My daughter is seven years old. She was diagnosed with asthma when she was around two years old and, for years, suffered with the night cough associated with childhood asthma.
When Singulair came along, my initial reaction was that of joy. My husband and I could not believe that we no longer heard coughing throughout the night. However, while on this drug, we also noticed that she underwent a change. Sometimes, she seemed terribly sad and withdrawn. Other times, she became angry and even aggressive. We rarely saw her smile. It also seemed like she was in some sort of fog much of the time. About a week ago, I found her on the floor of our office. She had just gotten out of the shower, and I was getting her pajamas for her. The towel was not around her and she was shaking violently and crying. She explained that she had the chills, but it was clear that she didn't even comprehend that her towel was not around her. We all know our kids, and, I'm telling you that this scene was frightening. This was not at all my daughter.
In addition to the mental/emotional changes, she also had physical symptoms including sudden and frequent headaches, fatique, stomach pain, and bed wetting. A day after her "breakdown" in our home office, my husband called me from work and told me that he had just been reading MSNBC and that there was an article about the negative side effects of Singulair. When he listed things that matched what our daughter had been going through since on this drug, it was both comforting and horrifying. I am relieved to know that there is nothing wrong with my daughter psychologically, but I am furious that she and so many others have been treated like guinea pigs. We took out daughter off Singulair the very same night that my husband came across the article on Singulair, and she hasn't had any of the mental or physical symptoms that she had been experiencing...the change was that drastic. Currently, we are only using her inhaler and Benadryl at night. She has a doctor's appointment next month, and I will tell the doctor about our experience.
I have my little girl back, but I can't help but wonder how many families are going through this and do not have a clue that Singulair could be the problem. Other than reporting this to our pediatrician, is their another agency I should contact?
I contacted my state and federal representatives, as well as the attorney general. I am working on filling out my a report to the FDA, which you should definitely file. http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/how.htm
My suggestion is to spread the word to anyone who may not know about this - other parents who might be giving Singulair to their children, any other doctors that might be dealing with children with these side effects.
Your story sounds very similar to mine. My son started Singulair when he was almost three and developed an anxiety disorder when he started kindergarten. His depressed, anxious, angry behavior just didn't make sense. I stopped him last January after finding other stories on this board. It has taken some time for all the symptoms to go away but he really is like a whole new child...Just last night I heard him laughing his head off while watching a movie. We used to comment how he never laughed anymore...There is absolutely no question in my mind that Singulair was the problem.
Good luck!