Healthcare professionals symptoms and conditions

My 11 year old son started singular in March of 2009 for exercise induced asthma. Within weeks he started having symptoms of heartburn - which he had never had before. I brought him back into the dr. mid June- they said wasn't related to singulair and actually increased his does from 5 mg to 10 mg. Since increasing his does, he started experiencing, daily headaches, stomach pain, leg cramps, night sweats w/ shaking & overall FEAR. Last night he was in tears - he kept saying there is something seriously wrong with me - I can't stand feeling this way he was afraid he was going to die and didn't want to go to sleep.

Last night I did my own research and found this board. THANK GOD!
He didn't take his singulair last night & he never will again.

I called his dr. this morning to tell them I think he is having negative side effects from singulair. They actually told he it was "HIGHLY UNLIKELY" his symptoms were related to singulair and NOT TO STOP USING IT. They instead said I should start giving him pepcid. I told them he had stopped it - for good and that we need a plan B for is exercise induced asthma. Looks like my plan B is finding a new Dr. that isn't in bed with Merck.

Has anyone had any experience with a NATURAL approch to controlling exercise induced asthma?

Our 11 yr. old daughter was prescribed with Singulair. She started taking it today with much hesitation from her parents. She was on this medication years ago for her mild asthma, but her mood swings/depression were terrible. We have a new ENT now and he promises that the mood swings/depressions are NONSENSE and that these rumors were put to rest years ago. We will be watching her side effects closely, but my question is if Singulair helps so much, what other medication can someone take that does not have these side effects? What is the alternative? She is also going to see a pediatric pulmonologist in August.

I was on the NuvaRing for about a year, and in that time I had recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), one which developed into a kidney infection (this required taking antibiotics, which I generally avoid, because it's a rather dangerous infection). I had never had a UTI before, so I asked my doctor more than once if the near-chronic UTIs could be related to the Ring and she said that it was very unlikely; she wasn't aware of that ever being a problem. Shockingly enough, when I finally got fed up in May and threw my NuvaRing in the trash, my problems disappeared: I have had one very mild UTI since then. I'm mad at my doctor, and at the doctors of all the women who have responded to this site. I'm not so naive; I know doctors take money from pharmaceutical companies, but how could so many healthcare professionals ignore many repeated complaints of similar side effects?

I have been reading all of these posts and have another question. I hope that someone can help. My daughter, 8 years old, has been on Singulair since she was 4. She is normally a very happy girl with a wonderful disposition. For the last year or so, she has been having trouble getting herself to sleep at night. She says that she hears things in her head such as ringing or "noises". A few hours before she knows it's bedtime, she cries and when we ask her why she's crying, she can't give us a reason. We initially thought that she was crying for no reason because she didn't want to go to sleep. I remember reading about the side effects of Singulair causing mood swings, etc., but her's are not violent mood swings. Just very emotional and has a hard time coming down from the "episode". I'm at a loss...I have not talked to her doctor yet about it, but have told her that we will make an appointment this week to discuss it with him. My husband suggested that maybe it sounded like she was having a panic attack or anxiety attack. I hate to label her as that at such a young age. My mind now goes back to the side effects of Singulair and maybe this is to blame. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Concerned Mom

FYI: Go to

http://www.drugs.com/fda/singulair-montelukast-12368.html

Singulair (montelukast)
March 27, 2008
Audience: Pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, other healthcare professionals, patients
FDA informed healthcare professionals and patients of the Agency's investigation of the possible association between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) and suicide. Singulair is a leukotriene receptor antagonist used to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, and to prevent exercise-induced asthma. Patients should not stop taking Singulair before talking to their doctor if they have questions about the new information. Healthcare professionals and caregivers should monitor patients taking Singulair for suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) and changes in behavior and mood.

This early communication is in keeping with FDA’s commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety reviews of drugs. Due to the complexity of the analyzes, FDA anticipates that it may take up to 9 months to complete the ongoing evaluations. As soon as this review is complete, FDA will communicate the conclusions and recommendations to the public.

Latest FDA MedWatch Alerts...

New FDA Warning:

FDA informed health care professionals and patients of the Agency's investigation of the possible association between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidally (suicidal thinking and behavior) and suicide. Singulair is a leukotriene receptor antagonist used to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, and to prevent exercise-induced asthma. Patients should not stop taking Singulair before talking to their doctor if they have questions about the new information. Healthcare professionals and caregivers should monitor patients taking Singulair for suicidally (suicidal thinking and behavior) and changes in behavior and mood.
This early communication is in keeping with FDA’s commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety reviews of drugs. Due to the complexity of the analyzes, FDA anticipates that it may take up to 9 months to complete the ongoing evaluations. As soon as this review is complete, FDA will communicate the conclusions and recommendations to the public.

Read the complete 2008 MedWatch Safety Summary, including a link to the FDA Early Communication About An Ongoing Safety Review regarding this issue at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#Singulair

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We took our 16 year old son to Urgent Care as he was very sick and a high fever. The Urgent Care doctor prescribed Levaquin 500 mg. After the 2nd pill my son could not speak clearly, his jaw was very strangely crooked and he could not hold it in place, his face muscles were twitching, I was so scared I thought he was having a stroke!!! I rushed him to ER and the doctor said they could not believe that a doctor prescribed this to a minor as that is illegal without a parent consent!!!! This drug is NOT to be give to minors and I cant believe that the Urgent Care doctor did not tell us that along with any side effects it may have. I know I should be informed myself, but when we rush our child to the Urgent Care because he is sick, we trust the doctor when he prescribes just an antibiotic!!!! I am wayyyyyyyy more upset and mad that the doctor did not mention AT ALL that this drug IS NOT TO BE GIVEN TO MINORS WITHOUT A PARENT CONSENT. If we had knows this we would not take a chance on it. I would want a normal antibiotic that my son has taken before. If it is harmful to kids, I don't recommend an adult take it. Children are not done gowning and all kinds of things could have happend to my son. I was never more scared of anything in my entire life, my son was crying cause all the SUDDEN he could not talk and his face was all distorted.... so scary. PRAISE GOD that my son is all better now except for a cold, still and he is very athletic and seems to be getting better with no aches or pains. The ER doctor did recommend Benadryl and when my son took this his symptoms went down and the drug was out of his system in 2 days. I know he will be great as that is what we PRAY for but I thought this was very good info to pass along. If anyone experiences these symptoms you now know someone who has been through it and what the ER doctor recommend for us. Take care, please be healthy....

Mine was put in about a month and a half ago. I haven't stopped "spotting" since. I'm usually not one to complain of side effects and try to ignore them, but the moodiness is awful! My husband has been practically begging for me to get it removed. My skin has also broken out a lot more than normal. I think that healthcare professionals should really be more honest about the side effects. I'm getting it removed today. When I called my doctor's office and mentioned the emotional part, the nurse (which I love) kinda blew it off like it really wasn't caused by Mirena. I can't find another reason for it...
Didn't gain weight like a lot of other ladies, I actually lost a few pounds so I guess that's one good thing about it.

I've tried several bc pill methods over the last three years. Last summer I started the nuvaring. The first 3 months I thought that I was going to crawl out of my skin. I was extremly angry all the time and very fearful. I decided to wait out the symptoms. They did subside, however, I rarely had a regular period. I would experience cramping between periods and occational shooting pains in my uterus. Last month, I started experiancing uncontrollable anxiety. My thoughts were so out of my own charater that they scared me. Along with the aniexty I would wake up in the middle of the night with panic. 9 days ago, after reading a blogg of other women suffering from the same symptoms I decided to stop the nuvaring. The aniexty has subsided and I now feel more myself, although not 100%. Unfortunately after reading some of these bloggs I notice that healthcare professionals claim that there is a very unlikely chance that nuvaring can cause this type of side effect. This is due to the low hormone doses in this BC. I'm here to say that I have NEVER in my experiance had this type of aniexty even during the most stress and low times of my life. I have read consistantly that woman on this BC have the same symptoms....so what? we're all crazy??? Just remember everyone has different bodies and any kind of hormone that is not your own WILL effect you low dose or not. It's just a matter of how it will effect you, positive or negative.

I am a registered nurse in an emergency room. In an effort to be taken seriously regarding your pain,by a healthcare professional - keep a pain journal. Note the time, the severity (on a 1 to 10 scale), location, duration, what you were doing when it started, any treatment you completed for the pain and the outcome of that treatment, MD visits and treatment, etc. It can just be a little notebook. Bring that with you to your MD appointment. If you start changing doctor's, visiting different clinics and emergency rooms to obtain the "correct" medication for your pain - you are addicted, and need to seek help for that. Of course you should seek second opinions on your continued pain, just don't expect to always get the specific medicationn that you would like. Yes, healthcare professionals scrutinize closely people who come in requesting Vicodin, or any other narcotic. The drug-seekers in the community have forced us to be more suspicious - especially if you say you have been on Vicodin (or any other narcotic) for 6 months(???!!!)
No-one should be on narcotics for extended periods of time. If you are taking them for longer than a couple of weeks, on a pretty scheduled basis - you are addicted. Period. Narcotics have different levels given to them for dependency issues. Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen (Vicodin), Demerol, Morphine, Valium - are all at a pretty high addiction rate. Tramadol is at the lower range.
I am amazed at the number of people who are having a paradoxical effect to Ultracet. It is a narcotic - a "downer". There might be more than just that specific medication causing the euphoric effects. Perhaps a pain journal would also clarify this.
I am not a physician, but an experienced ER RN - take my advice for what it is worth.