Singulair and allergies

It has been interesting for me to read this posts. I have been wondering about the long term side affects to singulair- mostly because my 11 year old has been on Singulair for several years now. We spent many of nights in the ER for asthma when he was little and no Dr. did testing. When he was 5 his pediatrician tested him for allergies and put him on Singulair. We have had a great experience with it. I find it interesting that many of the health issues on here- joint pains, bouts of depression, weight gain...I personally experience all of them and i am not on any medication. My 11 year old does not experience any of the mentioned side affects. I wanted to find out long term side affects for my own personal knowledge. Prior to Singulair, he was on Zyrtec which was not a good fit.

My son is 7 yrs old with allergies and asthma. The Dr. prescribed it and the same day I had talked with a lady which her friends son just committed suicide. They were contributing it to Singular. A quick look up on the internet and I was angry with the pediatrician that the side effect was never discussed with me! After a very reassured conversation I said I would start him with 1/2 dose. I noticed nightmares started right away and I stopped. Asthma got worse decided to star again 3 weeks ago. He started twitching his head, flipping his hair that isn't even long. He was also complaining of stomach aches and not wanting to go to school (very unusual)! He has been off for a week now and is hopefully will not ever have any long term effect! Please follow your instincts and I will let his doctor. know what the side effects were.

I have been taking singulair for about a year and a half. Honestly I have had no side effects. It works great for me. I have tried to just take my zyrtec for my allergies without the singulair. I notice that if I don't take the singulair I feel shortness of breath and have to use my inhaler. When I combine singulair with my zyrtec I don't even need my inhaler at all. I was reading some of the experiences from other people, I think maybe children shouldn't take singulair at all.

I ONLY BEEN TAKING SINGULAIR FOR 5 DAYS AND I BEEN DAZE AND OUT OF IT AT WORK,I BEEN VERY TIRED LIKE NEVER BEFORE AND AM IN SHAPE WORKOUT 4 TIMES A WEEK.MY DOCTOR TOLD ME TO TRY IT DUE TO MY CRAZY ALLERGIES AM ALSO GETTING HEADACHES,AM GONNA STOP USING SINGULAIR TODAY 10-1-9. I WILL UPDATE HOW AM FEELING IN A WEEK.

I am 44 years old and have been taking singulair for about 4 years. 3 months ago I started experiencing crushing chest pain, tingling in my lower limbs, and felt very stressed out. I went to the ER last Thursday and was checked out for angina - the ER doctor told me I was suffering from chronic severe anxiety. I took Ativan for 4 days and felt better, but now the drigs are gone and I again having constant chest pain. In doing some research I found that anxiety can be caused by imbalance in adrenaline, and so started looking online to see if any of the allergy/asthma meds I am taking (adviar, singulair, allegra) can affect adrenaline. That';s when I found this website. Although i find the testimony compelling, I wish more folks would have poted about how their symptoms improved (or didn't) AFTER discontinuing singulair. Also I've noticed many of the stories are about children not adults; many people are taking more than one med for asthma, and most people's symptoms seem to come on right away whereas I have been taking sinulair for years and only recently have anxiety. I will stop singulair tonight and see what happens, but am wondering if anyone has come across further research that correlates singiulair with anxiety? My job life is really peaceful, I am otherwise happy, work can get hectic but that's true of any job, and I am out of ideas as to why suddenly at age 44, when I eat right and exercise - why get anxiety? Thanks for the posts, I'll try to remember to follow up after I am off Singulair for a few weeks.

I am 30 years old and have bad allergies. My doctor gave me a week worth of singulair as a sample. I took it last night. I woke up at 5 am thinking and worrying about the smallest things. I couldn't fall back to sleep. At the same time, my stomach is killing me... I feel like throwing up and have bad diarrhea... I will not take it anymore.

hi my name is T.im 17 and i have had severe asthma and allergies since i was 2. i was put on the singulair drug when i was 10 i started having nightmares about my percents dying and severe depression and anxiety.my parents thought it was just a phase kids go through.i realized all this didn't start happening until i started taking the drug, so i refused to take it anymore. well now im 7 years later my parents EMT,and pulmonologist.think its a wonderful idea to start taking it again so my parents give it to me and make sure i take it each night,bc my allergies are so bad. ive warned them once,but i guess they will all see what happens

My 3-year old daughter just took her first and last Singulair today. Within 3 hours: crazy mood swings for no reason, uncontrolled anger, bad dreams during her nap time. I didn't recognize her. She's been on Zyrtec for 2 weeks and showed improvement with her allergies and no side effects, but for some reason I let the doctor talk me into trying Singular today. I just threw the Singular in the garbage. Back to Zyrtec tomorrow.

My daughter who just turned 6 has been on Singulair for about 3 years now. Her behavior has not always been the best, but with her past medical history ( a preemie) and all the things we have gone through some times its just easier to give in than to fight over it!!! So last week she was suffering with her allergies and asthma and the doctor added a Claritin to be taken once daily. I didn't really think to much about it and thought well if it is going to help her the OKay. That was on Wednesday and by the week end she was literally coming "unglued". She was lying on the floor when she should have been in her seat at the dinner table. When she was in her seat she was doing "back bends" over the chair. We finally come to the conclusion that it had to be the Claritin, I looked up the active ingredient loratadine and knew I had to get her off it immediately. So now I started to investigate the Singulair as well, which I should have done long ago. Today will be the last day she takes Singulair as well. She has complained of her stomach hurting for a long time and I always blamed it on constipation, but it could be the Singulair. I can only pray that she will not have any lasting side affects.

I have an 8 yr old son that has allergies and asthma. The allergist recently prescribed Singulair which my son had taken when he was 5. We took him off of it back then due to anger outbursts. By the way, the Dr. said that was not a side effect, but nonetheless the issues subsided. When it was recently added back to his medication list, within 3 days he had anaphylactic type episodes 2 days in a row. The attack started with stomach pains, chest pains and then he couldn't breath AT ALL and turned blue! There was no time to call 911 so I gave him an Epi Pen. The attacks are still occurring yet milder and all his Dr.'s swear by Singulair and think I am crazy. I took him off Singulair immediately and we are still waiting for it to leave his system. I think that is why the recent episodes have been milder. He has been tested for all sorts of allergens which he did not come in to contact with prior to the anaphylactic events. We still have no answers and if I hear one more Dr. talk about how great Singulair is, I am going to freak out!! To heck with these drug companies and doctor's who get perks for prescribing medications without informing us of side effects.

I have had an excellent experience with Singulair. I am 59 years old and have allergies and a touch of asthma. Singulair keeps my allergies at bay and I no longer get sinus infections!!!! Thank you Singukair

Our 2 yr old son was prescribed Singulair for allergies by his ENT. He did great for a month. then started waking up more often at night, talking in his sleep. Never a fussy child unless he was sick- suddenly whining, protesting, acting out of character. Screaming when he didn't get his way. I threw away the pills the night he woke with a blood-curdling scream climbing the walls in his room- hallucinating that there were bugs crawling in his room. His pupils were dilated, heart was pounding and he was scared to death. A friend warned me early on, told me of her daughters behavior problems from the drug and told me of this website. She is doing great on Allegra. My son was to go off the Singulair in a couple weeks of our stopping the drug anyway, hoping he wont need any further treatment.

I started singulair a week ago in order to treat my allergies and mild asma. At first, I did not realize that I had headaches and head pressure due to its adverse reactions. On Friday night after my dinner I got very bad vertigo, and I did not take singulair for a day. Believe it or not my vertigo and headache went away. Tonight, I tried it again, and my ear and head pain came back.
I am calling my doctor tomorrow and stopping it right away.
Thank you all sharing your experiences.
V.

In a study, Sudafed 24 Hour and Singulair proved equally effective for treating the most common hay fever symptoms, such as sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, and nose and throat itchiness.

We put our 3 year old son on Singulair 2 weeks ago for allergies. It seemed to be helping him. He is a very mild mannered kid that has never been an aggressive child and never bites or hits. In the last 4 days his mood has changed, and he has bitten 2 kids at school, hit one kid, bit and hit his grandpa, has been waking up with nightmares and has been very clingy to me (his mom). After reading the side effects of Singulair last night we contacted the pharmacist and told him what has happened and he told us to take him off the Singulair immediately and contact our Pediatrician. I am waiting for a phone call back now. I am saddened that a medication for Allergies can cause such a personality change.

I am a 36 year old white male - generally good health. Could use to lose a few pounds but not overweight. I've been taking Singulair for a little over a year and since then (I also take Zyrtec - over the counter and Nasonex) all are for allergies. I since developed acid reflux - went to my pharmacist and she said that most people with this mix of allergy drugs form acid reflux. Anyhow, I am generally a moody person-have always been - too intense and most of the time I am not a go with the flow person-since I've been taking Singulair my mood swings amplified horrifically - I blow up at my wife over stupid assanine stuff - after reading these posts..today is the last time I am going to take Singulair. Wish me luck. I hope the mood swings decrease.

My daughter is a 4 year old child started on Singulair after she was unable to tolerate Zyrtec. For the first few days her allergies seemed better and we were encouraged by her improved allergy symptoms (allergies to poplar trees, grass, and lambs weed manifest as headaches, itching (usually of the extremities), and stomach aches). However, after 2 days her behavior became increasingly erratic. She was emotional, tantrum prone, irritable, anxious, and had difficulty sleeping although she appeared and said she was exhausted/tired. After several weeks on Singulair, we stopped the medication to determine if it was causing the behavioral and sleep problems. The symptoms stopped after discontinuing Singulair and she went back to her usual happy, well behaved self. After being off of it for several weeks we decided to try it again due to her allergies flaring up and wanting to be sure it was the Singulair causing the behavioral problems (because for all of its negatives, the greatest positive about Singulair is that it definitely helps her allergy symptoms). Unfortunately, the irritability, anxiousness, tiredness, tantrums and insomnia returned. We tried giving it to her at different times during the day but the symptoms were still present (although she slept a little better when we gave it to her in the morning). We also tried cutting the dose in half and giving it to her around noon. Decreasing the dose did help with the symptoms to some degree, but they were still bad enough to outweigh the benefits of taking the drug. As a nurse, I love Singulair for the relief it provides allergy sufferers...unfortunately for my daughter, the side effects outweigh the benefits. Given the rates of ADD, ADHD, and other behavioral problems diagnosed in children nowadays, I thought it pertinent to report these symptoms present in my daughter that are solely caused taking this medication.

My boyfriends kids 8 and 6 have been are on Singulair, Advair, Pediatan and Veramyst. Both daughter and son experience restlessness...trouble sleeping, stomach problems, Headaches, daughter especially experiences anxiety and mood changes. So many symptoms I have seen posted here. They have been on these meds for years and take them all every day....I am printing posts and researching info for him to give to his ex to find alternative treatment for their allergies and asthma....any advice or info will be greatly appreciated.
thank you!

I am 31 years of age an suffer with severe allergies, I was put on Singular about a month ago but didn’t start getting symptoms until 2 weeks ago I thought it was me but I soon realize it was not , I have severe stomach pains I like to describe as muscle spasms’ very painful, I had swollen eyes always puffy and sore throat. I realized that I didn’t start to have all these issues until I started the singular so I stopped 3 days ago and the spasms have since stopped the sore throat is getting better and the puffy eyes getting much better.. My father in-law told me to look up this site and I am so glad to see that I was not the only one and I wasn’t going crazy thanks everyone for sharing your stories
S.

My husband has been on Singulair for ten years now. It was a miracle drug for us as his asthma and allergies were ruining his quality of life. Little did I know that the Singulair would have such drastic effects as well. He is a police officer who has been through some traumatic events in his career. I attributed his irritability, depression, anger, severe nightmares, heartburn, weight gain, and puffy swollen eyes to post traumatic stress disorder. He stopped taking the medication about two weeks ago after his prescription ran out and he saw the FDA report. He is once again the man I fell in love with. Now I know what has been causing all of the changes in him, and we have decided he will never take Singulair again.

I am a 61 year old female and I had sinus surgery in Sept. 2008 and started taking Singulair about a week after the surgery. I started to gain weight very fast after taking the singulair. I stopped taking the medicine and lost 17 pounds without any strict diet, I started back taking the meds. after being off for about 3 months and have gained the 17 plus pounds back. The singulair helps my allergies but I hate the weight gain.

I have been taking Singulair for allergies for about 4 months. At first I took it in the evening at about 9pm and hour before bed. Almost immediately I felt very tired, sore throat, ear ache, increased tinnitus, irritable, and had aches and pains. So I stopped it for 10 days for it to clear out of my system and started again but this time I took it in the afternoon about 3pm and the difference is amazing, i've had absolutely no side affects, and feel like a new person. Maybe that's what people need to think about doing. The drug is at is most potent for the first 2 - 3 hrs, then slows down, so taking it at night is not a good idea, even though that's how it's prescribed.

I am 40 years old and recently went to my medical facility as I have had a "viral" ear infection for almost a year now, and it is concerning me. I do not take medication typically. My new primary care provider recommended I try Singulair. So far I have taken three doses over three nights. The first night was horrifying, the dreams I had were so scary, and they were tied into reality which was even stranger as the drug also makes you wake up often, then when you fall back asleep your awake time ties into your dreams. I woke up in a numb state. Since then, I also have been extremely agitated, dizzy, mouth sores, acne, fuzzy thinking, light headed and severe fatigue and body aches. Thank goodness I checked out this webpage, as I too will stop taking this drug. I find it very disappointing, how are we suppose to be able to trust our medical professionals to help us with one of our most prized possessions, our bodies, when we are given something to clear up an ear infection only to have it affect numerous other aspects of our lives to such a serious degree with no mention from our medical professionals. This is ridiculous. I guess I'll live with the viral ear infection.......

My 4 year old daughter was taking Singulair before bedtime (for asthma) and developed vicious bad dreams. I took her off the Singulair and the bad dreams disappeared. Through web forums I learned that this side effect has occurred in many children. For the past 2 months her asthma has been completely controlled through the use of a nebulizer and inhaler. I found out the Pediatricians and Nurses and our care facility were not even aware of this side effect. Why is such a mind-altering drug being prescribed to children? And why does a medicine that produces bad dreams require it to be taken before bedtime? She was also taking Zyrtec to control allergies. Her doctor mentioned that it could be taken any time of day, so we gave her the Zyrtec in the am and the Singulair in the pm. One morning during allergy season we forgot to give her the Zyrtec in the morning, so we gave it to her at night. Five hours later she was crying hysterically! It took hours to get her to calm down, and this girl is a very happy, social, well-behaved and well-adjusted child. I stopped both medicines the next day and within one week the bad dreams disappeared. So I would also cautious parents about Zyrtec as well.

I discovered my son's side effects from singulair a little over 2 years ago. He had used Singulair for approx 3 years. I did not recognize that he was suffering side effects until his ped increased his dosage to 5mg. At that point, it was loud and clear. I discontinued the Singulair in March 2007. The most significant improvements happen after approx 3 weeks. He was like a different child. Even after the 3 weeks, it seemed like he continued to improve a little every day.

I can tell you from our experience that my son suffered many, many side effects that i did not recognize. He had nightmares, anxiety, fear, frustration, leg pains, stomach pains, dark circles under his eyes, poor appetite, quick to tears and restlessness...just to name a few. On the higher dosage, he began to have a facial tic, dilated pupils and hallucinations.

I am thankful everyday for this website and some higher power that helped me realize what was going on and get him off Singulair. The first week off Singulair, he slept like an angel. No night terrors, no thrashing in his sleep. Week 2, he continued to improve in so many ways. It was nothing short of amazing. Week 3, he began to realize the changes in himself. Fears were a HUGE side effect for him. During week 3, the fears, ALL of them disappeared. He never spoke of them again. It was very strange and truly amazing.

I don't want to tell you to stop the use of Singulair. Only you know your child's health status. I will tell you that stopping Singulair changed our lives and saved my son. He suffered the assault of Singulair for 3 long years. Good luck to you all and your families. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

TO ALL

MY SON LOGAN IS SIX NOW AND JUST FINISHED KINDERGARTEN TODAY.
WHEN HE STARTED KINDERGARTEN HE WAS ON SINGULAIR FOR 4 YEARS. HE HAD ALL TH ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS. TUMMY ACHES, CONSTIPATED, DIARRHEA, LEG CRAMPS TO POINT OF NOT WANTING TO WALK, BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, HATED EVERYONE, NIGHTMARES, SEES GHOSTS, CRIED OFTEN.

ANYTHING SOUND FAMILIAR. HIS MOTHER THOUGHT HE HAD ADHD OR ASPERGERS AND PEDIATRICIAN AGREED WITH HER.

SOMEBODY THAT I THINK IS SPECIAL FOR ONE WAY OR ANOTHER KICKED ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO INVESTIGATE SINGULAIR IN EVERY ASPECT.

FIRST WEEK OF GARTEN I HAD TO HAVE A CONFERENCE WITH COUNSELOR AND THREE TEACHERS AND HIS MOTHER.
I LET THEM TALK AND EXPLAIN THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT LOGANS PROBLEMS. I THEN DROPPED A BIG PACKET OF PAPERS ON TABLE ABOUT SINGULAIR AND ZYRTEC. THEY WERE VERY VERY SURPRISED THAT I PRODUCED THIS INFO.

THAT DAY HIS MOTHER AGREED TO TAKE HIM OFF SINGULAIR. IT TOOK ABOUT 6 MONTHS FOR LOGANS ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS TO SUBSIDE. HE NOW ONLY TAKES ZYRTEC AND IS GROWING SO FAST.

SO PROUD OF THE LITTLE TURD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IM NO DOC BUT HOW DID KIDS AND ADULTS SURVIVE ALLERGIES IN THE OLD DAYS?

GIVE IT TIME LET THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS CATCH UP. KIDS DO GET SICK. DO YOUR KIDS A FAVOR AND INVESTIGATE THE DRUGS DOCTORS PRESCRIBE THEM. SOME HELP BUT SOME HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS ALL!!

My 4 yr old son has been on Singulair for a little over a month...prescribed after asthma attack and severe allergies. He has been a different child, extremely aggressive, out-of-control, and very hyper. I am so tired of having to get on to him constantly, and am realizing he has no control over his behavior. In addition, he just suffered another round of illness, this time also had an ear infection. Now I'm reading respiratory and ear infections are also side effects, how crazy is that?! We are stopping Singulair TODAY...I feel so bad for keeping my child on this medicine at all!!

I am 39 years old and very active. I have been on Singulair for about 2 years now. I did not think I had any problems while on the medication because it did help my breathing. I am now on an antidepressant (Lexapro)which I began about a year after I began the singulair. My depression however started almost a year before I actually got on the Lexapro. I had alot going on in my life so I just equated my depression to that. However I am realizing now that maybe the singulair triggered my depression. I ran out of singulair two days ago and am experiencing withdrawal symptoms, extreme tiredness, stuffy head, and I had heart palpitations last night, which I have never had. The withdrawal symptoms are why I began researching the medication because I couldn't understand how being off of it for such a short time could cause such an effect. I was on Singulair once before about 6 years ago before I retired from the military while I was at Ft Hood before I deployed to Iraq. By the time I left Iraq I was on multiple medications, Singulair, Claritin, Advair, Emergency Inhaler, When I arrived in Iraq I became ill and listed my medications. They were in shock and took me off everything except Claritin and I was fine. It wasn't until I returned home I began the Singulair again. (Why? I guess I never equated it to causing my other issues until now), I am also taking Zyzal and Lexapro. I see now that every time I take the Singulair it leads to additional medications to other things. I am going to stay off of it and hopefully be able to wean myself off of the Lexapro as a result. Unfortunately I probably will still need to take an allergy medicine. Thanks everyone for posting this useful information. I have two kids 6yrs and 12yrs and I know now that they will never take this medication. They have allergies like me so it is very probable that eventually it would have been mentioned. The allergist/asthma doctor is adamant the 12 year old has asthma but I never gave him the advair that he wanted him to take because I did have side effects from that medication that I did recognize myself and my son is the fastest runner on his select soccer team and extremely athletic without it, no emergency inhaler needed or anything.

Our daughter is now 5 1/2 and has been taking singulair since she was two, when she was diagnosed with asthma. She also has a slew of food and environmental allergies. It was not until she started taking Advair that her asthma became controlled. Her allergies still seem to bother her occasionally. I feel since her asthma is under control why take two meds? I did not refill her Rx and we are on day two of no Singulair. She's had headaches for two days and feels lousy. After reading the side effects of this drug I may now have answers to the headaches she'd get often and the moodiness and the sleepless nights and the deep dark circles under her eyes and the diarrhea. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks, although I agree that dose of antihistamine now and then is much better than all this other nonsense!

im having cough and then wheezing for a couple of minutes. My doctor thinks its common allergies, but I wasn't having my usual allergy attacks. She put me on Singular and It's been 3wks now and I've been feeling worse than ever.

I have just started my son on Singulair about 1 1/2 weeks . ago. He is also on Allegra plus using the Nasonex. The allergist did warn about all the things that have been reported about this drug. We still decided to try it to see how he responds to it. The number one thing we have noticed is: it has really made a difference in him with his allergies for the good. As in all the things we have heard about behavior issues with others, we have seen an increase in his energy and hyperness but not enough to alarm us yet. We have decided to keep him on it until we see a difference that we feel he is in any kind of danger or anyone else. Hopefully this will not be the case, we all are just getting our exercise which we did prior with him anyways. I hope that a few more positive reports come in, taking any kind of drug you run the risk of side effects. I'm not a fan of taking them but right now they help my son breathe and enjoy being outside where kids should be playing and loving life.

I am 51, when I was a child I had asthma and it went away in my twenties. Yesterday the doctor told me I have asthma and allergies. I took 10mg singulair last night, today I have a sore throat. Is this a temporary side effect that will eventually go away?

Wow. I am surprised to see how many children are being put on this medication! I am surprised because the label on my bottle says specifically for adults 15 YEARS of age and older... As for my experience with Singulair, I have been taking this medication off and on for about a year now. I was put on it for severe allergies as everything else I tried did not work for me. (Claritin, Allegra, Flonase, Veramyst, etc) The first month or so on Singular I noticed that I would get severe headaches in the afternoon about the same time everyday. I would have to take aspirin just to make it through the every workday. These headaches eventually tapered off even though I will occasionally get a headache. The Singulair definitely helped me with my allergy symptoms and when I would go off, I would usually end up with a cold or sinusitis.

My son and daughter have taken Singulair off and on several times now. My son is on it again because his allergies are acting up because of volcanic fog (vog). Neither of my children have experienced any noticeable side effects from this drug. My daughter, in fact, had no reaction since Singulair doesn't work on all people. I think the fact their pediatrician only placed them on this drug when they needed it and monitored it closely (1 month at a time) may be why they never had any side effects. My son has never been on it for longer than 3 months at a time. My son has done well on this drug and it has amazed me how well it works on his allergies and wheezing.

Just because some people have bad reactions doesn't mean the drug needs to be pulled from the market. I certainly don't doubt that people have had bad side effects from this medication though. I am very sensitive to all kinds of medications, even natural herbs and medications that have been around for longer than I have been alive. By just giving me a higher dose of something, I can get numerous side effects like dizziness, mood swings, nausea, stomach problems, and one drug, Ambien, even damaged my sense of smell. My doctors are always giving me the lowest possible doses of medications, and sometimes I am given half of the lowest possible dose. Why? Because I have a sensitive system, and this may be the case with your children or with your own experience. As with any medication, you have to weigh the risks and benefits. Singulair has made a positive difference in my son's life and as long as he is only on it for short periods of times (usually during allergy and/or cold season), I will continue to let him take it.

My daughter has moderate asthma with occasional severe attacks. She's been on Singulair since she was 13; she is now 24. It has definitely helped her asthma a great deal, but now, when she misses a dose, or in the most recent event, she missed several days, she becomes allot more tight and has more difficulties sooner than it was like before she got on singulair at age 13. She is back on it now after being off for 5 days and is getting some relief. I wonder if her body has become dependent on it, or so accustomed to it that she now has to have it. A doctor a few years ago, said that means her asthma has gotten worse, but I suspect the dependency factor rather than her getting worse. Anyone have that experience?/

In March I started having a lot of facial pain. Thought my allergies were getting worse. I went to an ENT specialist, had the whole workup (which they cannot still figure out my pain). Anyway, wanted me to start on Singular. I took 1 pill before I went to bed this last weekend. I started feeling dizzy and having violent thoughts. Also I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I still felt "weird" the next day. At first I thought this was a fluke, now I am pretty sure it was the Singular. I don't want to chance taking it again. I am a very heavy sleeper and do not have any problems falling asleep. The anxious feeling and strange thoughts were scary. I am not going to take this medication again. I am going to file a report with the FDA for the side effects I experienced. I am convinced they would have gotten much worse like the other people have expressed if I had continued taking it.

My daughter was started on singulair at about the age of 3 (now 7) because her asthma was not being controlled ny inhalers and she also suffers from a lot of allergies. Her asthma has improved tremendously but i noticed that she became very short tempered and still can be (but i put this down to her age), also these last six months i have noticed three episodes of diarrhea (just for one day and nobody else has had this in the family). Just recently, and even more concerning she is starting to bruise very easy, all over the legs, so i called NHS Direct and was informed that Singulair can thin the blood making you bruise more easy. For me this is the last straw and have decided that my daughter has to come off these straight away and i am making an appointment for the GP first thing in the morning.

I started taking Singulair 6 months ago. My allergies even with medication and immunotherapy were becoming unmanageable. My larynx would swell up and close my throat and make breathing difficult. I had trouble breathing at night laying down to sleep, my voice was hoarse most of the time. Within 2 days after starting Singulair, those symptoms totally disappeared. I thought it was the answer I had been looking for. I've had a lot real problems in the past few months with crying and sadness, but with my Mom in hospice with Alzheimer for 14 years, and my father breaking both hips last year, my mother-in-law with vascular dementia, and an insulin defendant diabetic, and losing my job due to outsourcing, and other stressors in my life, but II thought my sadness was all of this stress. Counseling wasn't really helping and I've got a new counselor now. In the past couple of months, my mental state has become more and more fragile; I have times that I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in a couple of months or just go somewhere and be left alone. I am angered easily; I have always been happy and easy-going. I cry daily and don't get out much, and I'm afraid of the unknown now. I feel like my self-esteem is in the toilet.

Tonight I have stopped the Singulair. I'm afraid because I know the allergy problems will return, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to manage them somehow. I have 'a lot on my plate' right now, but at least if I stop the Singulair and I feel better mentally I'll know it was the drug and not my life.

I was prescribed singular on Friday for my asthma and allergies - I took the first dose on Saturday night - slept like a baby and felt really great Sunday (the best I'd felt for a long time!) but that changed Sunday night - after taking my tablet I went to bed - it took me until 4 am to finally fall asleep because of the noise in my ears and this overwhelming feeling of unrest in my mind and body. Around 4.30 am I apparently woke my daughter by leaving my bedroom sleepwalking - I even managed to change the top I was wearing before loudly opening and shutting my bedroom door then walked half-way down stairs turned then went back to bed - I'm 44 and never, in the whole of my life, walked in my sleep! All day Monday I just didn't feel myself like the world was an overwhelming place to be! I didn't take the next dose but feel absolutely drained and on edge - I'm told it'll take a few days to completely leave my system - wish I'd never even tried it!!!!!

I just wanted to post an update.

I took my son off singulair over a year ago. He was on since he was 2 yrs old and had started with chronic headaches at about 10 yrs old. He also had tantrums(I don't know how else to describe it), was upset and sad and basically disliked himself. He cried all the time. I had always thought it was just him. These symptom had come on slowly over the years.

The first week off this med, it was like he was freaking out and everything was 100x worse. But the headaches almost immediately disappeared.

Other parents were wondering how long it took for his personality to change.or if the kids would remain that way.

It took quite a long time. It was worse for weeks after we took him off. Then it slowly started to improve.

In the last 6-8 months, it's like living with a different child. There's no crying, he's happy, there's no tantrums anymore. Gets a headache maybe once a month instead of daily.

He still has allergies, he still has asthma. But for the first time in years he seems normal. I love that word, normal.

My doctor prescribed Singulair for my allergies and asthma last month. Immediately I began to have headaches from it - not terrible, but just there. After about 3 weeks on it, I began to have ringing in the ears also. Again, not bad, but just there. I decided to stop the Singulair (even though it was the first thing that really worked for me) on a Thursday night and the next morning I woke up with a horrible really loud noise in my left ear like a piece of heavy equipment and dizziness! I went to urgent care that Sunday and they put me on a round of prednisone - didn't work at all. I went back to my allergy doctor and she is VERY concerned, as I have "significant hearing loss" in my left ear. She referred me to a different doctor where I have to go today for a procedure to have my eardrum slit open and steroids injected behind it. I am beyond upset. This is ridiculous!

My daughter has taking singular for about 3years. Her doctor put hersingular for allergies when she was five years old she is now 8 years old. There was no problem at firs.It took about 6 months before started seeing her change .She has a lot of hate toward her mother, sister, father.She has mood swings saying she hates us sometimes she wishes we were dead. She is all the time hitting her sister.We took her off of them for about a week and she changed toward everybody she was the best kid you could ask for, but her problems started with her allergies again so we had to put her back on them. We took her back to the doctor and they say there is no other allergy medicine that will work her. She has to be on something or she will run high fevers for weeks plus lots of nose problems and watery eyes. She has complains of a lot headaches more than any other kid would

I have been on Singulair longer than I can recall... at least 10 years, maybe longer. My 7 year old son has been on it since he was probably 12 months old. Neither one of us have had any problem reported here. No depression, no sleeplessness (until I weaned him from naps, he slept up to 13 hours a day), no leg cramps, nothing. We are two of the happiest, most well adjusted people you could know. And, best of all, we haven't had any asthma attacks. Bottom line, different drugs react differently in different people. Don't let the post here stop you from trying a medication that for some could mean the difference between life and death depending on how asthmatic they are. As with any drug recommended by your doctor, try it. If you experience adverse reactions, stop it ASAP. It's that simple.

My seven year old son has been on singular for over four years. He talks a lot about death. He constantly cries about his dead grandmother which he never knew. He is a very smart child and lately I have realized that something bothers him. He is starting to cry often and feels very depressed. This is what he says when he cries: “My brain thinks bad thoughts about you, (mom and dad). Mom, I really love you and daddy, but my brain does not listen to me. My brain tells me bad things about you like to get a knife and stub you to death, or get a gun and kill you. Please mom make my brain squish the bad juice away and live only the good thinking on it. I know that you love me but my brain tells me different.”

My son is begging for help and every day he tries so hard not to have bad thoughts. He tries to hug us and kiss us a lot, but I see on his little eyes that something is wrong. The first time this thing happened I thought maybe a TV show or something made him think so. I am becoming very worried about him and started research on the computer. I don't know what causes his depression, but I know for a fact that he is depressed. He is our only son and gets all the love and attention.

Although he has been on singular for a long time, I have given it to him regularly only the last five months, since his doctor urged me to do so. Before I gave him the singular only when his allergies acted up. When he got better I would completely stop it. I didn't know anything about singular, but I don't like using medicine, and that is the reason I did not use it regularly.

My son has other similar behaviors that are out of his character like no desire to raise, get angry, worry that I would die, behavior problems at school, he thinks he is stupid although he is a straight A student, has nightmares, is scared that he would die, can't concentrate, is scared to be by himself etc.

It brakes my hart to see my baby being depressed. I will stop the singular to see if he will get better. I pray to God he will.

English is my second Language. Sorry for any inconvenience.

i posted here in march 2008. i'd been taking singulair for about 8 years. at the time of my post i'd quit that and allegra and some other allergy/asthma meds. within weeks i noticed huge changes. one year later i can say i am far less depressed, i have been sleeping much better. i'd only been sleeping one or two hours at a time for all those years. my cholesterol went from 243 to 192 within months. i'm trying more natural ways of dealing with my asthma, and i'm willing to suffer with the allergies to some degree rather than use any more meds. i'd have to say that the best thing that's happened from quitting singulair has been sleep. i used to say sleep was overrated. now i'm thinking i love that i often sleep 4-6 hours at a time and if i wake up, i go right back to sleep. my sleepwalking has been so much less. i used to do it 4 to 6 times a week. now only maybe a dozen times in the past year.
anyway..just wanted to say i'm really glad i found this website and woke up to the dangers of singulair.

I just came from my Dr. and he prescribed Singular for my allergies. He really convinced me to take it. So it's day 2 and I haven't taken it yet. I told my Dr. that the commercial on T.V. said a list of side effects that out weighed the symptoms of my allergies. This website has totally convinced me that I just threw away $135.00, cause I refuse to take a medication that has so many awful side effects. thanks for everyones input on this medication. and I hope for the best of luck with the people that are having such a difficult time with their medical problems.

I already had experienced some bad side effects due to singulair with my daughter. She had become moody, emotional, having nightmares and those are just a few to mention. However, my son had no side effects. When I went to my children's pediatrician, she agreed some children do experience some side effects like my daughter was having. But somehow she didn't see it as quite a concern. I vowed then and there to take both my children off it. Then my son continued having his allergies and over the counter zyrtec didn't seem to help him. I went back to the dr. and because I trust her and have known her for many years....she convinced my to put him back on singulair since he had never had any previous side effects. Well, its been maybe 2 months and now I see my son acting strange. He is not himself. The normal activities he used to enjoy don't interest him anymore. For the last few days, he has been wanting to lay down and he says he's sleepy. To me, he is acting like someone who is depressed and he's only 5!!!!!! I am taking him back to the dr. and taking him off this horrible drug! For all you parents out there...I think we should all go with our "motherly" instincts and do what we think is best for our children. We are the ones that know our children on a day to day basis..not the doctor's. So I am kicking myself for not sticking to my original instincts. My daughter improved drastically! Even her teacher noticed a difference. Please if you notice something, take action before the drug does more damage.

Need anyone say anymore!!! I am baffled at the comments made and relieved I felt the need to research this. My daughter is 4 years old and was prescribed Singulair a year ago for allergies and chronic respiratory problems due to undiagnosed (for a month) RSV at 6 mos. old. I put her on it (age 3) and something just wasn't right, cranky, crying, moody when normally she was not that way, so I took her off of it. 7 days ago she was having trouble breathing and at our urgent care visit the Doctor told us to start taking the Singulair again. I explained to him then that I felt it made her moody and depressed. He told me it doesn't take effect for at least a month. Stupid me, the Doctor knows better right?! WRONG!!!! Who knows our children better than we do?! She has taken 5 pills and I have a child that is all of the sudden having nightmares, acid reflux, DEPRESSION, crying spouts that she can't stop. WARNING....do not give your child this medicine...I am sick I gave it to her again and grateful it has only been a week. Hopefully these symptoms will disappear quickly.

I have been really stressed out about the behavior of my 5 year old son. He is having uncontrollable tantrums, crying spells, aggressive behavior towards me, his dad and his 2 year old brother. He does fine at school according to the teacher. So I thought it was our structure at home. We has a very well kept schedule that we don't change very much even on the weekends. So in the last month it has gotten worse including bed wetting, restlessness, and crying episodes for 20 minutes.
My sister told me about a news piece that she saw about negative side effects of Singulair in children. So here I am on this blog. I have now had an AHA moment. This is the problem. I will be calling the pediatrician TODAY. Now I know what's going on. Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. I will post again with an update.

While Singulair does work, it comes at a horrible price! We started our 6 year old daughter on it for extreme allergies. Within 5-6 days of starting it, she started becoming angry, moody, aggressive, irritable, throwing horrendous fits and she started crying a lot. She also stopped eating and complained of nausea often. I started to wonder if the Singulair was to blame, so we stopped it. Within a few days, she started improving, and is now almost back to normal. It did help with her allergy symptoms, but I will NEVER give this medication to my children again. Our doctor never once mentioned that side effects like these are possible, but apparently they are.