Pulmacort symptoms and conditions

It seems that this subject has been extensively documented, but just wanted to confirm that I believe this drug is very dangerous. We JUST put our 5-1/2 year old daughter on it one week ago. She has NEVER had any issues sleeping, is most often in a great mood, and has been protected beyond belief by my wife from negative imagery, TV, etc. The last week was unbelievable. Night terrors every night, with the most vivid and negative imagery when asked to describe the content of her dreams. Things that I would have thought she must have gotten from watching a Stephen King movie. Given the lack of fitful sleep could have been a contribute, but her mood all week was very downtrodden. Hard to say a 5 year old can be depressed, but I would have to say she was, very sullen, moody, despondent to affection.

I can positively say this was a blind test. We didn't really read the label on the medicine until yesterday, so we were not looking into things that weren't there, nor were we focusing in on the sleep issues. We took her off yesterday, and hopefully I will be able to report that the night terrors that I am 95% positive must have come from this drug will abate.

I hear because the chewable format is new, this drug is really being pushed. I hope this drug is pulled instead of being promoted. Buyer beware, especially administering to kids. I can't imagine if our daughter had been a little younger and not able to express herself to the level she can at 5.

my 6 year old has what doctor's have called cough-induced asthma or reactive airway disorder. He doesn't wheeze but gets these severe coughing spells which get worse at night. Usually comes on during the colder months. He is on Flovent, and Singulair to maintain When he gets the coughing spells, he gets the Albuterol inhaler 2 puffs every 4 hours. It makes him NUTS. Literally climbs the walls, Can't sit still. I'd rather have him cough than to see him like this. Now with the most recent coughing episode, I've noticed an extreme personality change. To the point where his 1st grade teacher called me to ask if it could be the medicine. He's normally a shy kid, sweet now all of a sudden he's a social butterfly in school and interrupting the teacher. AT home, he's just not right .Doctor changed him to Xopenex inhaler but he's still not right.

(A divorced father)
My son has been on Singulair now 5 years and I am in the middle of fighting to get him off. My son is now 7 years old and has been diagnosed with allergies (no test have been done which I find very odd), which leads to a case of mild asthma. This past weekend his mother forgot his Singular on Friday so I could not give him any till the next day, where we met at his soccer game. Saturday night I gave him his usual pill and thankfully due to his exhaustion from playing out side all day he went to sleep in 10 min. vs 3 hrs later which is the norm since Singulair seems to jack him up.
He also has red puffiness under his eyes - most likely allergies.
Seems depressed - just driving down the road and I look at him in the rear view mirror and he just sits and stares into space. When I ask what's wrong he either says nothing or I am tired.
He will try to tell a story or think for himself and just stops mid sentence and says " never mind I am just confused"
He will be having fun one moment and just starts crying or gets depressed.
He was throwing a ball in the house (yes I know) and accidentally knocked a glass over breaking it - he went running to his room, crawled under his bed and sobbed profusely for over 30 min.
He has a hard time doing / focusing on homework - becomes bored very easily.
Does not want to go outside. I will take him to allot of cultural events/ hands on or participation events - he will not try anything. He is unsure and will not come out of his box so to speak.
I spoke with his doctor who was reluctant to take him off, but then agreed that if it was OK with the ex, to take him off for a week to see what happens.
The fun part: My ex is convinced that since he has been on Singulair for 5 years he is fine and does not need to come off it.

1.) Son is diagnosed with mild asthma or allergy induced asthma.
He has never had an allergy test done and has not had a lung function test in over a year.

2.) It is documented that our son has four outbreaks a year. (sounds like the changing of the seasons) but is given Singulair all year round and the dosage has also been increased.

3.) Since the court order, ordered my ex to enroll our son in sports (she would not let him play anything) he does not wheeze or cough uncontrollably.

4.) Since I had to battle to get our son on my insurance I have cut her control issues off a little, but she is refusing to take him off Singular just for a week to see how he reacts. Although I do agree that he should have some form of allergies medicine.

5.) When I found out about the side effects of Singulair, I also found that his doctor was getting ready to add two other allergy medicines to his portfolio - totaling 3 different meds.

I see our sons behavior getting worse and I watch him turn into something he is not and with a controlling individual not believing anything about the side effects it looks like I will have to rely on the medical system to prove my point. I do believe he needs to be accurately tested for allergies and given a regularly lung function test but most of all since he is now on my insurance, a second opinion and a 3rd to narrow down what the situation is and an alternative medical procedure that is fit for the symptoms.

A couple of years ago I tried Singulair due to problems with oral yeast infections from my inhaler. I'm a athletic, health conscious 46 year old woman with a high-burn hypoglycemic metabolism, and often have unusual and extreme reactions to food and medications. I hallucinate on Diet Coke, for example. I waited until the weekend to try Singulair just in case I reacted, and it was a good thing I did. I slept about 10 hours in three days, and when I could sleep I had bizarre dreams. I felt like an ADHD woman having a manic episode! My boyfriend noticed behavioral changes right away, and fortunately he did all the driving that weekend! I stopped the drug on Sunday, and was barely able to sit up at work by Monday afternoon. The next weekend I broke the pills into quarters, but had the same problems even with only a fourth of the dose. Once all the drug was out of my system, which didn't take long, I was fine. I went back to my Claritin and Pulmacort Turbuhaler, and I've been fine ever since. I'm both surprised and not to find Singulair causes similar reactions in others. I thought it was just my strange metabolism, but apparently not. This is a sad, cold comfort way to find out I'm not as freakish as I thought. My condolences and best wishes to everyone dealing with children and family members on this drug and/or going through withdrawal.
P.S. I never drink soft drinks anymore, or eat or drink anything with artificial sweeteners, either.

I'm not sure if this is related to Singulair 5mg. chewable, but now that I've been reading everyone's experiences, I fear that it may. My 7 yr. old has been taking Singulair 5mg chewable tablets these past 2 years. He takes it during the months of Sept. to October. His pulmonologist has not determined whether or not he is an asthmatic or not. When he would get a common cold, he would almost always cough as if he had the croup and he would need to use a nebulizer with Pulmicort. The Singulair worked great. He hasn't needed the Pulmicort for almost a year now and colds this year were limited to two minor sniffles.

My son just started experiencing sharp pains on the left side of his chest. They would come quick and hard and disappear within 2-3 seconds. We immediately rushed him to the Emergency Room. He had experienced 5 quick episodes during Sunday, February 10th. The first 3 were spaced out about 20 minutes apart. the fourth was about an hour apart and the 5th and last occurred 2 hours after. The ER conducted a chest x-ray and an EKG, Neither showed any abnormalities. He felt a quick pain today, which is Tuesday. He has an appointment with a cardiologist on Wednesday morning. Now that I have read a number of postings, I am frightened. My son has not only experienced pains in his chest on the left side, but night sweats. occasional leg cramps. nightmares and is extra sensitive to emotional situations.
I'm pulling him off Singulair. Last night was his last dosage.

Hi, I just ran across your website. My 11 yr. old son is very much allergic to every airborne thing one can be allergic to. He has been on Advair 100/50 for about 3-4 years now because he has also been diagnosed with asthma. Recently we took him to the pediatrician for what he thinks might be lower chest wall muscle spams. Plus in the past he complained on/off of leg cramps which I attributed to growing pains but after reading your website am not sure. Recently we have him on Prevacid because the allergist thinks he is suffereing from heartburn. Also, yesterday, we took him to get his eyes checked and he needs glasses now for nearsightedness. All could be occurring on their own accord or could this be due to Advair? He is overweight as well and we always suspected Advair and now to hear others say it sure makes me worry.

I'm 46 yr old female and have been taking Singulair for 5-7yrs. I have been treated for Asthma for the last 10 years. I was treated at first with pulmacort until I figured out it was causing a break out around my mouth after several years (4) of being on it. My Dr. switched me to Singulair. I never noticed any of these side effects, until after I've read some of yours. I work out 5 days a week( swim & cardio) and have noticed my ears sometimes bother me. I'm on the computer all day, but my right hand has some tingling occasionally and sometimes it's a conscious effort to open and close my hands. I went to this web site to find out the long term effects of this drug. I had my blood pressure taken today and normally it's around 100/60-70 and today it was 100/80. I know that's not terribly high, but for me it is. I only take two drugs nexium and singulair and was wondering if one could be causing a rise in my blood pressure. If anyone knows please advise. Thanks Sylvia

My daughter is 5 years old and has been on singulair for 1 week. i have already noticed a dramatic change in her behavior. she has become irritable, mean, nasty, and emotional. she has had me in tears on a daily basis. she has turned into a monster. we will be calling the doctor in the morning!

My daughter went on Singulair when she was 2 for a 3 month stint and had no problems with it. It is one of the meds we fall back on when colds won't "go away". We are thankful we only have mild asthma and allergies in the family. Singulair works for us (only short term) along with pulmacort when needed and albuterol. I'm sure glad some kids grow out of asthma. She is now 7 and rarely needs anything.
I was put on Advair this last spring and am going off it now after reading all the postings and having some of the symptoms - thankfully mild. I will use Singulair when needed and my fast acting inhailer.
Rena

My son is 7 years old. He has been taking Singulair for about 4 months. His pediatrician switched him to Singulair after I complained that he was having severe mood swings, depression and anxiety. I suspected that the Pulmacort he was taking for asthma could be to blame. He still has some of these problems, but I think they have improved, however, he has suddenly developed a petichiea rash (I don't know if I spelled that correctly! It's a rash that looks like broken blood vessles all over his body). He looks AWFUL. I took him to 3 pediatricians and a dermatologist. The blood and urine tests they did on him all came back normal. The dermatologist found a picture and description in his book of this condition. It is called Chronic Pigmented Purpura, which basically means 'broken blood vessels'. He said the cause was unknown and it would "go into remission in 1 or 2 YEARS!" Anyway, I called my pharmacist and asked if this condition could be a possible side effect of Singulair. He said from the Singulair literature that a 'vascularitic rash (whatever that is) developed in 1.6% of Singular patients, which was .4% higher than the ones not taking it'. Has anyone out there been experiencing a rash like this??? I don't want to keep my son on a drug that would do this to him, but his asthma is much better since he started the Singulair. I don't know what to do.

I have been on Advair since it first came out and am so glad I found this site!! I have so many of the symptoms listed here. I thought I was falling apart. At first, I felt so much better taking Advair than Pulmacort. Then, I started getting terrible stomach pain, diarhea, constipation, gas and bloating. I have awful abdominal and breast swelling, breast itching, and menstrual cramps. I have fibromyalgia, but wonder if the Advair has not made things worse. My left hip and leg absolutely kill most of the time. Funny thing is my sister had all the same symptoms after starting on Advair. I do believe that the manufacturer must be aware of these side effects and fear that, like Vioxx, it'll go unchallenged. I am contacting my doctor to get off this medication. I look back over the last 3-4 years of such a decline in my health status and wonder if this all leads back to Advair.

Hi,

I'm glad I found this board! My doctor was real adament about me not going off of Advair, which was a total change in the normal doctor she has been. I told her I didn't have a problem when I was on Flovent and Serevent, which another doctor had prescribed years earlier. I thought the stressful situation I was going through caused my high blood pressure, but after hearing Advair could cause this I began to question whether or not it was for me. My doctor's attitude has me wondering if they get some kind of kickback for putting patients on it.

Does anyone know if the side-effects can be reversed? I've had the raspy throat, bumps in my mouth that she said were stress related and to avoid acidy food to help get rid of it, my blood pressure is up and I've gained weight where my weight was stabalizing for awhile. Again, I attributed it to stress. Now...I'm wondering!

I tried Asthmacort years ago and it didn't work for me. I'm going to ask her to try Pulmacort next. Singulair helped until I went around a stray we'd taken in for a week and it has gotten my asthma out of control now. I took the Advair again, but want to go to the doctors with info to take her to back my reasoning for changing meds. If she continues to have an attitude...I may change doctors. I'm not going to stay on something not good for me. As is, I have to go to a sleep doctor next week. Now I'm wondering if some of those problems are Advair too and I do have the frequent urination.

Thanks to all of you for posting your problems! It helps others know they're not alone and we can tell our doctors just that!!!

Susette

hi! I switched from pulmacort to advair a yr or so ago. I have the fat belly too. I have also been treated for plantar facia (the pain in the bottom of the feet). The feet docs treated me and say that the problem isnt exactly the same. My feet lock up when I stretch too. I had the same problem with singular.

I did not have any side effects with pulmacort. I called this morning to be switched back to pulmacort. I have to be on some steroid to breath. I sure hope my belly goes down and my feet stop hurting. This just is aweful!!!!

To top it off, I am in the boat with several of u guys. I have several other goofy symptoms. uck. However, the main thing I wanted to say is that if you need meds for asthma, you might try pulmacort. It is the same type of med. It doesnt have the broncial dialator (sp) in it. Advair is two meds stuck together.

My doc is switching me. They did laugh at me when I told them my symptoms but are still switching because I asked them to. They are nice ppl. I have to breath. :)

I have been on Advair for 7 months. I started on 500, then went to 250 and now am trying 100. I have gained 30 lbs - even with going to the gym regularly and eating less than 1500 calories a day. When I tell my dtr I am gaining weight from Advair he laughs and tells me to eat less. And that any other symptoms I have are not from this medicine. I had also found a lump in my calf by my ankle and had to have an MRI. They said it is a 'limpoma', a lump attributable to steriods. So now I have to have that cut out and will not be able to run for quite some time, which means more weight gain. I don't know what to do. Since I have started taking it, I have never been able to breathe better. And I have had severe ashtma for years. When I try to wean myself off, I immediately have a bad attack. I want to stop taking it, but don't know how to get off. Even switching to the lower dosage this week has made me lethargic, dizzy and barely able to keep awake. What a nightmare. My body is so bloated and heavy, I can't fit into any clothes. And I can barely run more than 2 miles without my chest burning. This is from someone who has run a marathon before no problem. We need a new solution for asthma - Advair is NOT it.