Twinkle symptoms and conditions

IS THIS SITE AN ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS?

A little while ago less than two hours, after a very emotional, difficult battle with my daughter, we had yet another heart to heart to try to do better. At the end of our talk WE PRAYED for guidance to know how to help the situation. So I'm here looking for a link to her behavior fron the ADHD medication and I see someone had posted about Singulair side effects. I was floored! I have never thought that Singulair was not a safe drug. No doctor has ever mentioned any negative side effects to me regarding it. The more I'm reading about it the more in shock I am. Have I and her doctors been doing this to my daughter? My 12 1/2 yo daughter has been on Singulair for probably 10 years. She was a 28 week preemie and had severe lung issues so it was a needed medication. Her behavior has worsened the older she has gotten. Because of mostly anger issues and problems in school about a year ago she was started on ADHD medications. We are currently trying to find "the right one" . I feel so awful. Could all her misery have been caused by this little pill that was suppose to help her? Why has her pulmonoligist continued to give it to her although she has not had any serious asthma problems in years? I think I will stop all medications and see what happens. My daughter has also been on amytriptylin for about six months also for severe migraines. What do you think? Should I stop all of them cold turkey or gradually decrease one at a time? I would GREATLY appreciate any advise.
Thank you

Has anyone experienced difficulty swallowing solid foods? My son has been on it for 2-3 years and this issue has just developed. Not sure if it has to do with the Singulair or not. He's had an Upper GI and no physical problems show up. He is 11 years old and the allergist says the mood swings are due to his age, not the medicine. He has been really down and cries at the strangest things.

I am taking lipitor for 3 months and sinds one week i have pain in my left arm and a constant twinkle in my left hand. i stop now for 3 days and wait to see the results

My 7 year old son was put on singulair 7 months ago and the behavior changes that have since occurred are incredible. While he has always been temperamental it was never to this degree. The most minor situation can cause an outburst that will continue for 30 minutes or more. Some days the rage and tears are endless. My older son was on singulair for years because of his asthma with no problems. I am so grateful to have found this site and information. I took my son off the singulair 3 days ago and I am hopeful that things will start to improve.

Our daughter is 17. She started taking Singulair June of 2000, 8 yrs ago. Upon hearing the side effects I insisted she stop taking the drug due to the fact that she also showed extreme signs of agitation, irritation & was always angry & frustrated by everything & everyone around her. Her standard comment was " I know I'm mean & rude". As a parent you know your child & we knew something wasn't right but never suspecting this drug. She as a young child never exhibited any of these signs. She was evaluated by 2 psychiatrist in these past 8 yrs., ADD was one of the diagnosis & our concerns that there may be some bipolar symptoms. After taking her off the Singulair there has been an obvious improvement that is evident to all the family members. The Singulair did an outstanding job of helping with her allergies which are severe & also contributed to multiple sinus surgeries. But the trade off? We are absolutely convinced & she is too that the Singulair had a debilitating effect on her personality. She once again talks, laughs & is such a joy & pleasure to be around. I will add that she never felt any suicidal tendencies, but just severe agitation, irritation, impatience & her reactions to situations & people around her were completely out of balance. I will always be convinced given our experiences that Singulair was completely responsible for 8 yrs. of heartache for us as her parents & 8 yrs. of misery for her.

After visiting this web site everyday for the past four weeks, I feel the need to share my daughter's (and my families') experience with singulair. My 8 year old daughter was put on singulair aprx. 2 years ago in addition to zyrtec to treat her allergies. Shortly after starting the drug, she developed stomach pain. After a few weeks of chronic pain, I pursued help from our pediatrician. After visits to two different pediatric GI doctors, an allergist (to test for food allergies), and an orthopedic surgeon ( because of sudden leg pain), the results were inconclusive. During this time my daughter also became very sad, angry and fatigued. She also completely lost her appetite and refused to eat much of the time. I attributed all of these symptoms to her stomach pain . In addition, she developed difficult sleep patterns and would often wake-up exhausted in the morning. Over time she also began to have more and more "melt-downs", breaking into crying spells over the smallest provocation or challenge. I recently contacted my daughters pediatrician to discuss what other testing or direction we could take to help my daughter. In the interim of making that contact, a friend told me about this web site. As I read page after page of other parent's experiences, I was in tears. I felt as if I was reading about my own family for the past two years. I say "family" because when one child is living through this kind trauma, everyone in the family is negatively affected in some way. My husband and I felt completely frustrated and unable to help our daughter. Our older children began to resent the great amount of time and energy I spent on behalf of our daughter. My younger daughter who had always looked up to and loved her older sister was sad and confused by her sister's anger and impatience.On March 29th I took my daughter off singulair. Unbelievable. Within 2 days, my daughter's appetite returned. On the second day, she came home from school and requested a corn dog and then some ice cream. She suddenly wanted to eat breakfast again. She started smiling and laughing again. She has suddenly become capable and responsible for doing her homework and chores. She is going to sleep more quickly and waking up happy. The best part is having our daughter back...the sweet, wonderful, happy six year old who I feel like I lost for two years of her life! As a side note-the return call I got from my pediatrician was that he wanted my daughter to see a psychiatrist. That's how close we were to taking another (completely unnecessary) path to helping my daughter. I also recently spoke with my daughter's allergist about our experience. At first he was somewhat dismissive. I asked him to listen to me parent, to parent for just a moment. He seemed to soften and said he would take a second look at singulair and its side effects. I encourage every parent who's child has been so adversely affected by this drug to be proactive. First, please contact the FDA to report your experience. Second, talk to your children's physicians and share, with confidence your experience. Third, share this web site or a similar one with everyone you know. I have been astounded how many children are on singulair just within my own small circle (school, church and play group). I really believe one voice can make a difference. I have to believe that for the sake of all the children still suffering.

My son is 10 ½, and had been on Singulair for almost 6years to treat his well controlled asthma and allergies. We have had behavior problems with him for years, but it seems to have gotten worse this school year, when his grades (he is in the gifted program at school) went down the tubes. Our family has been to counseling, where it was suggested we put him on ADHD meds. We resisted, but things had reached the point that I was ready to give the NEW meds a try. ARGH!!!!! Then my sister sent me a link for a story about the teenage boy who committed suicide. This was several weeks before the Singulair/suicide stories were in the news. I did some research, and I started reading these posts. It was like I was reading descriptions of my son!! I talked to several pharmacists and none of them knew of any behavior problems attributed to taking Singulair. Talked to his pediatric pulmonary doc, he knew of no connection, but said to try taking him off. He thought the allergy/asthma would be OK since he also uses an inhaled steroid every day. Well........... I thought I could see a difference in 4 or 5 days, my husband thought I was wishful thinking! But, since then everyone in his life agrees, he is a different kid! No moodiness, no unexplained anger, more on task, sleeping better. I could go on and on. There is no doubt in my mind, the differences started when he stopped taking the Singulair.

OK heads up heard from doctor,for him to report the torture my son . has endured on this drug,he needs documented proof that it stopped when we stopped taking singulair,our word is not enough.The road blocks are going up the hoops you need to jump through are getting high.Bring it on i say mr merck hope you are reading this,you have messed with the cub of a very mad lioness and as in the wild i will chew you up.Document everything every smile every twinkle in the eyes every good nights sleep

day 3 off singulair,yes i to noticed that beautiful twinkle in his eyes that i have so desperately been searching for,He went outside yesterday and played ball with the dog,something he hasn't done in 3 yrs.incautiously optimistic but after the last 4 yrs can it be this simple

day 4 off and seeing a twinkle in his eye!! he seems so happy today. my husband and i can't believe the change. thank God.

My son started Singulair when he was 5 for asthma. He is now 7. We have noticed that he has went from a happy go lucky boy to very sad and depressed at times. He complains of headaches, stomach aches, leg aches, and cries very easily. He has lost his confidence at times and low self esteem. We never saw this behavior before taking this medicine. He has always loved to play sports and now is afraid of getting hurt. After reading these posts, I am taking my son off this medication. He has even complained that he cannot shut off his brain at night when he goes to sleep. We have also noticed him sleep walking. He has had to get glasses for farsightedness and complains that at times he feels dizzy. His breath smells awful despite he has brushed and flossed teeth. He also was very social and we noticed that he has started acting shy when he talks to people and making no eye contact. We have worked through the behaviors with prayer and counseling, but still battle it. I am wondering if he is having reactions to this medication. I am stopping it tonight. I want my happy-go-lucky little boy back. I will repost if I notice a difference. HJ

To Twinkle, yes, I had all those side effects.
If you are not taking CoQ10 please starts right now. It's available without Rx at any pharmacy or drug store. Lipitor is known to deplete the body's store of this important substance which is also known as Ubiquinone. A new statin is being developed which includes it. I'd talk to your doc about easing off the Lipitor or at the very least cutting the dose before you do permanent nerve damage like I fear I have done.
Good luck!!