Asthmatic cough symptoms and conditions

Hello to everyone, I just came home from a parent teacher conference for my son who is 7 yrs. old, and heard the same old thing, "he is restless, impulsive and has a short attention span". He has been taking Singulair for about 3 yrs.. Since he has started school I have had these complaints and have also been told he displays symptoms of ADHD, which ironically has been for the last 3 years. Like any parent, I question" if I am doing something wrong with my parenting, is his diet good, etc. etc.", I am also a nurse, I realize that medications are needed and beneficial in some circumstances, however I firmly believe and was taught in nursing school that medication is last resort. That being said, I have been very adament about NOT giving my son ADHD medication after doing alot of research on the different meds and their side effects. So, we started him on all natural vitamins, changed his diet some ( kids got to have candy once in a while) and started a more structured routine( the best we can since we both work) and also enrolled him in Sylvan. The teacher says there is a 50% improvement but he is still impulsive and still does not pay attention like he "COULD", again suggesting he needs ADHD meds. I came home in tears and started to do more research online to see what else can I do besides putting him on psych meds?....Then I came accross this site, I just want to cry after reading all these posts. I wonder, could this be his problem, the Singulair?.. About a year ago he use to get up in the middle of the night, 5 out of 7 complaining of nightmares, hearing things at times, headaches, decreased appetite, stomach upset, all AT TIMES, not all the time so I never thought alot about side effects of Singulair. When the school started complaining I did look at side effects of Singulair and seen HYPERACTIVITY and mentioned it to his pediatrician and she shrugged it off saying she never heard of it being a problem. She's a great MD so I listened to her because his asthma was bad when he was younger and it is now under control. But then I think maybe he is outgrowing the asthma. I am afraid to stop Singulair and him have breathing problems again but then I can't help this strong feeling in my heart that says this may have been his problem with everything else all along. We are going to stop the Singulair tonight and see what happens. If anyone else has a child with asthma any suggestions for alternative treatment would be appreciated. I already know what's out there but sometimes it's nice to hear from another parent going through similar situs. Thanks for reading, Bobbie

I was diagnosed with asthma on December 31st, 2007. I'm 29 and have rarely been sick. My asthma came with a terrible cough and I thought I had bronchitis for two months; turns out it was an asthmatic cough. I've been taking Albuterol, Aerobid, an antihistamine, and Singulair to get the asthma under control. I've had tremors and dizziness that I thought were due to the corticosteroid, but when I skip the Singulair for only a day, the symptoms stop, only to continue a couple days after I resume taking the medication. I've also had leg pain that I thought was cramping due to being active, but now I also believe it may be the Singulair. When I was prescribed my asthma meds, I was told to experiment and see which meds work the best for controlling the asthma, and Singulair is not on my list.

November 25, 2007 - I am a 42 year old woman, tall very thin, and always in good health. I was prescribed Singular for mild asthma symptoms, ie.. asthmatic cough-very mild, heavy feeling in the chest, constant sore throat (my work requires me to use my voice a lot). Initally my symptoms improved, I was thrilled! But, after about a month I got up one morning and thought I was having a stroke - my head was killing me, and my heart was pounding so hard! I took my blood pressure only to find that my normally low pressure was now 144/105! My pulse ws nearly 100 beats/min. That's just while I was sleeping! I was shocked! The only meds I was on was the Singular. I decided to do a little experiment on myself. I immediately stopped taking the Singular and kept a record of my blood pressure. It took about 3 days for my blood pressure to come back down to normal levels. I have noticed some weight gain as well. I will not take this drug again!

I have ben taking singulair for allergies-tree pollen and an asthmatic cough for a little over 2 years. It wasn't until I had been taking it for a year that I really developed a lot of the side effects-weight gain that won't go away, mood swings no interst in sex (my husband's not very happy) exhausted, nightmares about work, my family ,anything, sore throat, throat clearing,thirst, stomach pains, acid reflux, and my blood pressure hasbeen higher at the doctor's office lately. I didn't realize that singulair was the cause of all this stuff. I've been off of it for 3 days and I feel more rested-no nightmares,sore throat is going away, no dying of thirst feeling and the throat clearing is lessening. I don't think I'll ever renew this perscription again.

I wanted to suggest to all those that are looking for alternatives to singulair, that they try Web Md. I am the one who posted about my baby being on Singulair since he was 4 months old. At Web Md they have a color coding chart for asthma that has helped us greatly. We have a set plan of action when it starts to act up. We know what to give first, then second and so on. I have found that the old fashioned hot steamy bathroom can stop an asthmatic cough better that Albeuterol. We do the breathing treatment followed by about 10 minutes in the steamy bathroom. It has worked every time. My son is back to sleeping through the night again and has almost no congestion left. I always thought that the congestion was his Asthma. Who would of thought it was a medicine ment to help him. Other side effects he went through are- extreme irritability-temper tantrums- excessive shaking- chest congestion-extreme thirst- lack of appetite-diarrhea-stomach pains. That is what I know. He is only 2 now, so he can't tell me what I have put him through.

Wow, this is totally new to me. This was been like a wonder drug for my daughter who suffers from seasonal allergies with an asthmatic componant during certain times of theyear. My daughter is 3 and has been taking Zyrtec in the am and the 4mg of singulair at night and it was been wonderful. Her cough and runny nose are GONE. My son is also really struggling with allergies this season and that chronic asthmatic cough, I just called the pediatrician to ask about singulair for him. He is 18 months old. I have to say, that neither of them have had any problems from this drug, but this information is good to have.