Hyperactive symptoms and conditions

my 5 yr old has been on singulair for 2 months and her behavior has changed dramatically. She is moody, hyperactive and aggressive. Her teachers have been complaining about her behavior and last year she was their star pupil. She has always been a relatively well behaved and focused child. I think her behavior is a side effect of the singulair.

I am just about to burst in tears from reading all this information. Our daughter is 4 years old. She is been in Singulair (for her Allergies) since she was almost 10 months. It been quite a rollercoaster for us. We have been told she is ADHD (although can't be diagnose until 6), she has almost all the characteristics. hyperactive, mood swings vary between days, now leg pains, nightmares, etc. Two years ago our allergist took her off Singulair but our pediatrician didn't agree, so we went back.
It has been very painful because our daughter is such a bright girl; we don't want her to suffer, not to be accepted because she is acting like this. From reading all this information my husband and I decided to take her off Singualir. Hopefully we see some changes that can give us a sense of relief. Any words of wisdom?

My son was dignosed with Asthma since he was about 3-4months old. Been using Singulair since his was about 6 months old ever since then his behavior was cranky,restless and very irritable. I never could have imagine it was this medicine. Now he's 5yrs and behaviors at Home and Preschool are the same and worst he can't concentrate, figitty Staring Spells Rolling of his eyes and At home he's very moody, Hyperactive and a very vivid imagination. My son tells me that his body feels itchy. In the past Ive told my sons doctors about concerns about this medicine and i was assured it was ok after reading theses posting I'm getting rid of this medication and am going back to see my sons doctor.

my son is on toprol and i've never seen him sleep so much in his life. he has svt. atleast thats the reason they put him on this medication and say he will be on it forever or until something better comes along. he has no ambition. he used to be hyperactive growing up. maybe there is something else he could take for the tachycardia??? i'm so confused as to what to even ask the dr at this point.

Please be careful when using this drug!!!!! My daughter is 4 years old and was on Singulair for a 1 1/2 years to control allergies and Asthma. She was also on 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Zyrtec. She lost the last year and 1/2 of social and emotional growth. She became angry, aggressive, hyperactive, disconnected from reality, uncommunicative. She was deliberately hitting, scratching, etc. unprovoked. She retreated into a fantasy world where there was alot of "killing" and other scary things. The other kids were scared of her. Her teacher, who has over twenty years of teaching in a University Laboratory school (she knows what she is doing) said that her behavior was the most extreme she had ever seen. I took her to the Pediatrician, to a child Psychologist, and to a Physiciatrist. They were thinking ADHD and maybe Bi-Polar or ODD or worse...we were very scared. The Pediatrician said, no the drug could not be causing this. This site helped me to realize that maybe it was the Singulair. Psychologist, physiciatrist and allergist all said, yes it could be the drugs. We got her allergy tested and she was extremely allergic and started allergy shots. We took her off the Singulair and Zrytec and starting seeing changes in her behavior within a week. It has now been 5 weeks and our little girl is back...she is smiling again, happy!! and communicating! We can have a conversation with her now! It is amazing. Everyone has noticed the difference..her teachers, Dr.'s, etc. She has had a few outbursts and some hyperactivity since but they are diminishing as time goes by. I just wonder how long it will take for all the effects to be gone and how much work we have to do to teach her all the things she missed developmentally over the last year and 1/2 while her mind my blocked by this drug. They should take it off the market. It is frightening. Please beware!!!!!!!!

Doctor prescribed Singulair for our 4 year old son because of mild asthma: cough after exercising. He had been taking the medication for about 4 months. During this time previously friendly, active boy turned into a terror: hyperactive, aggressive (hitting, throwing things at people, yelling, screaming), tantrums, very irritable. He started waking up at nights telling he has had bad dreams. We are glad we linked such a drastic change in his behavior to Singulair. Haven' t given the stuff for a week now and slowly things are getting back to usual.
What made me unhappy was that prior administering Singulair I consulted to pediatricians - one in the US and another in Europe. Both assured the side effects are very rare, the medication is absolutely safe (!!!!!) and the best one so far!!!!! However, the doctor in the US told me I should give the medication about 3 - 4 hours before sleep as child might gate 'little too active'.
It was not worth giving the drug because of the side effects that were so tough on a child and were very difficult for me, my husband and child' s nanny to take care of, we simply did not understand what is going on with our child.
I am very thankful to this site.

I am horrified to read what awful side effects some kids have had from Singulair. My 4 year old is on Singulair since December 2006 (slightly persistent asthma - cough after exercise).
My observations are - child is hyperactive. For the first month it was fine, but now for the last month his behavior is not as usual. He is active biy but not hyperactive!!! I took him off for 5 days and things went back to normal. However, I should admit his cough has dissapeared.... don' t know what to think, will be talking to doctor.

My daughter was diagnosed with asthma nearly a year ago after having a severe attack. She was prescribed singulair. It has stopped the asthma but certain things are really starting to worry me that has been happening. She has usually been quite an active child but she has gotten very active, on the verge of hyperactive. She cannot sleep until about 10.30 every night and is aggressive. I have her booked into the doctor this week to ask her to be taken off the singulair but am worried also that her asthma will return and maybe the next medication prescribed will be worse. I am relieved to find this site and hear that other people have these problems too. I have been searching desperately hoping it wasn't all in my mind. Also my daughter is only 5 years old, she probably can't tell me if there are any other problems. I hope that everything will change for her soon.

Hi everyone,
I have not posted in awhile because I have been going through a really tough time. I have gotten worse. I been off about 7 weeks now. I am sorry and also embarrassed to say that I had to start an A/D called Lexapro. I was always into everything natural and never would do this before but the Yaz has just totally messed my brain up. I became so suiscidal and depressed where I could not even leave my house. I have 2 children who I could not even take care of. I tried everything natural for a couple of weeks with no success. It was basically death or try this medication. I had no choice. I have only been on it for a week a very low dose and still feel horrible. The sleep jerking is the only thing that got a little better. But now I read all your post and feel helpless that I could not do this on my own like all of you. I also was healthy and happy before this pill. Never had thoughts of anxiety or killing myself. I wake up in pure panick since taking the Yaz. Now the muscle weakness makes sence. I have been suffering with muscle aches and shakiness since the pill too. i just thought it was me. Nothing about me is the same anymore. I lost alot of weight but now my fingers are puffy and feet are puffy since going off the pill. Yasmin and yaz are such dangerous pills. I really feel it scrambled my brain. My doctor does believe the pill caused a chemical in balance in my brain with the serotonin and 2 other hormones, I can't remember the name. They control our stress levels, sleep levels and pain feelings. He really believe the pill altered these chemicals. My body forgot how to sleep. I feel like my brain is so scrambled. My thyroid became alittle hyperactive too from the pill. The body aches are sometimes so unbearable, my legs and feet are the worst. It makes you feel like there is something else wrong with you. I have pain in my head always, my vision is not the same. I just get so sad because I feel i will never get better and now I had to take this stupid A/D. I am so scared but what choice did I have? I really feel that we need to do something. Something needs to be done about this medicine. I am so angry that we are all suffering like this. IT's like they put somekind of chemical warfare in it or something. I am in touch with other woman from other websites that were on this pill and they are so sick too. We all want answers of what really happend to us after this pill. Sometimes its hard for me to get out of bed. Did other people feel like this? I feel like I have the flu. I have all these brain fogs all the time. The sleeping is the worst, it;s like my body really forgot how to sleep. I still get the muscle twithcing alot at night. Does anyone get muscle twitching? Please let me know.

I am really happy to have discovered this site. I got a bit of a fright today with my 4 yo who has been quite aggressive towards his younger siblings, hyperactive, non responsive to time outs etc. He ran out impulsively today in front of a car coming home from school. it was a near miss. He has been on Singulair for afew days only. He had been on Singulair for a time previously and similar out of character behaviour was noted. We had suspected inhaled salbutamol was causing him to be a bit hyper, but Singulair the effects were multiples of it. I was wondering if we were imagining these side effects but I see and identify with a lot that has been said on the board so far. I will not give my son singulair again. Thanks again.

I have been on Prednisone for over a year to treat my Chrohn's. I am finally done to half a pill. The side effects I have or have experinced are.sweats, no sleep, increased appetite, mood swings, feelings of being stoned, hyperactive, shaky, acne on face and chest, flushed face and hot flashes, sore eyes, weak skin, sore muscles, sore elbows (not knees or hips), unable to concentrate for long periods, skatterbrain, forgettfullness, anything else I am forgetting. I am a 32 year old female. hate this drug, once I am off will never go back. I would rather have a colostromy then go on this drug again. Oh and did I mention the depression. Very suicidale at times...crazy drug! Anyone can tell me when the moon face and acne side effects will go away?? All the best to everyone on this drug.

In the evenings, my legs become exceedingly heavy feeling as I try to walk around the house or whatever. Also, I feel a hyperactive presence although my pulse and heartbeat don't necessarily rise. I also experience some angina. I am mainly concerned with the heaviness in my hamstrings and the body rush.
I am also on plavix, ace inhibitors (metoprolol), beta blockers (enalapril) and prevacid.
I had a heart attack July 5 and have been on this medication since then.
Thank you for a response.
jerry tuckwin

I've read some of the other posting and I'm a bit concerned. I have twin boys who were started on Singulair about 2 years ago for seasonal allergies. They went on it around sept. and remained on it thru may. They came off of it during the summer months but were put back on it again in Sept. My boys were about 2.5 years when they were put on it and now I'm starting to put the pieces together. They have developed agressive behaviors toward me, their father and each other. They are very moody and irritable and have become anxious about being left at school, which was not a problem during the summer months they were off it. They also become very hyperactive after initially taking the medication at night. I also have a nephew who was put on it about a year and a half ago. He is 8.5 and has developed anxiety about going to school, which he did not have prior to taking this med, headaches, and stomache aches. I'm not sure if all these are truly being brought on by singulair, but its highly likely.

Does anyone know why it is recommended that children take Singulair in the evening? The reason I ask is that my son (age 6) starts getting hyperactive about an hour after I give him his pill (currently 5 mg, although I'm going to cut the pill in half from now on). I'd rather give it to him in the morning. Any thoughts?

I am taking Adderall for the first time today, for ADD-like (inattentive rather than hyperactive) executive function symptoms resulting from a brain injury (frontal, especial left frontal, and temporal lobes) I sustained 8 years ago. I have had extremely bad problems with productivity ever since. I am a twentysomething female, 5'8" and 135lb and I took 10 MG an hour ago. I would say I am feeling unusually alert for this time in the morning, senses feeling more "awake," my heart rate a little elevated but not too abnormal, and also in a particular sense feeling calmer/less anxious than ordinary. I feel less compulsion to websurf, which is something I have a serious problem with. I'd say I am also finding it easier and smoother to compose this writing than I would ordinarily, I am hyper-literate and have a strong desire to write, but writing is usually like pulling teeth--very slow and very hard to organize my thoughts. I am starting to feel a buzz; I find a caffeine buzz very unpleasant and distracting, and caffeine doesn't seem to help my attentiveness and productivity all that much. But I am more alert and focused, and that part feels good. It is so tiresome and frustrating feeling "lazy," unfocused, foggy, and restless like I normally do. The buzz I am feeling is getting a little more intense and my heart rate also up a little more, I feel kind of tingly. I kind of don't like it and time will tell how much it bothers me after I am more used to it. I suspect that I may find it a reasonable trade-off to feeling focused. And again, in a particular sense I feel more peaceful than normal because I'm not having the stray thoughts and spacyness I normally do. That feels like a relief. I think I can see why people eat less on this drug, because of the heightened physiological state and the reduced feelings of boredom or restlessness that often drive people to eat. If I can use it to eat less sweets that could be good, but I will try to be careful to keep eating regular healthy meals. It's now an hour and a half since I took the pill and I think the effect is perhaps plateauing. My sinuses feel very clear and my mouth is perhaps a little dry. I was a little afraid to take this thing but the buzz feeling is probably not quite as bad as I feel after a 12 oz cup of black coffee and much less bad than a bad dose of nighttime cold medicine I had once, and with more benefit. I'm going to leave this posting at that and see what more I can get done today. Hopefully these observations help someone.

To the 15 year old wondering whether he/she should take Adderall, this is something you can/should ONLY decide together with a doctor. The doctor will be able to give you much better advice than anyone on the internet. Seriously. But if it puts your mind at ease any, you should know that underweight, unless it is extreme, is not in itself a serious health risk. If being underweight makes you self-conscious that is also a consideration, but a doctor can probably help you somewhat to manage your weight whether or not you take a stimulant.

I am a 39 year old woman who switched from Azmacort to Advair in December for a few weeks. After that short of time, I felt me throat feel like it was closing up, I was agitated, and one morning after a week of building symptoms, took my blood pressure which was 20 pts higher than usual. I also had burning in my chest and felt on the verge of a panic attack. Since then I was prescribed Pulmicort, and it has been so much better.

I also accessed this site mainly because of my son who is 6. He was diagnosed with cough variant asthma and some allergy to outdoor mold. The doctor started him on Advair, and over the last month or so, the behavior change has been startling. He has been very agitated, clearing his throat constantly, wetting the bed, saying he was"scared" at bedtime, saying he was "happy on the outside but sad on the inside", and being so hyperactive and inattentive as to be staring right at him when telling him something, and he would totally go off and do what you just told him not to, and be genuinely confused as to why he was in time out.

I have an appointment tomorrow morning with the allergist and have had him off of advair for four days. Already the throat clearing has stopped and the behavior has subsided. I am also hoping to keep him off of singulair as well after hearing about those side effects and see if we can manage for now. Thanks for all of the helpful info and we will see.

I've been taking Synthroid (Levothyroxine) for about 17 YEARS. I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease, and opted for the radioactive iodine. After two years of trying to control the disease with PTU (which has serious bone marrow depletion side effects) I decided to go for the one thing I knew would work. Of course, the treatment with the radioactive iodine is very tough to estimate, and I went from hyperactive to hypoactive. As a result, I'll take 200mcg (0.2mg) for life.

I think it's important to understand that Synthroid is not a drug. It is a hormone. When you take Synthroid, you're engaging in hormone replacement therapy (HRT). You really won't experience side effects from the hormone, but you will experience problems if the amount of hormone is not within a "normal" range. Too much or too little will be a problem for anyone. What's critical here is to take the hormone at the same time every day (without food -- calcium will block its absorption), and monitor your hormone level frequently to establish a solid baseline.

The hormone will take days, or even weeks to reach its peak, and the duration is variable. BECAUSE IT'S A HORMONE, TAKING MORE OR LESS THAN IS NECESSARY WILL PRODUCE UNDESIRABLE RESULTS. Any "side effects" are really the result of improper dosing.

Having said all of that, I've never had a problem with Synthroid -- once my optimal level was determined. I worked closely with my MD and together decided that I was best at the upper side of "normal." I've made only one change in the 17 years, and that was to increase the dose.

Here's something to consider: If it weren't for this hormone, and the science behind HRT, I probably would have died years ago.

If first you don't succeed, try again. I couldn't tolerate the wellbutrin XL (extended release version) but did very well on the regular wellbutrin at a low dose (75 mg once a day).

While taking a trial of wellbutrin XL, I felt unusually tired, but I had insomnia to the point I had to go to wallmart to purchase generic brand sleeping pills, which I'd never taken before. This did not go away even after several days. I felt like I did when I first popped a psuedoephedrine 24 hour release pill for allergies when I didn't fall asleep until a half hour before I was due to get up. Ever since then, I laugh about how fucked up psuedoephedrine 24 hour release is and how it make me feel as high as a kite. I didn't feel high on wellbutrin, but I tossed and turned uncomfortably even though I was more tired than usual and only wanted to catch some shut eye.

Furthermore, on wellbutrin XL, I felt anxious for no reason, a weird sort of amphetamine addict or drugged up shake that I couldn't tolerate. I never do well on extended release versions of medications, however, because I experience more side effects for whatever reason. I'm glad I decided to try a lower dose that isn't an extended or sustained release because it worked well.

I like wellbutrin in general. Other positive effects are feeling slightly less depressed (not overwhelmingly so though), and feeling more intelligent and consequently, more self-confident. I also have more energy to do daily tasks, and am much more organized. I also notice I'm more logical minded and less impulsive. I think my thoughts are clearer and consequently, I feel more stable, which is all good.

Negative side effects are, especially when I first started taking it, unusually greater hyperactivity. First, it effected me in such a way that I felt even manic and like an ADHD little kid who runs around before bedtime and acts silly and hyperactive. This diminished after taking a lower dose and also after several days after it had been in my system. Now, I'm not troubled by hyperactivity.

Also, when I added this to my prescribed zoloft, I feel like in a fog from hell. Especially this was true after I ran out of ritalin and had to rough it for two weeks on just wellbutrin and zoloft. For example, at the convenience store, I look like I'm a vicodin addict as simple choices becomes overwhelming and I'm inundated by a baffling array or options, such as whether to buy sunchips or pretzels and lollying and looking lost as I wander the isles to the point the salesclerk probably thought I was going to steal something. Especially after I dropped my purse on the ground and started rummaging around to see how much money I had, also increasing my options because I could buy alcohol too, only I couldn't decide which kind, the raspberry zodka or plain, or should I just buy a bottle or wine since all they had were 6 packs or smirnoff ice? Luckily, the salesclerk looked like she was stoned so she probably didn't notice, although when I said "and I'm the red car on that pump", I couldn't remember which number it was, she said, "so that's YOUR red car" as if there was a huge discussion amongst the two on who owned the red car parked at the pump for so long.

I decided not to take zoloft with wellbutrin and that wellbutrin is no substitute for ritalin. I like wellbutrin better than zoloft, however, because althought it doesn't help my OCD or anxiety, and I think makes them worse, it still makes me feel more capable simply because I do better at work and in life - organizing things and the like.

Lastly, since I'm more anxious on the wellbutrin/ritalin combination, I'm currently looking for a medication to go with the two to treat my anxiety and OCD without making me feel like I'm in a fog. However, I feel very pleased with wellbutrin because it helps my depression and ADD and the side effects are mild, and even less noticeable at a lower dose for me.

To the mother of the child for whom Neurontin acts like speed:

Neurontin takes away irritability (or nerve-firing threshold) of the involuntary muscular system, and it sounds like the physical phenomenae is just another manifestation of the seizures for which she had the drug prescribed.

Poor kid, those side-effects sound TERRIBLE, and as her mother I would immediately talk to her doctor about change of dosage, or something else -- anything else -- the effect N has on her shows it's either not the right thing for her problem, not enough dosage, or another not-yet-understood indication of inappropriate treatment. The fact that she has headaches indicates it's not just her Mom's unwillingness to deal with a hyperactive kid. Having-headaches means it's poisoning her system. Please act as her advocate and protector in this matter.

And it's NOT the last-ditch treatment for seizures: ask her medical team about surgeries. If they won't do that, then either find new doctors who will give you access to everything possible that modern medicine can provide to help seizures, or explain the trade-offs of living with medicinal side-effects and the risks of surgery.

Jan S. Kauffman, Neurontin userid, parent and grandparent, Masters in Counselling, certificate in elementary education, survivor of decades of fighting the American medical system

Extreme weakness and joint pain. Fast heart beat. Breathless. Hunger. (see list below) Went to several specialsts for the weakness. Finally had thyroid test and found it is hyperactive. I strongly recommend anyone with two or more of these symptoms: extreme fatigue or weakness, fast heart, breathlessness, sleeplessnes, weakness, depression, irratibility - to get their thyroid checked. It apears Lupron can create a thyroid imbalance in some people