Tics symptoms and conditions

I have found that Prozac is an amazing medication with the one exception of very verbal, loud tics. I make an uncontrollable noise and my body jerks. It is strange but I have become accustomed to them actually. Now they only appear in times of sever stress. Other than that Prozac certainly helped me treat and defeat my depression. I was on it for a little under two years whilst undergoing psychotherapy.

My daughter is 5 years old and has been on Singulair for about 2 years now. I was at a loss concerning her behavior for the past 2 years. The anger, aggression, tics in her eyes and legs feeling tingling, unable to express herself, and truly not liking herself and thinking we don't like or love her. All this brought us to take her to therapy. And then all this information regarding side effects of Singulair come out. I brought this to her allergist and he like many others brushed it off. I think it is time the medical community looks very close at this drug concerning side effects with children. How many more parents have to come forward with all the same side effects for these educated doctors to realize there is a hugh psychological and neurological connection with this drug for some children. It has been two days now that my daughter stopped Singulair. Her nose is already starting to drip and her cough is back, but I would much rather deal with these side effects of allergies than watching her go though this mental anguish any longer. I have not seen any changes yet, but it had only been two days.

Just took my 6 year old off Singulair after he began blinking incessantly... very frightening. After a couple of weeks on Singulair, I received a note home from his teacher that he was blinking all day at school. Sure enough, when he got home the blinking continued... non-stop for several days! Fortunately, I was able to find information relating this behavior to Singulair. After a few days off the medication, the blinking stopped and has not returned.

My 12 year old son has been on 60 mg of Prednisone for two weeks now. His side effects have not been bad at all up to this point. He's gained about 6 pounds. His brain is unusually active right after taking the drug, and this effects lasts a few hours. He's always been a wildly creative kid but prednisone seems to intensify is creativity and the productivity of his brain. He has Tourette Syndrome and his tics waned overnight after beginning the meds so that is a big bonus if prednisone is responsible for that. He has always been an insomniac since he was a baby but prednisone makes him sleepy, so sleepy he takes naps during the day and goes to bed early, sleeping soundly all night, so soundly he had an accident and wet his bed last night. His head sweats when he sleeps. He has infrequent periods of mild irritability. His appetite has increased but not unnaturally so. Seems like he finally has a sustained healthy appetite. He goes to 45 mg for two weeks tomorrow so I'm interested to see what new side effects this brings on. No stomach problems despite taking this along with very high doses of antibiotic. Maybe the prevacid he takes with Lactobacillus is helping with that and the fact that he takes his meds with small meals or lots of fluid.

My 11 yr old son has been on Abilify for about 2 months now
He is STARVING which in his case is a great thing (he's been underweight his whole life due to prematurity & stimulants) to most weight gain would prob be horrible, But I welcome that S/E, He has gained about 5 lbs in the last 2 months

He is recently complaining about being dizzy b4 bed & in the morning & this weird Zapping in his belly once in awhile? not sure if this is related to Abilify or not He is also on Trazodone & Adderall
Also his tics actually got better on Abilify so I welcome that S/E too (I'm watching for worsening of tics though or uncontrolled muscle movements just to be safe)

Ok, with all psych drugs, you're a damed zombie for the first 6-8 weeks. I know that & am willing to accept a little nausea, being a box of rocks mentally, and not being able to find my shoes for the first 6-8 weeks. If things continue after that point in time, I drop the med. Well, I dropped abilify, and this is why:

tardive dyskinesia

The disorientation, & nausea wore off by week 8. I was still not as sharp as I normally am. But, no big. I'll take a 2 point drop in IQ to not drive away the people I love with my bipolar. But, the tardive dyskinesia messed me UP. I was using it in conjunction with Lamictal. I had increasing motor function difficulties. I had to give up my fine detail painting and needle point. Fine, again, willing to sacrifice to keep those I love near. But, the tics got worse. Facial twitches, then severe feet & arm twitching. It got so bad that it became dangerous to drive. I couldn't deal at that point. I stopped taking it cold turkey. I had a blazing migraine & nausea for a week & a half, then my tics stopped, the headache stopped. I was back to how I was before on just lamictal.
I know this drug combo is a miracle for some. And, if it is, that's utterly awesome & I congratulate you on finding something that works for you. But, this very much did not work for me.

I have a three year old son who has severe allergies. He's been taking singulair for 2 years on & off just in the allergy season. He started taking, singulair again in the beginning of April. One morning he woke up and both eyes were really swollen and red, I called his doctor's office and told them i thought he had pink eye, after 2 different drops and no change I brought him into the doctor's to see if it could be his allergies, and they agreed and started him on Zyrtec. I still was not impressed with the results so i brought him back yet again to see if we could see a specialist. Instead they put him on nasonex to try.
In the beginning of March I started to see a change in my usual happy fun loving son. He was scared to sleep in his bed, waking up in the middle of the night from bad dreams, uncontrollable screaming fits that would last up to an hour, saying he wants a Boo Boo. At first we thought it could be jealously over his new brother, or maybe something at his school.
Then i found this website and everything clicked, how scary it must be for a child to have these horrible thoughts and not be able to understand or stop them. What are the people at merck thinking??
Can any one tell me when the symptoms stop. He's been off for a week and we see some improvements. But he still has these fits with almost an OCD tendency to them (mainly when he's overtired), stomach pains, lack of appetite.

I was on Orap for 10 years to control my tics. I was never diagnosed with TS, but was put on the medication at an early age anyways. I gained a lot weight over the years, I was always tired, I was always restless, and sometimes I felt it made my tics worse. When I was 20 years of age, I decided that I didn't like the way I felt and stopped taking the drug cold turkey (not recommended by a doctor). I lost 60 lbs within five months, I had more energy, I was not restless, and I felt free.

I can hardly believe what I have read on this board. It is my son's story repeated over and over again and the sad fact is that I never put 2 and 2 together until I saw the news stories last week. My son has been on Singulair for years (he is now 7 years old) along with other drugs for asthma. We recently started taking him to a therapist because of his extreme unhappiness, violent temper tantrums, bad nightmares, many tics, and overall negative attitude. I took him off the singulair 5 days ago and cannot believe the results so far. My son is not affectionate in any way, does not even like a simple pat on the back, no hugs or kisses for sure. Two days ago he came over and gave me a kiss and a hug out of the clear blue. I cannot express enough what this meant to me. I have 3 other children that can't get enough of hugs and kisses, but coming from my 7 year old it just brought me to tears. The hugs have continued and he even told me that he loved me. The therapist had me convinced that he had a sensory deprivation disorder... until now. I cannot believe that until now I have not heard anything metioned in the news and that the medical professionals are so quick to dismiss claims against Singulair.
I am so thankful that I have found this website and for all of the people that have taken the time to include their experiences as it is evidence that there are serious problems when it comes to prescribing Singulair to children. I cannot help but to be saddened when I think of all the years I have lost to this with my son. All the time spent in frustration and tears over what I thought were serious behavior issues on his part. Not to say that I never expect any negative behavior out of a child, but certainly not like I have had to endure in the last years. The last few days have been amazing...I pray it continues. Shame on Merck for not being forthcoming and only keeping their bottom line in mind.

I have been crying for almost 24 hours now. I cannot believe what I am reading and hearing about Singulair. My son has been to hell and back again and again. I cannot say for sure the Singulair is the culprit. But after reading all of the other stories on this website, I am convinced it is a strong possibility.

My son is 11 years old. He has severe allergies and asthma. He takes many, many medications for this including Singulair. He as been on Singulair for about 8 years now (my best guess because he has been on it for sooooo long.)

My son was diagnosed with ADHD in pre-school. He has taken many medications for the ADHD, but none have ever done any good at all. We thought some of the medications even made things worse. Now, I'm not so sure.

After exhausting all the ADHD medications, our pediatrician sent my son to a psychiatrist and a counselor. The psychiatrist put him on 2 different antipsychotic medications. Again, neither one did any good and seemed to make matters worse. The psychiatrist sent my son to a psychologist to be tested for Asperger's. For those of you who don't know Asperger's is a high functioning form of autism. The psychologist ruled out Asperger's by diagnosed ADHD and Anxiety Disorder. He did not prescribe any medication.

For some unknown reason, I've only given my son the Singulair off and on for the last year. My son had the best year in school ever. However, his pediatrician was still not satisfied. He sent him to see another psychiatrist at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. We were told he is believed to have more than one disability. He is believed to have ADHD, Aspergers, Teurettes and a possible 4th medical problem that has not yet come to light.

We are scheduled to see a neurologist at Children's Hospital on the 15th of April to rule out any medical reasons for his tics. We see the psychiatrist again on the 18th of April.

I am so tormented by this recent news. Has all of these problems been caused from him taking the Singulair for so long? Although he has had his best year in school yet, he still has a lot of problems. Are the side effects of the Singulair permanent.

The other side of the coin is this: It is also very scary to watch my son not be able to breath. Asthma can also be life threatening. What is a parent supposed to do.

Also, I now don't know whether to keep these appointments that are coming up. I hate so much to put him through more. He has endured enough doctors and tests to last him a lifetime. However, what if it is not the Singulair and there is help out there for him that I am not aware of.

Please if anyone else has had a similar experiences e-mail me. I would love to hear from you.

God Bless everyone who has been through this kind of hell.

My doctor presribed Singulair for me because of seasonal allergies. I'm 13 yrs old, and I've been on Singulair for about two weeks. After about a week of taking Singulair, I started noticing a few minor side effects. However, they've been continuing to get worse every day I take this drug! Some of the things I've been experiencing on Singulair include fatigue, twitching, stuttering, and lack of memory. Anyone else?

Uncontrollable muscle twitching and tics, depression, anxiety, insomnia.

facial / mouth tics in my 6 year old daughter

My daughter started singulair 2005 she has been taking it for 2yrs. She was 7 yrs old now 9yrs old. She get headache all the time and she started with her hands making a fist then making her fingers touch and rub her fingers. Now she has stop soing that and her eyes are blinking all the time. And a tic from her eyes she can not stop. I got on line to see if other kids have experience this yes so maybe it is the drug singulair that brought it on. I ask that doctors if this was a tic and she said it probably was, but now I feel that it is singulair.
cat

have Lupus (SLE) I have been on and off of prednisone since i was 13 yrs old and I am now 36. I have gained wieght that i can not seem to lose even though i barley eat anything due to the SLE it has taken my appitite away. several years ago i had cronic diaherria and went down to 80lbs It was either die or take the prednisone. Now iam about 200lbs which i usually wiegh 115 throughout most of my life. Now i have no energy I am in pain all the time I now am having tics in my upper and lower body, i have problems with being able to eat now i have lost teeth and the others are not doing well either.
isnt there somthing that we can do about the wieght gain and the effects that it has on our bodys. regular diet pills do not work because i dont over eat. the wieght has really done a number on the rest of my body. I am in constent pain!

thank you

chi

My 3 year old has been on Sinulair for almost two years. It greatly improved her asthma and allergy symptoms. However, we started to notice eye blinking, stretching out her upper lip, and throat clearing after a little over a year. Her behavior hasn't changed though. The first time I took her off the med, all of the tics disappeared within 2 days. However, her asthma symptoms and cough are much worse than they ever were before the medication when she is off the Singulair. Whenever I take her off, the next day she has a chronic cough that albuterol won't help. Does anyone else have this problem?

After my 4 1/2 year old using Singulair for 2 1/2 years we took him off after coming across this site and we are so thankful! He was having teeth clenching, unexplained aggression (he was so happy and easy going til 3), bed wetting, loss of focus , anxiety and the worse one was tics. He would open and close his mouth and some eye twitching. It was so painful to watch. We didn't know what we did wrong, why this was happening to him, where this was coming from? His pediatrician said there is no relation to medication, kids just get tics some times, it will pass. When it's your kid you can't bear to just let it pass. A pediatric neurologist said it was a simple motor tic , (usually age 5-10) which some children are prone to, said some asthma medications can make it worse as they can affect the nervous system. After 6 weeks off the medication his tics, bed wetting and most of the other symptoms were completely gone. It was gradual, initially i saw no change then suddenly it was less and less and then suddenly completely gone. Symptoms have been gone for almost a month now. It is so unfortunate that these horrible symptoms are not listed when your child is given this medication. I am so greatful to this website,

My 5 year old son has been taking one teaspoon of Zyrtec a day for approximately 6 weeks. After not getting much relief, the pediatrician increased his dose to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Ten days later, my son started experiencing horrible tics, clearing of the throat and constant sniffing. This head jerking and shoulder raising was never an issue until the Zyrtec was increased. We have since discontinued the Zyrtec. We are waiting two weeks as suggested by our pediatrician and hope that the tics will stop

I have a 9 year old son who's been treated for allergy-induced asthma for several years. About 2 years ago he was put on Singulair and it seemed to help quite a bit. I eventually weaned him from it and he did really well until about 2 months ago, when he had a bout of allergy/asthma. His ped put him back on Singulair and started albuterol, along with the Flonase he was already taking. Just over the past 2-3 weeks we've noticed a complete change in his demeanor.

He normally is a bright, loving, sweet kid who excells in much of what he does. Lately that has all changed. The first big red flag was seeing him hit himself when asked to do something more than once (ie make his bed). He'd hit himself and call himself stupid. He went from that to saying he just "needs to go away". And finally admitted that he wants to kill himself sometimes. Has a "plan" and everything.

I read some of the reports similar to the ones here and took him off both the Flonase and Singulair. His moodiness increased and even went toward mania in the two days that followed removing the med. 5 days after stopping the meds, he leveled out considerably and also had an asthmatic attack that night. Sounds to me like the "levels" of meds dropped at that point.

We are now 1 1/2 weeks past stopping the meds and things are returning to normal, though he is still struggling somewhat.

He also has exhibited physical "tics" - throat clearning, sniffing, rubbing his chin on his chest, head shakes, shoulder shakes, etc. on and off since first being put on Singulair. Those have escalated with the other symptoms. And he's also complained of achy legs.

I wonder if there is any way to report these issues and have them taken seriously.

My son is taking Adderall xr and I've noticed an eye twitch. Has anybody else experienced this, on this medication? My Dr. says it probably isn't related. I had him off the med over the summer and it lessened the eye movement but it never went away, now that we are back on it, it seems to have gotten worse again? Looking for answers.

My 8 year old daughter was prescribed a low-dose of Reglan each night at bedtime to prevent morning nausea and motion sickness. For that it worked. Unfortunately, over time she became more and more "worried' then "anxious" and even developed obsessive-compulsive symptoms and became nearly psychotic. The doc who prescribed it did mention to look for "tics" but not anxiety (altho he did confirm later that it "occassionally" occurs). She was on it for three weeks before we made the connection. The psychiatrist refused to entertain the thought that her psychiatric problems were due to Reglan reaction, but after consulting other physicians and researching internet sites, we were convinced this is what she indeed suffered. It took nearly three months for her anxiety to completely vanish and I am happy to say, she is fine now. Her stomach aches come and go, but treatment with diet and allergy elimation seems to help. This drug can be dangerous but doctors should be better informed and equiped to deal with a very-real side-effect.

7 year old has developed tics including eye blinking and shoulders up and down. Also restlessness and hand tremor. Pediatrician has reduced dosage to 1 time per day.