Counseling symptoms and conditions

Thank you all. After reading many of your experiences I feel sooo much better, so much less crazy.

The past few months I've been feeling depressed, I can't seem to lose the ten pounds I gained since starting Nuvaring over a year ago, I've been having severe dizzy spells (I almost passed out and had to lay down for about 20 minutes), I have NO sex drive and I've been getting anxious over little things. The lack of sex drive is the worst. I've always been rather sexual but now I just never want to have sex. I've never felt so uninterested and out of touch in my whole life.

I just talked to a doctor a few days ago and got a blood test mainly for my thyroid and vitamin D levels. But now I'm thinking it's probably not my thryroid it's probably the nuvaring! The doctor (a male fresh out of med school) told me to get counseling. Apparently me almost passing out wasn't enough to make him think that my problems are something more than just mental.

Regardless if the blood test comes back okay I'm stopping the nuvaring and hopefully that will do the trick. The nuvaring was great for the first 8 months. No side effects other than a slight weight gain and larger breasts but now it's just ridiculous.

I have had my mirena in for two years, 7/07. I find all the posting on this and other sights very interesting. I haven't had any adverse reactions other than the decrease in periods. I have had a decrease in my sex-drive, however I don't know if I can blame it on the Mirena. I have suffered from depression for years, it's hereditary, and I have always attributed my lack of sexual interest to that. I have been on medication for years for depression and I have been to counseling. I am planning on keeping it for the the next year until I am ready to have children. I will just have to wait until then to find out if it really does effect the libido. As someone posted earlier, listen to your body; it will tell you what to do.

I was perscribed Valuim for anxiety and depression but i think that the valuim is helping very well for my anxiety but it seems to be makeing my depression a whole lot worse i hade crying spells and once i started crying i couldnt stop.

I am 19 years old and saw a gyno for the first time in October. He recommended NuvaRing to me, and I was very excited about using it to control my periods, during which I typically pass large clots, which makes them very painful. I started with the ring that day, and did not experience any noticeable side effects until I went home for Christmas. I began to become increasingly disillusioned with my life, which has absolutely nothing wrong with it. I have friends who love me, and a very intact and functional family, no man problems, and I am doing really well in school. When I went back to school in January, I immediately sank into a severe depression, probably paired with anxiety, in which I was afraid to leave my apartment and did not want contact with any other people in my life. The first morning of school, I called my mother and told her "I am not OK." I took the ring out, and the same day, my mom sent my father out to stay with me, and he did so for a week and a half without complaint. Eventually, though, he had to return to his life back home, and I was doing better and in the control of my friends, so he left. I struggled the first couple of days without him, then gradually got back to doing pretty well, but was not back to my previous self. I went home recently for Spring Break, and when I came back to school, I immediately had what I think was a panic attack (I've never had one before) and began to become depressed again. This time, however, its different. I hate being alone, and when I have down time, I start to think very profoundly about life and what it means...very philosophical and metaphysical thoughts. I only had the ring in for 2 and a half months, and I have had it out for about the same amount of time, but am still experiencing depression symptoms. I have never had problems with depression before, and am wondering if it has taken this long for anyone else's depression issues to work themselves out. Has anyone tried anti-depressants, or would you recommend them?

****OKINPA: I can't wait to hear how you're doing with the generic Celexa, because I just started it today. I have noticed a couple side effects: fatigue, shaky hands and sort of "in a fog" but I feel much more relaxed than I did yesterday!! I'm praying to God that this medicine will just be a guide to help me begin the journey of counseling. I am only on 10mg and hope I don't have to increase, just need a little something to calm my nerves so that I can actually make it to the counseling sessions without having a panic attack. I was also prescribed ativan to use as an immediate relief until Celexa kicks in. I take half of the .5mg tablets of the ativan. I HATE taking medicine and any weird change in my body makes me paranoid, so I can't believe I'm actually trying this. BUT, I have to, I'm so sick of being a prisoner in my home.

I've been taking Celexa for about 10 years now...in beginning it was 40mg and it took a good 3 weeks to totally be free of the horrible depression/panic/anxiety attacks that came on me like a flood. I was in bad shape when I finally found out what was wrong with me and I was a total basket case for a month before and 3 weeks after. When the drug took effect slowly I came out of this horrible funk. The side effects mostly were sleepiness, loss of sex drive and sensation like many here are experiencing. Gradually I tapered down to 20mg and now 10mg. I don't take it everyday but about every other day and just enough to keep some in my system so that if I nose dive again I up my dose and it doesn't take as long to feel normal. I don't handle trauma, stress or confrontations well and they have a tendency to make me switch into these nose dives. Celexa and dosage works for ME...I believe each one of us has different chemical structures which is why one pill doesn't work for all of us. I think high dosages tend to make you more "zombie" too. I've tried other types of anti depressants and always come back to Celexa because the side effects aren't anything like the others to me. So, please keep trying different meds to see whats good for YOU. If a doctor gives you a hard time, FIND ANOTHER! I suggest a Psychiatric one too. GP's and OB/GYN's aren't trained enough in this area to really know how to prescribe and help treat this and have a tendency to prescribe what they've been given freebies of. Not all Psych's are good either. Keep trying to find the right one please! I know, I've been there. Above all, pray....it helps. :)

2 days ago I just happened to come across this website. I was in tears reading all of your stories. It sounded like it was me writing! You have given me the answer to all my misery over the past 3 years! My marriage nearly failed from all of this. I was married in July 2005, had a son in March 2006 and immediately had the Mirena IUD inserted. I thought it was the best thing on earth! No side effects... that I was aware of!! It all came on so gradually that I blamed my symptoms on post-partum hormones and a change in life-style. I remember I became a total bitch towards my husband very shortly after I got the Mirena. I gave up exercizing, ate like crazy (partially probably due to breastfeeding), and I had absolutely no sex drive, which was a 180 for me, because previously I wanted sex everyday! I blamed this on hormones too, or maybe my weight gain... just not feeling sexy anymore. When my son was 12 months old, I had the Mirena removed, only to try to get pregnant. We had a daughter in December of 2007, and I immediately had the Mirena re-inserted. As time went on, I was the bitch I was after my son was born.. again, I blamed it on my hormones. My back was killing me all of the time.. I blamed that on having to carry my daughter around. Then the insomnia hit me.. wow! I would lie awake in bed till 6:30 in the morning, and this was after my daughter finally started sleeping through the night. Maybe I had insomnia the months prior but never noticed because I was up all night long with my daughter anyways. I was miserable, depressed, moody, and incredibly mean towards my husband (thank God not towards my kids). He's a saint to still be here. Last summer I started getting pain in my joints. Some days I couldn't lift my kids because my wrist was so sore... or I was limping because of my hip or my knees. I was also incredibly depressed at this point. I was getting virtually no sleep, was pissed off at my husband all the time, and looking after 2 kids was draining me. My husband, being non-confrontational, was lying to me all the time try not to rock the boat. I found out he was lying to me, and I thought he was having an affair. I was crying all day everyday... finally after everyone told me I was depressed, my doctor put me on anti-depressants, and a bedtime pill called Elavil to help me sleep and to help with my joint pain. We went to marriage counselling (still are). After 2-3 sessions with an amazing counsellor, we realized I was not suffering from depression. Thank God, because the anti-depressants were making me even more miserable and I was binge eating like crazy! My husband and I, with the help on counselling, have since dealt with all of our problems. So why am I still so unhappy? Why is my join pain coming back? The Elavil is not working for my pain anymore. My body feels like I have the flu. Achy, but more intense and joint-specific. I have no energy or motivation to do daily tasks like laundry, clean the kitchen, or even take a shower and get dressed. When my kids wake from their nap, I feel like crying because I don't feel like a good mother is caring for them. 3 days ago I was with my husband and kids and had to leave because I began to cry. My husband came to ask me what was wrong, and I just said that I was in so much pain, I couldn't stand it. The truth, which I did not tell him was: I literally could not take another day like this. If I don't get better, I don't want to live anymore. I was not contemplating suicide, but I'll tell you this.. if I hadn't found this website when I did, who knows what I would have done!
Looks like I know how to make a long story even longer! LOL.
My husband and I went out for a romantic dinner on Friday to celebrate Valentines. I told him what I had discovered.. actually, I just handed him this website on my iPhone. AS he read your stories, we both were in tears! The last 3 years should've been the happiest of our lives, and we were robbed by this devil-IUD!!
Last night I couldn't take it anymore. I was crying and my husband said, "why don't you just go to a walk-in clinic and have it removed?" So I did! It was painless and I have no bleeding or cramping as of yet! I don't know if it's psychological, but I feel terrific today. My joints are achy still, but my mental state is on cloud nine! I have energy today and have been playing with my wonderful adorable kids all day. Let's hope it lasts. I will keep you all posted!
I hope my story helps someone as much as you have all helped me. You have saved my marriage, and probably my life. Thank you all!!

No horror stories to report. Was on Lexapro 20mg for several years. Am switching to the generic Celexa soon because that is what insurance will pay. I have had weight gain problems with Lexapro, hope that subsides with the Celexa.

At times I did notice "weird sensations" while taking Lexapro. Seemed to come on if I missed taking the med or took it late. Almost like some type of withdrawal symptom. I just work hard at taking it as prescribed. Lexapro worked well for the Panic/Anxiety though. Will let you know how things go with the Celexa in a few weeks.

First off, I've NEVER posted to a thread like this before. But I've been researching Mirena side effects ever since my girlfriend mentioned her side effects to me a few weeks ago. I feel like a I'm having an "a-ha" moment. It's all making sense to me now that I've read this and other threads about the Mirena side effects. I had the Mirena inserted when my second son was 6wks, in Nov. '05. Aside from the bleeding the first 1-2 months, it was great. Then again, I was nursing him, and so any symptoms I might have had I would have attributed to breastfeeding. I stopped nursing him just before he turned 1, in Aug. '06. First of all, I've never lost my pregnancy weight. I thought it was just the fact of having 2 babies within 2 years b/c I was in my mid-30's. So far, the only way I've been able to lose weight is thru a liquid diet and exercise!

Also, I have been certain I was pregnant many times, each with a negative hpt! Last month, my period came 10 days early, and this month, no period whatsoever! My hubby keeps asking about it (I want another, he doesn't). I, too, have had the stomach flutters, which weird me out! They sometimes feel like pregnancy uterine stretching, sometimes like a little baby! I am ALWAYS tired (thought it was my "normal" from all I do), I am almost always bloated except just after a period, my breasts are almost always full ( and I gotta tell you, their already big enough, so that's not a bonus!) And I've NEVER had a stretch of more than two months with no period. My pre-Miorena periods were light and short with little cramping anyway. And we've been to counseling because of my sex drive! I actually told my husband that I was "good" with once a week! Even then, I often have to work at it just to get in the mood. (I'm 37 also, like another post said). I guess the one theme here is that I feel like I'm always pregnant. What else is out there? Scared to have this removed, b/c hubby wants a vasectomy, and I'm just not there yet. Not ready to let go of my lifelong dream of having a daughter in addition to my wonderful little boys.

I am so glad I happened upon this site. I have been having terrible side effects that I attributed to something else, like I was going insane! I have been having panic attacks and very depressed. even have started to feel aggressive. I am having it removed on the 20th and will try to post a new message after I have it removed. I have had many side effects other than just these and am so glad I am not the only one. I have been spending money on counseling and homeopaths etc. to try to solve my mental issues when it is always coming back to this iud. Thank you for making others aware of your symptoms. K.

I began the three month Lupron shot about 2 weeks ago. After about a week I began to notice that I was having some side effects that I was not made aware that could even be possible. It wasn't just vaginal dryness and hot flashes. I was having a very hard time urinating a began bleeding for a day or two at a time which was heavy and unusual with a lot of large blood clots. I have had a lot of anxiety attacks especially when trying to go to sleep. My stomach has been hurting me terribly to the point I can't sleep, it hurts as though I have severe intestinal problems. I have had extreme bouts of uncontrollable anger, which is horrible when you have a two year old to care for. I have had miserable migraines, breast pain to the point where just a t-shirt on hurts. I feel so emotionally out of touch crying over everything and not caring about much of anything. I feel like I am going absolutely CRAZY! I wish that doctors would let people know what ALL the side effects could be, I feel like I as many people on here were completely under informed.

I have been on the NuvaRing or 7 years. The first year after I started using it I told my doctor I had no desire to have sex. She put it off on changes in my life and said I should plan a romantic evening. Year after year I continued telling her how may sex drive was low to none and it was causing very serious problems in my relationship she gave me brochures and said I may need counseling
I stopped using the ring last month and notice my sex drive coming back after 3 weeks. I didn't think anything about it until I mentioned it to my BFF and she suggested we search the web for the side effects of the ring and we came across this site.

After reading I wasn't the only one with the problem and the problems was probably caused by the ring. I became very upset with my doctor because if I am reading all of these posting about little to no sex drive after using the ring I am sure my doctor has heard the complaint also. I am due to speak with her next week about this.
Other than no desire to have sex the ring was Great I love it. It was very convenient. When I did force myself to have sex there were no problems with it.
Who knows maybe the loss of sexual desire is the birth control...

I am a person who had never experienced depression before going on NuvaRing. I'm 39 years old and had been on it for a year - gradually the crying jags, feelings of hopelessness, moodiness, ANGER and insecurity kicked in...I even lost control and yelled and hit my boyfriend on one occasion. The final straw was when I broke up with him in a fit of rage - completely unintentionally. The day after, when I got myself back together, I went into counseling and the counselor suggested hormonal causes. Fortunately there are many anecdotes, like these on this website, linking NuvaRing to depression and I did go off about a month ago. Gradually, as with the ramp-up onto NuvaRing, I feel myself getting back control of my emotions. If you've experienced something like this, don't wait for an emotional break: get off NuvaRing so you can evaluate what's happening to you with a clear head.

I have been taking Lamictal since October of 2007. I experienced some of the symptoms (muscle pain in the head and neck) before I started the medication. I have experienced panic attacks since July of 2005. I have had mild heart palpations since I was in my mid 20's (I'm 36 now). I have had what I would consider a below normal energy level since my mid 20's also. Ok so like everyone else I am thinking I'm a hypochondriac! However, I was diagnosed August 28th 2007 with having Lyme’s Disease and also Hyper-Thyroid (same time, same lab-work). Two weeks later I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder (this is one thing I knew I was battling but didn't know how to handle it). My physiatrist started me on Lamictal and I did the standard ramp up to 200mg. I also was started on a 90 day treatment of Dyoxicycline for the Lyme’s and Methimazole for the Hyper-Thyroid. I was very very weak and was only able to stay awake for short periods of time (4 to 5 hours max). Just an fyi, I am not overweight, lazy or unmotivated. I have the physical appearance of perfect health. This, I think works against me as the Dr's seem to think I'm just whining. Mater of fact; my Primary Care Physician never tested me for Lyme’s. I went to an Urgent Care Center which tested me for Lyme’s disease and I came back positive (they also tested my Thyroid levels and found the problem with my THS levels) I told my Dr the results and he insisted I have same test done again. Guess what, new tests, same results.
My symptoms today are very similar to what I have seen posted many times. Muscle pain (entire body, some areas worse than others), heart arrhythmia, racing heartbeat, intense palpitations, nausea, foggy “un-plugged” mind, fatigue, weak muscles, muscle cramping (especially after repetitive motion, such as strumming a guitar), panic attacks (much more severe) and the latest addition to the group, Insomnia. Muscles pain in my head, fore-head, jaw, temple, neck (front and back), shoulders, is terrible to say the least. The pressure in my fore-head (right under my brow) makes me feel like I need to close my eyes or rest (resting does not relieve anything). The front of my neck is so tight at times it feels like my jaw is being pried down. I could go on and on.
On my quest to find out what else is going on with my body I have had 2 Echocardiogram’s on my heart and abdomen, 2Nuclear Stress Tests, blood work out the wa-zoo, MRI of my brain, 2 CT’s of my Head and Neck, Chest X-rays, Endoscopy, Colonoscopy, and all revealing nothing.
Most doctor’s I have encountered seem to want to treat the symptoms, not the problem/disease. I believe I know why; we (the ones who are there for solutions) tell them what the symptoms are (how we feel). We of course are thinking “this will help with a diagnosis of the problem/disease”, when in fact (I feel); the doctor’s thought process stops there. They don't know what’s wrong with you but they do know what your symptoms are so....bingo, let's treat the symptoms. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I’m not saying, “Most doctor’s don’t know what they are doing” or “don’t take your meds”. I am saying you and I are one of the 20 to 30 patients most doctor’s see daily (100+ weekly). They may be caring and good people but they are just as human and fallible as you and I. My advice is this; (and I am taking my own advice) don’t always “pop” into your body what the doctor suggests/prescribes, without doing your own research. Heck most of us won’t buy a car or more importantly, send our kids off to a college with out doing your own research (we just don’t trust those shinny brochures). Your body and your health are worth you doing your own research. Just keep in mind, Pharmaceutical Reps are always at your Dr.’s office (sit in the waiting room for 10 minutes and I’m sure you will see one). Reps are paid to do one thing; encourage (push) the Dr.’s to promote use of the Pharmaceutical Companies drugs.
My wife and I have been doing our own research on Lamictal (after a year of taking this stuff) and the side effects associated with this drug. We have searched through many (many,many) web sites for information and we have talked with pharmacists and Dr’s for opinions. Although I’m am not thoroughly convinced that Lamictal is the cause of all of my symptoms, my wife and I have decided to lower my Lamictal slowly from 200mg to 100mg. I am now taking 150mg daily (three days now) and plan on staying at this level for a total of two weeks before lowering to 100mg. I do fear dropping the dosage to quickly (potential side effects) or lapsing into a mania. To help avoid a manic episode my wife and my immediate family are all “up-to-date” with my course of action. They are on “Red Alert” and have promised to keep a close eye on my behavior patterns and moods. (I don't want to put them through another hyper-mania episode, its much too devastating). I do want so badly to feel healthy and alive again and at this point I am rather frustrated with the Dr.'s ability to help me achieve this goal. Remember it is called “Practicing” Medicine. So now I’m going to practice a little, very carefully and cautiously.
As a foot note; I have recently (past two weeks) been re-tested for Lyme's with a negative response. I am keeping in mind Lyme's test are very inaccurate (still hoping this one is accurate). My thyroid is under control and normal, so.... let's see if dropping below 150mg of Lamictal will eliminate some of these other symptoms. I will keep you posted.
Erik

Hi to all,
I wanted to take a minute to say Thanks to all who post and search for answers to this drugs confusing and serious side effects.To all who have taken the time to contact the FDA and file a report to help others.Dr.Sarah Sellers is no longer the person to contact at the FDA,she has moved on after concluding her end of the investigation on Singulair.If you have a serious side effect please still take the time to file on the official FDA site for adverse event reporting.In NY. state we are still searching for legislation to help with the notification process for these serious side effects.There are to many Doctors that still do not have a clear idea of the updated side effects,and are not reporting as they should.
Letting your doctor know that good medicine is all about follow up on complaints,such as researching the singulair website to rule out that it may be the drug or it may not.Just dismissing the patient and prescribing another drug is how these drugs go undetected for so long.We want this to stop and only the unfortunate recipients of the horrors of this drug can make this happen.Again thank you for your efforts to change the system with follow through and perserverance.Our horror story is one of many and we want to help those who have survived the ravages of this drug, OUR CHILD DID NOT. Kate and Dave M.

My 10 year old son has taken Singulair on and off since he was 5 years old and has been on it for the past 3.5 years. My son at an early age was affected by a bad marriage and then the divorce when he was 5 yrs old. So we always suspected that his behavior issues were caused by this and I had done everything I possibly could to give them the help he needed to get over and through his issues. He was held back his first year of Kindergarden and during his second year midstream he was placed in a special class for behavioral problem children. Nothing ever seemed to help him, everytime we would see some progress and encouragement we were always blind sighted by a behavior that was always worse. Two steps forward and them 5 steps backwards. I always knew that his problems would never get better overnight so I just kept on going. He was diagnosed with ADHD but because he has some ticking issues I had to put him on Strattera which was did not do a thing for him. I always described him as my Dr. Jeckyll/ Mr. Hyde child. He could be really good and sit still and behave but I think he had to try really hard to do so. He eventually was always overpower by the impulse to show negative behaviors. Defiant, extremely impulsive, always negative and completely miserable all the time. He also went through phases of compulsions. There was always a compulsion of the month- germs, bathroom habits, noises, repetitive words. He hated school and always complained of a stomach ache which i thought he was always faking to get out of school. He had confrontations in school everyday for most of the day. I often thought some of this was because of being tired all the time. We had battled over bedtime every single night. He was terrified to go to bed alone, I tried everything to get him to sleep alone. I wore myself out falling asleep next to him, I would then go to my own bed only to be up with him half the night going back and forth. I gave in many a night and slept with him just so we could get a good nights sleep. At age 8.5 I finally got him to go to sleep alone but the lights haf to be on and he has to know that I am still awake before he will fall asleep. He would always say he didn't want to go to sleep because when he does he has bad thoughts about me and people that he loves. He always had an extremely hard time excepting the word "no"- he would flip out and hit his head with whatever was handy, throw things, break things, scream holler etc. It would take hours to get over it. When he did he would be very remorseful and lovable. He was always in turmoil. Finally in February of this year, this graduated to a new level where he would want to just kill himself and would actually go and pull a knife out of the drawer and just shake with anger as he held the knife to his throat. I was terrified although i really didn't think he was going to harm himself he just wanted to scare me. Then at the end of March when i first heard the news about the possible side effects of Singulair, I had only heard about the suicide effect. Oh great just what I needed was this medicine causing him to do that. The doctor was thinking about taking him off if this summer because he wanted to see if he out grew his seasonal allergies so I took him off immediately. Well I had no idea about the other side effects until my son turned into a completely different kid. School noticed a huge difference in him! His grades went up, his is able to control his behavior, he is happy he is NORMAL. I never suspected this drug as the culprit due to the timing of taking it. Our lives have changed completely. When i first found this site, it seemed as though some of the parents were writing about my child. It is amazing. My son still has some old habits to break but overall he is a wonderful and normal 10 year old boy. He did not outgrow his seasonal allergies but Allegra seems to help in through it. I get so angry- his whole early childhood was ruined by this medicine. He is a labled kid in our school system. This whole experience has opened up my eyes. Thank you for letting me share my story.

Hi,
I wanted to post this link just to give some small consolation to our concerns about the lack of awareness THAT DOCTORS HAVE ABOUT SINGULAIR.This is a voluntary online informational site,that doctor's can join. It provides updated information on serious label changes and safety concerns on drugs.Most doctors at this point still get snail mail updates,in the paper shuffle a lot of information gets misplaced.The AMA would like to have all information come in online,eventually.The link is ******
read it and tell me if you think more can be done By the way my pediatricians office does not have online communication.Our life is forever changed because of that ! Information is playing a vital role in this drugs destructive path ,or the lack there of information.Again this is voluntary for the Doctors to sign up .In this modern day of communication how does important information not get where it is the most useful, I ask you?When drugs are making multi billion dollar profits,that would be an educated guess.I am doing another interview with CBS affiliate out of Boston on the 23rd of June,they contacted me.I hope it will reach more people who are still unaware of this drugs serious potential side effects.If any of you parents have some connection to media ,please use it to your best advantage to get this very important information out to the publicAlso so many of you ask how to help.Contact your local Senators and keep bothering them to reach out to the FDA to expedite this investigation. Make a pain in the butt out of yourself and be persistent.I will try to make reference to this site so your stories are heard. Dave and I are coming up on a year since our son passed on to our lord .Still fighting Kate and Dave M.

Like everyone else, I am completely ecstatic I found this website. My son was born in Nov 2006, when I was 22, and I had Mirena put in January 2007. March 2007 I began to see a counselor because I was so severely depressed. I had terrible thoughts and was constantly crying/upset/anger/emotional. I had gained 50lbs with my son and still stand to lose 20 more that I can NOT get off. In February 2008 I enrolled in counseling again because my depression was so severe that I was at a point that I no longer wanted to be alive (but not suicidal). I have had times of depression throughout my teenage years but had NEVER felt like this. I kept telling my counselor that I didn't know why I felt the way I did but I just couldn't stop these feelings. I did counseling so I wouldn't have to take an antidepressant since I am not big on medicine but last week I scheduled an appointment with my doctor to get on an antidepressant. I just can't seem to get out of this horrible, angry, moody, emotional, depressive state for anything. I believed it was because I was a new mother and assumed my hormones have just been out of whack. Last night I realized that all my symptoms began a month after my Mirena was put in. I am calling my OB today to have him remove it. I'll check back and let you know if there are differences. I'm just afraid I've damaged my body and even more afraid what my son got from the IUD since he was breastfed for almost 18 months.

WOW!!! I am glad I came across this website. I have twin boys that will be 7 this month. One has been on Singulair for about 3 years for allergy induced asthma and my other son has been on it for 9 months for allergies. I am taking them both off of it today. The son that is taking the medicine for 3 years has become increasingly angry and gets upset over small things. Over Memorial weekend, he lost a game he was playing on the wii and exploded. He was banging his head and then started to hit me. NEVER in my life have I seen him attack anyone. A few days later he threw rocks at his friend because he wanted the wagon. Over the past 3 years I have noticed some change in him and just took it as growing pains. He has always been a strong will child. However, over the past 3 years he has gotten worse and since he has physically attacked me and his friend, I have decided to send him to counseling. Now I firmly believe it is the Singulair.

My other son has been on it since August. He started to have anxiety within a month of taking it. His behavior has been stressed, depressed and not wanting to play with other kids. He was biting his nails to a nub, licking his hands, not talking to anyone at school and rubbing his head. I have also noticed he does like to look at the person he is talking too. Of course I thought the worse and thought he was being molested. I went to his Teacher and she has worked very hard with him, but he is still a loner. If you knew him before, he played with everyone and enjoyed life. I was told by his Ped. that he had anxiety and to have him see a shrink.

I am hoping that after taking them both off this medicine, I will see improvement.

I am so mad right now. I blindly trusted my doctor and had mirena inserted one year ago, just realized reading the posts that the mess I am in right now, started with this thing. I have gone thru a very bad year of depression, weight gain, aches and pains and no energy. I put on 40 pounds and lay in bed countless days and was also prescribed wellbutriun and lexapro, for severe depression, with suicidal thoughts, no sex drive, mood swings and just feeling I could not move out bed and totally helpless. What is the most scary part is that I was put on these thinking that it was all my brain's fault.
After all, my marriage had not been in so good shape, I got pregnant at 41 and had an abortion due to many complications. Also I had lost my job and when I decided to work for my best friend and got hurt on the job, requiring 3 months of treatment, I discovered I did not have a best friend after all. I finally start therapy and after several months of ups and downs, even with meds and counseling, I feel I have not made much progress at all. Today when I decided to go online to check on my meds side effects and getting terrified with it, I decided to check on mirena. I can tell you that, having this put inside of me put me in soo much risk for depression which in turn led me to the meds that also can course weight gain, confusion,dizziness, liver demage and a bunch of other things. DO NOT EVER TAKE YOUR DOCTOR S WORDS AS THE GOSPEL.

In September of 2007 my then 13 year old daughter was put on Singular for mild asthma. At the time she was a straight A student, vice president of our school and a popular girl who's guidance counselor described as "the glue of her grade" because she was so well liked. In November she told me that she was struggling with advanced Latin and Science. She asked to drop down to on grade Latin so we did. In December her science teacher notified us that she had a C average. She told me that she thought she had ADD/ADHD and she couldn't keep up. At the same time she was having a lot of problems with friends at school and we just attributed it to being 14. 3 weeks ago we discovered that she is significantly behind in English and it was then that she told me that she is been having horrific night mares. She said that they usually involve someone killing her or her killing herself. She said that they were so graphic that she couldn't repeat it out loud. She also said that she would feel waves of anxiety that would come over her at school and she would act "witchy" to the kids in her class for no real reason. She said that sometimes when she is trying to do her homework she will read the same passage for 2 hours and still have no idea what it's about. She also said that the suicidal thoughts from her sleep happened during they day and that she had thoughts of her harming herself. Fortunately her pulminologist told us that this may be caused by singular and we immediately took her off of it which was 2 weeks ago. She has only had 1 "bad dream" not even a nightmare since. She had one anxiety attack 3 days after she was off it and she describes her moods as the "cloud lifting....slowly". Now, we have to pick up the pieces. Her grades have suffered, her friendships have suffered and most of all her self esteem is very low. I'm grateful that we found out the cause but I feel as if my daughter lost a year of her life and I worry that because Merck won't admit there are side effects we can't find out how long it remains in their system. Is anyone else concerned about the long term affect and has anyone pursued a class action suit to try to get this drug tested properly?

My son is 9 years old and been on Adderall XR for about 3 weeks and says he hears voices and they tell him they are going to hurt someone... He also has become very aggressive with his siblings... Has anyone else ever had this happen.. Please Help

I have read many posts about Adderall XR side effects, and wondered if anyone has found another medicine that works better for them. My 12 year old daughter is taking 20mg/day of Adderall XR. It definitely helps her tremendously in focusing at school, but the side effects are just too much. (she has huge mood swings, verbal tics, compulsive hair plucking, etc.) We need an alternative ASAP. If you have something else that you recommend, please let me know. Thanks!

My son is 10 ½, and had been on Singulair for almost 6years to treat his well controlled asthma and allergies. We have had behavior problems with him for years, but it seems to have gotten worse this school year, when his grades (he is in the gifted program at school) went down the tubes. Our family has been to counseling, where it was suggested we put him on ADHD meds. We resisted, but things had reached the point that I was ready to give the NEW meds a try. ARGH!!!!! Then my sister sent me a link for a story about the teenage boy who committed suicide. This was several weeks before the Singulair/suicide stories were in the news. I did some research, and I started reading these posts. It was like I was reading descriptions of my son!! I talked to several pharmacists and none of them knew of any behavior problems attributed to taking Singulair. Talked to his pediatric pulmonary doc, he knew of no connection, but said to try taking him off. He thought the allergy/asthma would be OK since he also uses an inhaled steroid every day. Well........... I thought I could see a difference in 4 or 5 days, my husband thought I was wishful thinking! But, since then everyone in his life agrees, he is a different kid! No moodiness, no unexplained anger, more on task, sleeping better. I could go on and on. There is no doubt in my mind, the differences started when he stopped taking the Singulair.

Follow up to my post earlier today...

I took the my son to the doctor this morning and he was somewhat dismissive of the recent reports on Singulair...says he's had a lot of kids on the drug and never heard a peep about side effects until last week when the report on suicidal tendencies showed up. He did advise that when these kinds of behavior changes happen after a new drug is started he would recommend that we stop taking the drug no matter what it was, but I still felt uncomfortable with his response to us.

I felt like he was accusing me of making it up or only coming up with it because of recent news and message board posts. In fact, I made the appointment BEFORE I saw the posts. I was worried about his behavior BEFORE I saw the posts. It's just that seeing the stories from everyone else basically confirmed my suspicions that it might be the drug causing the problems.

I feel like I definitely wasted OVER AN HOUR waiting for a doctor to spend five minutes making me feel small.

Last night was the last time my son will take the drug, and I don't care what the doctors think of me.