I am starting a new post in the hopes that others will see what I...

My son took it for allergies & I'm sorry but I dont remember if it worked right away or not, I do know it did work b/c his allergies have been under control this past year I guess I should of paid more attention to the whole singulair picture in general
again sorry I cant help :(

Hi ,first of all ,"Thank You" I have been catching up on this site rereading and reading new post.I see your efforts to help,it is commendable.I can tell you when our son Cody took the medication, he actually did not live long enough to improve his allergy symptoms.Cody had mild seasonal allergies and they had not really kicked into high gear yet.We started it to see how he would do getting a head start in July.Normally he would start a bit later in the summer.He still had the stuffy nose!Wish we had been given our Allegra,he would still be with us and very much alive.You have shed some light on the research going on in other countriesIt sounds as if they are more forthright with the evidence of psychological adverse events taking place.You also are very kind to take the time to research and try to put the information into laymens terms,:I am getting a clearer picture that Monelukast has a different affect on some Genetic make ups.The FDA researcher hopefully will look at the leukotriene receptors more thoroughly as a possible reason for the varied side effects.I think that is what you are saying correct me if I am wrong.Kate Miller

In our case, allergies and asthma go hand in hand. My daughter took this drug for allergy induced asthma, or "allergic asthma", so preventing the allergies in turn prevented the asthma, and she is a very highly allergic child (high IgE). At 12 or 13, the 5 mg daily dose helped with her allergies, I would say within a couple days. During high allergy season, we went for the 10 mg tablet where my daughter saw immediate results and hardly needed rescue inhaler, but even a couple years ago I was nervous keeping her on the higher dose from researching other forums.

For Phillip it took about 2 weeks before his allergy symptoms subsided. I remember being frustrated with the way he was acting and still having allergy symptons. When I complained to Dr they told me takes couple weeks to kick in and behavior wasn't from meds..

As you know my son is the one who was put on it for his food allergy and back to back anaphylaxsis until we knew what had happened. He never had any asthma at that time. Not until I took him off of it for the stomach aches, nightmares and moodiness. Since Wed at the ER, he started flovent 2x daily and albuterol in between. Have had to give him treatments in the middle of the night b/c of his coughing. His coughing during the day has been better but his chest is very thick and he sounds raspy. Hope this helps.

I know that the doctor on this site disagrees with sharing research with the public that might be misinterpreted. I am just trying to tell you why I have certain questions. I referred to this research group from Virginia. I got my idea about asking about delays in efficacy for those with allergy as compared to asthma by reading research such as this. Everything in an article is not always directly related to what I am thinking but I do believe that eventually that there will be important things to be learned. So don't read it, but know that I really do have reasons to ask. I am also looking for explanations as to why symptoms not present before Singulair manifest themselves after discontinuing Singulair.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mksg/imr/2001/00000179/00000001/art00009

Dear Concerned Citizen-I don't know who you are but thank you for taking us seriously. After reading this last post I have a question, how could an allergy medicine affect an area of the brain that controls mood swings, destructive behavior, depression, etc? What ingredient could be in Singulair that actually could do this to so many children? And why doesn't one of the chemists that work for Merck who came up with this drug understand how harmful this has been? I hope there is a Jeffrey Wigand who has a conscience and tells the truth.

I believe that the answer to that question has not been addressed by any experts so far. One problem is that asthma/allergies is not one stop shopping. Each individual has his/her own individual issues to be addressed. It seems that the European system notifies everybody involved about adverse drugs reactions in their very frequent reports. Any drug reaction that meets their criteria of being believed as the source of the problem becomes part of that drug's profile.

Why did Merck name montelukast -- Singulair? That was a strategic decision to make it seems like this was the "single" drug for everybody. What if they had named it "Lukasta"? Lukasta sounds like something for cancer. We are just getting sold pills that have a broad range of associated side effects no matter what these pills are.

Dear Concerned Citizen-
I just want to add that you are an angel and you can't close your mouth because the doctors don't like what you have to say. Don't forget, alot of those doctors get kickbacks for referring these drugs to their patients. I had posted this earlier in the week about Merck: http://www.minfirm.com/blogview.asp?Post=61 (copy and paste it). Apparently drug researches knew for TWO YEARS that the drug zetia was ineffective and they kept it quiet so that they could make money before any recalls, etc. You can't trust these people to do the right thing and it really depends on the people to speak up. So although some people may take the research wrong, etc. I commend you for atleast speaking up for these innocent people who's lives have been ruined b/c a drug company is more concerned with profit than they are patient safety.

In response to your question, I was put on Singulair for allergies but I also have asthma. I took it sporadically to control allergies during more susceptible times of the year. It did help my allergies immediately, after the first dose it was like night and day, it cleared up congestion, itchy eyes, runny nose and my wheezing. The fact that it worked right away allowed me to take it sporadically. It was only after I recently used it routinely for over a month that I started having problems with numbness and a vibratory feeling in my hands. I have tried as you have to figure out how this works to cause so many different side effects and I do believe that it changes the cells after a period of time, otherwise I would have had symptoms prior to taking it routinely. Someone will figure this out, hopefully Merck will be a stand up company that will pour some dollars into research. I know that drug companies have a bad reputation in this country but I also see that many lives have been saved by new medications that come from their research which is funded by the profit off of their medications. They are far from saints doing altruistic work, and I know they make much more money than they put back into research, but face it they are not all bad. We sometimes take for granted all the medications we have these days that save lives that would have been lost a decade ago. I am not defending them, just pointing out that they are a two edged sword.
As for me, not taking the Singular anymore, too risky for my taste.
Good luck with your project.