Behavioral changes started when my son was 3 years old and on Sin...

My opinion, is that this is NOT a good drug for children, maybe no one. It caused the same type symptoms as steriods like predisone--even thought the allergist kept saying it was not. She gained a lot of weight, had the "moon" face etc. So I would think that if it caused these predisone-like symptoms in her--it could do the same in your son--and one of the bad side effects of predisone is the extreme anxiety, temper etc. I would seriously consider tapering him off of this poison. IF he is not tkaing allergy shots and had bad allergies or asthma, the shots work great, with not bad side effects.

Good Luck

Peggy

We took our son off of it about a month ago. No tapering, just stopped him cold turkey. He is so skinny, and I had also wondered if it was decreasing his appetite. There were just too many suspicions for me with this med. He will not be going back on it! He has been on prednisone in the past for short, (about 5 - day) durations - only when his sickness developed into pneumonia. He is only symptomatic when he gets a cold or in Spring or Fall when he has seasonal allergies. Until I talk again with his doctor, he will be on Albuterol for attacks and nothing else. He is almost 6 now and we'll see how he does. My nephew is 9, on Singulair, and has severe allergies and my sister took him off as well. I agree - doesn't seem to be a good choice of med for kids. Even adults should know all the risks and watch closely for adverse effects like these.
Thanks for your input!

Same experience, different child. I took my daughter off Singulair almost a month ago and she is returning to the loving, happy little girl I knew before she started taking Singulair. Sadly, I was blind to the potential side effects for 6 years before I took action and took her off. I was given the impression that Singulair was safe to take and was to help her breathe better since her diagnosis of recative airway disease/asthma at the age of 2. I was shocked and angered at the fact that this medication was making my child suffer for this long and it took the threat that my child is A.D.D. to really look into this poison and learn that this is a side effect that affects more and more children. Sadly, the manufacturer is either not aware of or is ignorant of this potential side effect and still states that it is safe to take. Even more disappointing is that doctors prescribe this medication with the same belief of what the manufacturer says. Even my own doctor for my child states that it is completely safe and claims to never hear any complaints of side effects. Merck Labratories should see this site and realize that it should be noted that there is a potential for these side effects. I hope the more we speak up, eventually we will be heard.

Apparently Merck is now listing these side effects, but from what I understand, many doctors are not aware because their samples and such still have the old labels and info. I plan to discuss this with our pediatrician next week when my other kids have an appointment. I am going to bring in a print out from the Singulair website for her. I read in one news article online that Merck has added "suicidal thoughts and actions" to their list of adverse effects, but it is hard to find. If you go to their website for Singulair and open the PDF file for the prescription info you can find it on about the 4th or 5th page or so... If only we had this information PRIOR to subjecting our kids to it! My son was on it for about 4 years. I feel bad that I will never know what kind of 3, 4, or 5 year old he may have been without this med in his system. I kept telling myself, he is just being a boy, and has lots of energy, and it normal... isn't it? He is calming down some now and is easier to redirect if he gets upset about something. No more lengthy tantrums! I was worried that the effects could be irreversible. Its good to see that we are not alone, yet I feel bad for any parent / child who may be dealing with the effects of this med.

My duaghter is almost 5 and has been on Singulair 4mg chewables for almost 2 years. She has, however, in the past 6 months, been experienceing mood swings, irritablilty, difficulty concentrating and attneding to simple tasks and instructions and very little patience.