Effect relationship symptoms and conditions

My second trip to this forum. A couple years ago, I developed plantar's fasciitis in both heels and had to give up basketball (at 54), and it took about nine months to recover from that. I had been on Lipitor 10 mg, and, while I can't say there was a cause-effect relationship, I had no problems of this kind before then.

Well, I continued on the Lipitor, and this past fall got horrible impingement pain in one shoulder that evolved to a frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis). Tonight I did a quick google search on this and it led me back to this site. Again, I cannot PROVE anything, but I've NEVER had any trouble with joints and just have to wonder.

I read on one link that Frozen Shoulder is on the rise, and wonder if Statin use is possibly behind it. I'm at the point that I may go off these drugs and go hard core Atkins diet again, the only thing that got the excess 30 pounds I'm carrying off, and also gave me "textbook" numbers on my lipid profile.

I'm starting to think this drug is possibly the problem. It's not worth it to take a debilitating and crippling substance just to be able to eat whatever I want.

My 3 year old son was having trouble with aggressive behavior in his daycare. The head teacher asked if he was on singulair. When he said he was, she said that that might be the cause of his aggressive behavior.

My wife went with my son to Chile for a month. The singulair prescription ran out while they were there, but because it had not been a month before the last refill before they left, they could not refill the prescription before leaving for Chile. The singulair ran out after their third day in Chile. So my son went a month without taking singulair.

And interestingly, his behavior did not change. He aggression was about the same as before. It is only recently, now that he has been developing more language skills and has also been potty training, that his aggressive behavior is for the most part under control. So in our case, it does not seem that there has been a cause-effect relationship between taking singulair and our child's aggressive behavior. He still takes singulair every day and is doing fine. Also, he never experienced any of the problems sleeping that others reported.

Hats off to Dr. Engler. Patients need this type of support. He is a unique individual willing to tell his own experiences.

Singulair increases risk of Suicide? Don't just poo-poo the possibility

This analysis is solely the work of the author. It has not been edited or endorsed by GLG
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Analysis By:David Engler, MD
Physician, The Allergy Clinic

Implications: It is difficult to imagine why taking Singulair would increase the risk that someone would complete suicide. After all, what does a leukotriene receptor antagonist have to do with mental health? I don't know. But doctors, ask yourself, have you ever had a Singulair patient stop taking it because it caused headaches? I have had dozens of them stop taking it because of headaches. When they attempt to try it again, the headache comes back. But the package insert says that the risk of headache is no greater than it is in people who took placebo. Try explaining that to the patient who got the headache--it's very real to them.

Analysis: The story about Singulair and suicide may be based on some cause-effect relationship. I don't know what that is, but I will tell you story of a patient I saw last week. She is a 19 year old college student, with the usual stresses of college. I have been treating her for asthma and allergies since she was 10 years old, and she had been on Singulair for about 5 years.

She was treated in the town's ER for an intentional Tylenol overdose; she took 15 of them for a headache that wouldn't go away. The usual charcoal to the stomach, with Mucomyst to protect the liver from the Tylenol went fine. While under evaluation, the ER doc also noticed she had been "cutting" her wrists and arms. She said that it relieved stress.

They asked her about the Singulair and she said it gave her bad dreams. Astutely, they stopped it. All this happened a week or so before the recent news headlines.

Is that cause and effect? No way....but remember that MRK is the same company that still denies that Vioxx can increase the risk of heart attack. Oh yeah, Vioxx. That drug would have been great as a niche drug if given to treat pain in those already at risk of a GI bleed. But, no, MRK was encouraging dentists to give it out for toothaches, and most patients in my practice who were on it had no history of GI bleed. MRK wanted Vioxx to be a billion-dollar blockbuster; had it been marketed appropriately, it may still be on the market.

So how will I change my prescribing habits? For patients who have a psychiatric history, including those who take antidepressants, I'll mention the story of this patient to those on Singulair and start asking questions to try to determine if they are brittle or fragile from a psychiatric standpoint.

This may be much ado about nothing, but what if it's not? I've learned to stop drinking the drug company Kool Aid without a few grains of salt.

I am 35 yrs. old and have been using inhaled steroids(albuterol,asmacort,vanceril, and Avair) for the past 16 years. I had noticed my eye vision deteriorating over the last 11 years. I was diagnost with and eye disease called kerataconis. i suspect a connection to my asthma medication use. I can only see effectivly with aid of special lense glasses, or hard contacts. I have since ceased use of Advair, and all inhalers , hoping to halt further progression, and the need for corneal trans plants. Too bad for me that Advair and the drug companies didnt fully do a better job warning the public 11 years ago when it could have made a difference.