't been this clear for years. a few months after i started treatment i gained 10 lbs in less than a month. i thought it was because i changed birth control pills but changing back didn;t seem to help. i have started having attacks of diarrhea at least once a week, gas, bloating, swelling (of feet, hands, middle). lately i've been feeling nauseous, my lifleong insomnia has gotten MUCH worse, i've had blurry vision and the feeling like my head is going to explode. not to mention dizzines, lightheadedness, pressure in my head, dry mouth, hoarseness, back & feet pain, severe anxiety, tremors, rapid heartbeat- what seem to be all the classic symptoms! i had no idea it was the medication. i was so ill the other day i almost had my boyfriend take me to the emrgency room. i had been hearing on the news about serevent being unsafe so i started looking up the side effects and realized that's what it was (i now also see singulair can have similar effects) i stopped taking the advair for 2 days but my severe asthma started returning almost imeediately so i had to use it this morning- and i feel like CRAP right now. i know i need to see my dr ASAP but i am worried about controlling my asthma- i can't deal with these side effects but i also can't return to the state i was in last year- i could NOT BREATHE and was using my albuterol so much it was causing it's own problems (jittery, rapid heartbeat). PLEASE email me (******)if anyone has had any luck with alternatives! (does flovent cause the same long term problems?)

My 5 year old has been on Singulair for about a year now. I too thought it was a wonder drug as it has really kept her asthma under control. She only has seasonal allergy/asthma problems so she isn't on the meds during the summer. While on Singulair she has horrible nightmares. She wakes up 3-4 times a night sometimes she is climbing up the wall screaming. She slept great all summer long only waking up in the night on rare occasions. Now she wakes up constantly. I called & spoke to the nurse she told me she would discuss it with the doctor but didn't feel after looking Singulair up in her drug book it would cause that kind of problem. It has to be a very bizzare coinsidence or the Singulair. We had problems with her sleeping right from the beginning but we didn't connect it to the drug until now.

I am a 28 y.o. that began on 250/50 in february. Hadn't had asthma problems since I was 17-then had an an upper respiratory infection in january-went to the doctor because chest tightness wouldn't go away& was immediately placed on
Advair. Went to an allergist who sent me to a cardiologist because my heart rate in the office was 176! I always had a fast heart rate, but worried I had some congenital defect. After multiple tests, an electrophysiologist told me I should limit my albuterol use but said nothing about the advair. I went back to the allergist last month and my breathing was worse so they increased me to 350/50 twice a day. I had horrible palpitations and was very jittery the first few days, but I figured it might get better-and it did. But I have nausea now about every other day, only gained about 5 pounds, but the bloating has made me go up a dress size on bottom. Then for the last two weeks I have been geeting horrible cramps in my calves and feet & I started to wonder if it could be my advair because I have never experienced anything like this before. Also, I have been very moody, depressed and irrational, which I blamed on my "health problems" (my asthma is still not really under control) but now I wonder if this is a side effect as well. I'm so glad I discovered this site, because I was going to "tough it out"---not any more! I am talking to my doctor right away !!

I have been taking Singulair since the late 90's and it was a real blessing, it seemed, as far as my asthma. I have not really wheezed since. However, I have been gaining weight at the rate of 1 pound per month steadily in spite of eating reasonably and exercising 4-5 times a week. Additionally, I am unable to stick it out through an entire aerobic routine and have been working for over a year to get better -- no amount of effort seems to work. So, in spite of not wheezing, I'm still no aerobically fit. I had a pulmonary-cardiac test recently and the Dr decided that I really do have asthma problems even though he could not detect them by observation and my answers to question otherwise.

So, I'm wondering if Singulair is a culprit in my weight gain (seems to be) and inability to shed it. And I'm also wondering if Singulair isn't really helping the asthma but just hiding the symptoms.

I started taking Allegra 180 mg about a week ago for allergy-induced asthma problems. Helped with those problems within 24 hrs. I take the allegra in the evening, as instructed by Dr. For past 5 days, have been totally wiped out during the day; always tired, almost depressed feeling. Has anyone else experienced this?