News report symptoms and conditions

I have been on Singulair longer than I can recall... at least 10 years, maybe longer. My 7 year old son has been on it since he was probably 12 months old. Neither one of us have had any problem reported here. No depression, no sleeplessness (until I weaned him from naps, he slept up to 13 hours a day), no leg cramps, nothing. We are two of the happiest, most well adjusted people you could know. And, best of all, we haven't had any asthma attacks. Bottom line, different drugs react differently in different people. Don't let the post here stop you from trying a medication that for some could mean the difference between life and death depending on how asthmatic they are. As with any drug recommended by your doctor, try it. If you experience adverse reactions, stop it ASAP. It's that simple.

I noticed a lot of postings about weight gain on Singulair, which is nowhere listed by Merck as a possible side effect. My 15 y.o. daughter experienced sudden weight gain at the age of 9 when she was actually underweight (BMI went from 17 to 21). To make a long story short, after being off Singulair for over a year, she is now over-weight, and diet/exercise have never made a big difference (gymnastics, swim team, figure skating, trampoline, etc.) Extensive labwork is always normal & there is no family history of obesity. It's a shame the quality of life of a child is RUINED by a drug that is deemed to have "no side effects", and the many drs. & specialists out there take it very lightly. We continually worry about our daughter's self-esteem, risk of diabetes, and other complications from weight gain which is not hereditary and goes on unexplained by the drug co. Reversing this weight gain has been nearly impossible. Everytime I hear a news report about our children being overweight and obese, it makes me angry because I think about the many kids that are taking this highly prescribed drug (for even the mildest allergy or asthma) and who knows how many parents don't make the connection!

My 8 yr. old daughter has been on Singulair for the last year (only in the Spring and Fall when her allergies/asthma are triggered by environmental factors). She started having huge personality changes when we restarted the meds at the end of Feb. The changes continued to get worse to the point that I was beside myself with worry. Saw the news report on Singulair and took her off of it last week and went to the dr. on Monday. He says that it may take up to 3 weeks to have the effect of the drug out of her system, but I am already seeing huge changes...She is back to being the wonderful, happy go lucky girl she has always been. The anxiety has just left her...She was worried about things that have never happened like being left at school or karate and about my office catching fire and me not being able to get out...

Please if you have any doubt as to what is happening with your child, talk to the doctor about it...I can't believe the trauma my child has gone through and that fixing it was as simple as stopping her medications!

My daughter was on singulair for about 2 years, off and on. Being a teenager, we thought some of the behavior problems were just a "teen" thing. She became dispondent, wanting to sleep all the time. She was hateful and resentful towards her family. She became depressed and talked of suicide. I didn't know what to do. We sought depression counciling.
My mother called me to tell me of the news report she saw. It described what we were going thru exactly!!!
I would NEVER have dreamed an allergy drug could have taken away my loving child and left a terror in its wake!
She has been off the drug for a few weeks now, and I can see a HUGE difference in her behavior. She is getting back to her old self. She told me she didn't realize just how bad it was until she stopped the drug and now feels so very good (read normal!). How terrible!
Even as I am typing this a singulair comercial is playing on TV. How DARE they!
Money and lawsuits will not bring back the years our children have lost, but big companies only respond when "profits" are involved. If there is a lawsuit, I too want no money from it. I do, however, want the drug company to have to pay and pay dearly for what they have done. The money could go to a children's charity.
Maybe the drug company didn't know before, but they know now and the drug is still being sold!

Here is some perspective for you all. I take Singulair and do well on it and in ACTUAL studies it has one of the safest safety records. Understand that post marketing reporting does not mean there is a correlation between the event and the product. Throughout the life of a drug the companies must disclose any report of side effects reported to them REGARDLESS of causality. A popular antihistamine that is OVER THE COUNTER also has suicidal thinking/behavior listed in its post marketing section. However, just because patients who had reported having these thoughts while taking the product doesn't mean it was a result of the product! Maybe they had a depressive personality and were also on multiple other medicines to treat that. You must look at the "Adverse Reactions, Warnings and Precautions" sections of package inserts to see the side effects that were actually seen in studies. You can die from ulcers derived from over use of aspirin or ibuprofen. Decongestants can throw off your blood pressure and these events are documented in actual studies! Listen to your bodies when taking any med. If you feel differently report it to your doctor.

These are all drugs people, there are potential side effects. There are also side effects to those "natural" over the counter remedies that are not nearly as regulated by the FDA or studies by the drug companies.

To anyone out there who has experienced side effects to singulair timed to when you started it, talk to your doctor, stop taking it and see if it goes away. Same advice for any product prescription or over the counter medicine. Side effects can be a combination of many factors (what other meds are you taking?) But understand for many people this product is the safest and most effective treatment for them. The FDA and Merck are reviewing all information to see if there is any correlation to the reporting. But singulair been around for about 10 years and prescibed to billions of people and is known to be one of the safer medicines out there overall.

In between the legitimate posts on this site I get the sense there is a lot of ambulance chasing going on. People looking to cash in on this big drug companies. We want drugs, we want them cheap and with no side effects which is not a reality. Keep stepping up the regulation and make the companies hire more lawers to protect themselves and jump through even more hoops and see what happens to the price and access to new meds. Even better, see how regulation has impacted the development of new medicines around the world (here's a tip, it will dramatically decrease). Drug companies certainly aren't perfect but which industry is?

Please, when taking any medicine over the counter, prescription or herbal supplement listen to your bodies to see if the potential benefits of the product outway the risks or side effects. Report any changes to your doctor.

I was horrified when I saw the news report about singulair on Thursday! My little angel had her first asthma attack when she was 5 years old. She was put on Singulair and has been on it for 5 years. My life has been a living HELL since. Temper tantrums, biting, kicking, screaming, nightmares, waking up during the night, clinging to me constantly, We were unable to take her places because we never knew how she would behave in public I felt like a prisoner. We tried putting her in school but she ran away from the teachers and got into fights with other students. The school said she had A.D.H.D. and severe learning disablities I had to pull her out of school and home school her. Before she was on this Devil medicine she was the sweetest little girl you could come across. She was very polite, respectful, happy, and loving. Her doctor always reassured me that it wasn't her medicine. I have 4 girls and she was the only one who had any problems. I thought as a parent I must be doing something wrong! I prayed for 5 years for this nightmare to end I never dreamed a little 5mg pink evil pill was turning my family's life upside down. I couldn't believe that other parents have gone through the same nightmare. I took her off that same night as the report and will never put her on Singulair again. It's been 5 days and I already see a big difference in her behavior. She woke up singing, laughing, and no fighting with her sisters. She wants to help with chores. She is doing great with her school lessons, and very patient with everyone. I thank God for answering all our prayers and giving us our children back. When everyone goes to sleep at night say A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO GOD.

Wow. It is like I am reading about my son in every one of these entries. The emotional issues - just crying at the drop of a hat, being scared of the smallest issues and being very clingy. We always just figured he was a sensitive kid My son has been on Singular since he was 4-1/2 (he is now 8). I have always insisted it was a miracle drug. He could finally go outside and play and not be bothered by his allergies. So, he needs to be on something similar to this drug for that. Any suggestions? We saw the news report Thursday night and immediately called the allergist on Friday. We are seeing them on Tuesday.

Our 7 year old daughter has had "problems" for several years. After a news report this evening, it now makes sense - her problems are being caused by Singulair. I have sought treatment from 4 doctors in the past 3 months disparately pleading for their help to figure out what is wrong with her.

She began taking Singulair when we found she had allergies to cats and dogs at age 2 (since I nursed her for over 1 & 1/2 years and her allergies didn't appear until about 6 months after my "immunities" left her system). After several middle of the night visits to the ER for her difficulty choking/coughing in the middle of the night, the ped. suggested allergy testing. She was always quite "in your face" but in a sweet way and was quite defiant, so we always thought she purposely ignored us, especially while watching tv, but definitely a "live wire" all the while.

After 4 years of pre-school and dozens of notes indicating that she didn't follow the teachers directions, she was found to have a hearing impairment, just as she was entering Kindergarten. Needless to say, life for her has been a roller coaster for the past year and a half. The behavior problems have not improved; terrible twos at age seven...

Then, just a couple of weeks ago, she broke down crying in the bathtub, and commented that she sometimes wants to hurt herself because she can't stop herself from behaving badly (she often will get bad behavior check marks in school for 10-15 days straight, and then seems fine a week or two later and the cycle repeats itself sporadically).

The treatment for her allergies - - - we got rid of our cat and dog 5 years ago, and only give her the allergy medicines as needed (Singulair and Zyrtec)...meaning that we proactive avoidance and contact of all pets and animals and the homes where they live. We will give them to her a day or two in advance if she has an upcoming trip to the zoo, etc. and continue for several days after being exposed.

The past 3 months, I have spent countless endless nights searching the internet for answers, knowing something else is wrong with her. I have begged her battery of different doctors (pediatrician, ENT, allergy, audiologists) for answers, and even specifically asked her allergy doctor a month ago if there is any way, shape, or form that her medicines could cause behavior problems. I was assured it was not possible. Tonight I found out that Singulair has "new side effect warnings".

My direction for finding answers has always (until now) been aligned with her hearing loss. I have read every study on children with hearing loss and behavior issues that I have been able to get my hands on. Our doctor office visits are overwhelming and average 4 times a month - for all different things. We have an appointment tomorrow for new ear molds for her hearing aids and I insisted she be tested again to be sure the hearing aids are working perfectly- hoping this is the missing link. She is being tested again for allergies on April 11th to see if new ones have crept up. She is having an auditory sensory processing evaluation on April 24th, again in my search for answers. Just last week, I demanded an emergency meeting at her school and basically stood up to the entire IEP team and told them they are doing a horrible job, since I can't get them to help me figure out the problem and freak out on them for the lack of help I receive with regard to her hearing loss and the FM (microphone) system I forced the school district to put in place so she can hear the teacher's voice in the classroom, over the sounds of the other kids.

I have probably been deemed crazy by all of her doctors & their staff, her first grade teacher, and everyone at the school district that I have encountered in the past 20 months or so. So much so, that her ENT (Ear) doctor called me a week ago after a recent visit to indicate to me that he thinks that not only does my daughter need to see a therapist to figure out what is wrong, but indicated that stress has taken it's toll on me as well and offered to write a prescription for therapy if necessary! I feel like I am living in a novel which is not even my life.

For all I know, she may be have really meant it when she told us once that she used to be able to hear just fine...so I cant help but to sit here crying and wondering if there is a link to her hearing loss from the Singulair too?

To hear her say she wanted to hurt herself was the hardest thing I have ever endured in my life. And so out of her world (she is the most outgoing extrovert imaginable) that I have lost myself in a sea of unknowing doubt, anger and frustration, since she said it. My boss, colleagues, family, school district staff, several doctor office staffs and several other "specialists" whom I contacted in late night emails, begging for guidance could atest to this mad attempt of mine to find a cause.

The best moment: when we drove away from the ENT with her new hearing aids, windows down, and she said: "Mom, I can hear the wind"

Worst moment in life: hearing my 7 year old baby say she sometimes wants to hurt herself because she can't stop herself from behaving badly.

My advice: for allergies, get a sharper image ionic air purifier for the bedroom- well worth $200!!! Get hearing tests for children who "do not listen" or follow directions. STOP TAKING SINGULAIR!!!! Send your information to the FDA immediately.

I cannot believe this. I just sat here and cried. Timing is impeccable on this. I had just unplugged my 8 year-old sons tv, and yelled at him for misbehaving. He has gotten several notices over the last few months from school about disrespectful, violent and aggressive behavior. I didn't know what was going on with him. That just wasn't like him at all. Now, I know. He had been taking Singulair since he was about three years old for allergies and asthma caused my allergies. He really only took it seasonally, but this year, he's taking it for about five months without a break, and I would have never linked the terrible behavior to the medication because I was NEVER warned of these types of side effects. Why was this never put out there for people? This is my child, whom I love more than life itself, and I have punished him, yelled at him, grounded him, all for something that he possibly could not control, and I cannot take any of that back. How can this be happening? And to hear that the drug maker wants nine months before pulling off the shelves for testing? Seriously? I am just so shocked, and he will never take another Singulair again, regardless of what those greedy bastards say can be proven or not proven. My child's health and mental stability are more important that they seem to think it is. What kind of long term effects can this have? I just feel so uninformed, and when it comes to drugs ESPECIALLY for children, why has this not been addressed? I am so glad that people are posting their experiences, because to know that we are not the only ones who have been going through this, and to know that we can now correct the situation makes this just a little easier to deal with.

I have an 8 year old son who has been on singulair for about 2 years now. We have a very busy schedule with school, scouts, and football. So we often times would forget to take the pill as the Dr. recommended to take it before bed. Well around November we began taking the medication on a daily basis as prescribed. And since November the number of side effects from this medication has been alarming. I never made the connection to the medication until I came across the information on this website and on other forums. Since November my son has been on his medication consistently and over the past 5 months I have seen so many changes in him. Many that alarm me and have caused me concern but many others that through this website have come to light.

My son has always been a shy but outgoing child. He is very caring and loving and recently he has turned into this selfish, depressed, paranoid, and emotional child. His teachers have made comments saying they don't know what it is with him but they see a change and they were not sure what the cause. I was not sure either. Recently we went for a walk at the park and he said, "I feel like everyone is looking at me". I just shrugged off his comment and said, everyone is looking at you. You are a handsome boy and we are at the park. People enjoy watching other people. Then he would often times tell me he was sad and he did not know why. Said I have a whole in my heart and I don't know what to do to make it better. My heart would just break for him. I felt helpless for him. He has also been aggressive. He has been in 3 fights in the past 3 months. My son also experienced rashes on his body. He has a batch of rough dry irritated skin on his belly and it has now cleared up. He had 3 patches of dry skin on his back and that also has began to clear. His legs also were achy and he has not since complained about leg pains.

This past week we were on vacation for spring break. Well being vacation and not being at home threw our normal schedule for a loop. So we took the regular AM medications (Flonase, Pulmacourt inhaler) but forgot all about the Singulair evening pill. He has not had a pill for 9 days now. Last night we had football practice and I noticed how eager he was to do well and I noticed how much more excited he was about it. I thought it was because he was enjoying it and learning something new. Now I feel like I have a clearer vision into what was REALLY going on. I will NOT give my son Singulair EVER again! I feel misguided that my doctor did not tell me that these were possible side effects. I trusted him and was at my whits end in finding a reslution to my sons asthma issues.

I hove been taking lipitor for 1 month and have been having troublr sleeping and pain in my upper thighs and cramps in my legs. I fell like I am walking through hip high water when trying to walk on my tread mill. When I foun this web site I am reading about some of my own symptoms. I am going to stop taking this drug as of now. Thanks to you people and the news report I saw on TV. on 6/12/2006.