Meltdown symptoms and conditions

My son started taking Singulair in Sept 08 when he was 22 months old. I never really gave it to him consistently, since it was just to help with his reoccurring ear infections. I noticed a little change in his behavior, but I thought it was the "terrible two's". I started giving it to him religiously at the beginning of Nov 08. He had his first meltdown on Nov 15. He was totally uncontrollable. I call it the "Exorcist" tantrum. I took him to the ER, but they told me nothing was wrong. (I did tell the ER all of the medications he was taking.) He started waking up in the middle of the night screaming. Each day, he got a little worse. Defiant, hateful, destructive, etc. He still isn't talking much, so he can't tell me what is going on. Christmas and New Year were horrible. We had NO idea that it could cause mood changes (that is putting it mildly). The pediatrician had no idea what could be causing the behavioral changes. He also started biting his fingernails and obsessing over little things, like the strings hanging off of his blanket.

We decided to take him off Singulair after double checking the side effects. We stopped a week ago, and the change is amazing. He is back to my great little boy. I am sooooo glad that we discovered this after only a few months. I cannot imagine living like that for years.

Two days after stopping the Singluair, I found this website: ******

As I read the different cases, I thought that it was exactly like my son. I was convinced it was the medicine. Each day that he gets better and better-like his normal self- I keep getting madder and madder that no one informed me about the possible side effect. The Dr. did not know nor the pharmacist.

Yesterday, I went to the FDA site to complain about the side effects. It just so happens that the FDA released a statement yesterday that they are still investigating the link between suicidality and Singulair.

We need to let everyone know, that if you are using Singulair, please pay attention to their child's behavior. Some people may be just fine, but others (like my son) are not fine.

My son was on a cocktail of Singulair, Zyrtec, Astellin and Nasonex. Like a miracle, his severe allergies cleared up almost immediately. Months later, behavioral changes started to surface. Extreme irritability, major meltdowns over nothing, problems in school and pulling out his facial hair including eyelashes and eyebrows. We stopped the medication in April and he improved. By mid summer, the hair pulling stopped. When his allergies started up again about 10 days ago, I put him back on the Zyrtec, because I was certain the Singulair was causing most of the problems. Within 3-4 days, the emotional outbursts started, panic attacks that never happened before - he said he couldn't breathe. Now the hair pulling is back. Everyone thinks I want to blame medication for his problems, but I am certain that Zyrtec has something to do with these problems in addition to Singulair. We have taken him off Zyrtec 2 days ago. We have a dr. appointment in 2 days and we will discuss all of this with him. In the meantime, his allergies are back and he is miserable. I would rather him be physically sick than mentally at this point.

I have been on prednisone since November 2007 for minimal change disease, 65 mg, in May I started to decrease the dosage (per Drs. orders) and by the time I got to 15 mg all my symptoms came back and I swelled up again. I was again put on a higher dosage of prednisone and put on Cytoxan 75 mg. I am now decreasing prednisone, back to 15 mg every other day and will be off Cytoxan next month. Hopefully this will work. Right now my main complaint of side effects is chest pressure, anything I eat or drink makes my stomach swell and I feel like I can never take a full breath. I recently had chest and abdoman xrays and an ultrasound, all negative. Does anyone have this symptom? I also have moon face, weight gain, hump on back, insomnia, headaches, digestive problems ,shakes, night sweats, vision problems, extreme tiredness and hair loss. How long before all this goes away?

I finally don't feel so alone. I got into poison ivy on June 1. On June 12th I finally went to my md to get something to take for it to go away. I had been treating it with calamine, topical stuff and taking Benadryl.... She gave me a shot which actually made it all go away within two hours. BUT, she also loves giving out pills, so she gave me the Dexpak. I took it for 7 days and my heart was beating uncontrollably. I didn't get REM sleep for 5 straight days. I took myself off. Cold turkey, yeah, I know you're not supposed to do that, but that stuff was killing me. So finally after having a meltdown in my office at home, my husband and I went back to her to see what she could do for me. She said oh, just go home, drink some wine and get some sleep.
I went home, drank two glasses of wine (which after doing research is NO combination with with high powered drug and she should have known better!!) Took a really hot bath, tried to get sleep. My husband took off work for three days to try to get me sleep.... finally we went to the ER because my heart wouldn't stop pounding so fast. The ER drugged me with some serious sedatives. I had a reaction to those and had a panic attack in the ER, so their solution: strap her down (bruised my wrist) and take her to a psychiatric unit for "symptoms of schzitophernia." So I was basically in a room with a bunch of people that can't control themselves. I did get 8 hours of sleep and regained all cohesive control. I was still groggy from the sedatives, but I knew what was going on. The nurses were the rudest people I have EVER been in contact with. No wonder the patients were in fits! After 5 hours of me and my husband (who was downstairs with my Mom) they finally released me. I talked to the discharge nurse and she said that if I sign a form releasing myself "against medical advice" that insurance might not pay for it. I said, are you kidding me? I would rather pay to get out of here than sit here one more minute with these people.

It was the worst medical experience I've EVER had. I have since fired my md. She doesn't know it though because she hasn't BOTHERED to call to check on me!! So, I am not going to a psychologist and my obgyn to make sure those steroids didn't screw up my brain or my endocrine system as we are trying to have a baby. Yeah, that was my first thought too... why would my MD who KNOWS we are trying to conceive do this to me?

Whew. Anyway, so my advice is to make sure you have someone around you at all times that can monitor your heart beat and write down EVERYTHING that happens in case you have a situation like mine. I journal all the time, so it was easy for me to explain to the shrink.

Okay, good luck out there!!!

PRAISE GOD for all of the stories shared on this site. And I've only read page one. My husband called me back today to say that he "googled" Singulair and found some interesting things (to say the least). While we were on the phone, my three-year-old was in the throes of another meltdown, kicking me, hitting me, throwing whatever he could get his hands on. My older two boys, 8 and 12, were ordered, once again, to lock themselves in their rooms to avoid being hurt by him. He will throw stuff, bite, hit, kick, and, at times, spit on us. This disturbing behavior is rather constant lately. He is like a mad man. Very scary.

Caleb has been on Singulair since about age 1, when he was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis. Unfortunately, we initially equated his rages with the onset of "terrible two's" and dismissed his behavior to a chorus of "oh, he's just a boy!" My husband felt, at times, that I was just not disciplining him properly. I intuitively knew, having raised two other boys, that this behavior was abnormal, even for severe tantrums. We received a variety of suggestions from his pediatrician, caregivers, and grandparents, all to no avail. We have several calm days but things always deteriorate back to insanity. He is VERY unpredictable.

Last Thanksgiving, Caleb (age 3) was kicked out of his daycare setting for biting and hitting. Once I witnessed him run as fast as he could into a group of playing children, falling on them, kicking them. He would walk up to sweet little girls half his size and push them down as hard as he could. It was a nightmare. My husband had to take 3 weeks of leave to stay home with him while we prayed and searched for new care. We had him evaluated and he was staffed into the "developmentally delayed" program in our school district (for poor adaptive skills and personal/social behaviors). We recently had his tonsils removed, hoping that some of the sinusitis symptoms and behaviors would improve. They really haven't. This past week we have been looking into the Feingold diet. We have been PRAYING for answers. The last time we spoke with his developmental neurologist, he recommended a trial of Risperdol (sp?). We feel like more meds would be like a band-aid, not a solution. But his rage is becoming unbearable.

So, that brings us to today. I was so moved by your accounts. Unlike so many of you, we don't have much of a "before" to go by. But his "after" sounds VERY much like what you have all described. It's probably the pure rage that I see on his face that is the scariest part. And at the same time he seems desperate and vulnerable. He truly seems to snap. If we had pool chairs, I can just picture him throwing them (citing another post :).

We are going to throw the Singulair away. He will never, ever have it again. Even if this isn't the cause of his problems, I certainly don't want to exacerbate any behaviors with this toxic medicine. I will post again just to let anyone who's interested know if this changes his behavior. I am praying that my entry will help someone else, just as all the other postings have helped me. I have renewed hope.

I have copied many of your comments to a Word document. I will be sharing it with a high ranking officer at the medical clinic/hospital on Keesler Air Force Base. I hope that he will discuss this with his staff and that perhaps we can at least make a difference here. I, too, will be filing a report with the FDA. I can only pray that this medicine has not permanently altered his developing brain.

Our son was put on Singular almost 2 years ago to help with his "moderate" asthma. It has been the hardest 2 years for our family. My son who was already very senstive became very depressed. He showed no interest in anything. He was always sad and very down on himself. He had awful night terrors/nightmares. He didn't want to go to school or do anything. We continued to sign him up for sports/piano/scouts and it was a battle to get him to go. He always had headaches, which I thought were because of dehydration and made him drink water. We had him seeing a therapist trying to help him with the sleeping problems and the depression. We switched his room with his sister to physically make him closer to us at night. He was anxious and very irritable. If something went wrong, he couldn't handle it and had complete meltdowns. If he didn't eat anything for a while and his blood sugar got low, he was uncontrollable. To add to the problem was he was never hungry so I would have to force him to eat something about every 2-3 hours to prevent the meltdown.

The good news is that he has been off of Singular for over a month now and he is a new kid. He is excited to go to practice and will ask his dad to play catch with him in the yard. He is happier and we have not heard once "this is the worst day ever" which we had heard all the time before. He has not had one headache and seems to have a little bit of his appetite back. He is happy and holding his head high. Now, he still doesn't want to go to school (what 8 year old boy does), but he doesn't fight me when I tell him it is time to go. He does not have the meltdowns or the irritability. He even showed some empathy to my husband last week.

My husband and I are amazed at how different he is. We are also very upset that for almost 2 years we made his life miserable by forcing him to take this drug. I think for kids that are already sensitive to things it heightens everything! I am filing a complaint with the FDA and spreading the news to all my family and friends. I hope this information helps! I know I have learned a lot from reading these posts.

The doctor told me yesterday it could take up to 6 weeks to get this drug completely out of his system. he is now 5 days off and everyday there is some glimmer of my son shining through. the best way to express it is peace or calm. he is calmer when things go wrong that before would have caused a meltdown.

I counted over 20 things that he has suffered with that I see other children have had to deal as well. I have to be hopeful given the little glimpses of change I am already seeing.

I am reading this thread and will, as a male, caution everyone about the possible effects of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. I am 41, have been married 19 years and have two children. I believe I occasionally suffer from bouts of mild depression which I have treated through therapy (about every 18 to 24 months). My wife had been on OT Lo for a long time until 6 months ago when she finally went off about 6 months after I had a vasectomy.

I cannot do justice to the transformation, at least from my perspective, that resulted after about 30 days of being off OT Lo. Sex drive went from very low to higher than anything I have ever seen. Call me a typical male if you want, but I can tell you the emotional impact of feeling like your wife really wants to be with you versus having almost no interest in sex.

Also, the way she approached problems changed dramatically. Therefore, the way I participated in those problems was able to change. No more highly emotional responses that were very difficult for me to understand while managing my own emotions and our level of conflict. The way way we were able to resolve problems became a partnership, not me bending to emotions I suspected neither she nor I could control.

Biggest problem: Irregeular periods. So, she goes back on the OT Lo and 1 week later we have a huge meltdown because she thinks I am ignoring her and the kids while away on a business trip. I am not for a minute going to tell you I am perfect, but this is precisely the type of issue that hurt our marriage for 18 years (in part because I am not great at handling emotional issues like this, particularly when I don't believe they are true) and went totally away during the 5 months she was OT Lo-free.

Kicker: She doesn't recognize how much differently she is processing her emotions and I have not found a way to address the issue without going through another major emotional battle that historically wouldn't have worked anyway.

Sidenote: I never wanted to get a vas. until I read an article that referenced depression as a possible side-effect of the Pill. I was willing to do anything to help change the emotional equation of our marriage because I didn't know how long I could last managing my bouts of depression in our environment.

So, probably not everyone had or will have the same effects. But please make sure you are paying attention to yourself, your level of happiness and how you handle things. FWIW.

I am 20 years old I have had an irregular period since I first got it at 12 and extremely bad problems with cramps, so my doctor prescribed Ortho Tri Cyclen .. I think its great .. I have mood swings here and there causing me to get a little more emotional then usual at times and my breasts have become a lot bigger but other than that its great

Right now I am a total mess from taking Wellbutrin, sr. I started at 150 mgs last summer. I am now up to 450mgs a day, plus 80 mgs of Prozac a day. The doc cut my Prozac dosage in half, without telling me, and for the last week, I feel like I'm going out of mind. I am going to the doc tomorrow to have a PET scan, just to make sure I don't have a brain tumor, but I am pretty sure I know what is causing all these symptoms. I don't know if dropping the Prozac dose set me off or what, but some of the symptoms I have are; the worst headache I have ever had, dry mouth, ears ringing, heart palpitations, stumbling (I fell down 5 times in the last 2 weeks, enough to send me to the ER) I feel like I have no co-ordination, I tremble and jerk uncontrollably, and I am totally brain dead. I can't remember from one day to the next what I did, or was doing. Heck, in the last few days, I can't even remeber what I did 15 minutes ago. I start something, and walk away from it, and then I think about it later, although so far I have let the sink over flow a couple of times, and let food burn. I have been married and taking care of my family for 33 years, and now I can't even get my kids', my grandkids', and the dogs' name straight! I forget a word I know that I know, and it makes me so frustrated. I have outbursts of crying, the other day I had a meltdown because I couldn't find the leftover ham bone to make soup. I talk real fast, and sometimes get the words all mixed up. I do impulsive stuff, like I maxed out the credit card during Christmas. My husband is going nuts, too, because he says it's like living with another person. Today I have felt like I could barf at any minute, my head is pounding, my heart is pounding, and I could stay awake forever, and then in an hour I'm so tired I have to take naps every day! I never took naps, since I was 5!! I had a similar experience when I was on Paxil. Prozac has worked for me since it first came on the market, but since my doc added the Wellbutrin, I just don't know. It was working fine until she cut the Prozac dose in half, so maybe that set it off, I don't know. I wish I could get off all the crap, but due to PTSD, I have to take at least the Prozac. I hope I get some answers tomorrow!

Thank goodness I found this site!!! I was starting to think I was going crazy! I have been taking Singulair for a little more than 3 weeks, for my allergies. It works wonders on allergies, but I have had several side effects, that I hadn't realized were side effects until reading this site.

I have felt very tired, yet anxious at the same time. I've been very moody, almost to the point that I feel angry all day (which is very unlike me). I have also had strange aches and pains, along with itchy skin on my feet and under my arms. I have also had very vivid dreams. Strange, bad dreams, that last all night long. When I awake I feel like I haven't had any sleep.

I am going to stop taking Singulair today!

Not sure my story applies to most women, but I'm having to take a double dose every day because I haven't stopped bleeding since my son was born in April. I'm scheduled for an ablation which I am not happy about. This is a procedure which is supposed to stop the bleeding permanently. They actually burn the blood vessels inside the uterus to seal them off. I just wish the bleeding would stop on its own like it's supposed to. It finally did stop after a week of taking Femcon fe, 2 at a time and so after three weeks I cut it down to one a day - hoping nothing would happen, but I started bleeding again the second day. I guess I should count my lucky stars that I'm not having migraines. But the nausea and bloating and extreme fatigue and depression are what made me find this site. I've also gained weight - even since starting to exercise again! Seems like every couple of days I just hit a wall and can't carry on any more. Im lucky to have a supporting husband who takes over the care of the house and kids for a few hours while I have a meltdown and some rest! I have two more weeks to go and I'm really hoping to never have to look at another birth control pill again! What the heck was the point of having my tubes tied during my c-section if I have to take pills anyway AND get my uterus messed with? Right now I feel pregnant all over again -- just without the wonderful package at the end of it!

The most TERRIBLE taste in my mouth the morning after use. It was like I had chewed a handful of tylenol. Will never take again!

My 16 year old daughter is taking Topamax (50 mg. in the a.m.) along with 15 mg. of Adderall as a mood stabilizer because the Adderall makes her agitated. The Topamax made her even more aggitated and guess what? The doctor increased the Topamax to an additional 25 mg. in the late afternoon and told me I need to try this for two weeks. Now my daughter has a "meltdown" every 15 minutes and can get quite violent. Topamax worked well on her before puberty, since then, it's a nightmare!

I was on Yasmin for two months and it made me crazy!!! I was on edge and felt anxious for weeks. My mood swings were so awful that my husband asked if I was having some sort of meltdown. I have been on birth control for 12 years and have never been so anxious and miserable on any other pill. I stopped taking it and have felt like myself again.

I am so happy to have found this site! I thought I was losing it!

I had taken Prednisone two years ago when I had pneumonia that would not go away, and realize now that a lot of the problems I had during my two months of sickness were due to this drug. I do not remember how long I had taken it back then. I could not do any work and what little I attempted, I kept making mistakes that seemed right to me. For example, I had started to address Christmas cards and put all the stamps on the wrong side where the return address goes. When my husband came home, he pointed out what I had done. I had finished a big batch of them and it had never occurred to me that the stamps were on the wrong side. I cried for no reason and had weird mood swings constantly - don't remember how I slept. I was taking so many medications and it was a busy time of year for me that I thought my problems were due to the combination of all. I now know differently, which brings me to today.

I am on my 5th day of a 7 day dose (30mg first 2 days, 20mg thereafter) to relieve inflammation from a persistent cough due to sinusitis that started Dec. 27th. I have numerous symptoms! The worst being the mood swings, confusion & lack of sleep (averaging 3 hours a night). I thought I was going crazy. The side-effects surfaced pretty quickly. I had a rush project due today that I had started last Sunday. I am usually pretty good working under pressure and deadlines - not perfect, but pretty good, and there was enough time to finish all assigned to me. It took me forever to finish simple tasks and I made some mistakes that I never would have. This was a first time working with some colleagues who all must think I am a nut who cannot produce. I had a weird meltdown in front of the team leader and was totally not myself. My husband has been so worried about my erratic behavior that he refuses to let me drive. He dropped me off at an appointment and upon his return home found our front door wide open. I had walked out the door without closing or locking it. Now, granted I have been sick and am under stress, but I have never had the mood swings or lack of focus that I have experienced in the past few days except for the time I had taken the drug earlier. I was prompted to do a search on prednisone when I realized the similarity in symptoms. When I found this site, all the symptoms I had been experiencing and discussing with my husband were right here - I cried twice while watching Top Chef on TV Wednesday. Along with symptoms mentioned, I have a strange feeling in my stomach, numbness and I have a loss of appetite rather than hunger. Anyone else find that? I just looked at the clock and found that it took me over an hour to write this post. Thank God for spell-check!

All the posts are extremely helpful! I really feel for those of you who need to take it for long periods of time. I hope they find alternatives for you soon.

I have had a whole range of side-effects with this drug, some of which have gone away over time (mouth sores) and sometimes I can get hit all of a sudden with a total body meltdown, like right at the moment. Every muscle aches, with stabbing pains in some places. I can hardly lift my arms, my head aches and I imagine myself having some deadly neurological disease. The first time it happened it took me a while to relate it to Advair but then the symptoms went away in 3 days. Seven months ago I was hit and was able to 'detox" during a seaside vacation - that time it took 405 days.

This is my 6th day and I'm as miserable as at the beginning. I feel sick and debilitated. Some messages have said Advair leaves your system in 12 hours. So why am I still having all these side effects after 6 days? This is very scary.

WHAT THE HELL?! Whatever happened to Amoxicillan? A simple UTI and I'm a complete freakazoid. Nightmares, short of breath - sighing all the time. I thought I was just getting stressed. Hand tremors. Muscle behind my knee just plain hurt but I thought I pulled something working out. I took it for 9 out of the 14 days prescribed but when I had a complete emotional meltdown over something stupid - I decided to stop. I'm still short of breath and my lungs hurt and it feels like I have a lump in my throat. More than anything I'm pissed.