Singulair and asthma

Today is 4years exactly that Matt had his one and only asthma episode,that sent us done the road of singulair disaster,7 months of the drug now thanks to Kate who went public with her story.Each new day brings more hope for a full recovery,although the road is long and strewn with guilt and anger.First i was angry with my doctor,then Merck now the FDA,but the guilt always stayed with me.Ive spent hours on wouldas couldas and shouldas but none the less it is what it is.I have had an education in things i really didn't want to know,the medical system,the justice system,and our government.I have written hundreds of letters reported 3 times to the FDA,never a response other than your email was received,called and reported to Merck twice,they were always ready and willing to take my info,so today i wrote to the FBI asking if they could investigate corruption at the FDA,proberly they will laugh and trow it out,or maybe even put me on a list of some kind,but i will leave no stone unturned until some one explains to me how this happened in America

I have a 4yr old boy who has been on singulair for 5 months. Before he began singulair he was the most happy, kind, gentle, loving boy. We had an awesome close relationship. I enjoyed just sitting there watching him play. I could not wait for him to learn something new, but EVERYTHING has changed now. I took him off of singulair on Sept 19, 2008 after accidentally running into this site while looking up children and OCD. Thank God I did. It has been 12 days since I found this and took him off. I couldn't type then because I was to upset. My son who never had ANY mental problems or anxiety is now completely riddled with it. Instead of playing all day care free like 4yr old are supposed to do, my son spends his days now clinging to me in fear that I may leave or go into a room without him and he will not be there to open the door. He obsessively has to open every door now. He spends his days getting upset at the smallest things. He now gets mad at everything I say, or I don't say it right. Our relationship is not the same now, and I am devastated. Before Singulair he slept through the night every night. Now he wakes up every couple of hours to go to the bathroom and say "are you still there mom?" ok "I love you" "Don't let the bed bugs bite" I have to answer "I love you to" and "you either" If anything different is said he will go nuts, and he will obsessively say this over and over and over again. This is not my son. He is a totally different person. I am so very scared that this poison has permanently ruined him. I mean he is so young and his brain is developing. It has been developing with this poison in it, that has ruined him. It has been 12 days and he is still doing the same ocd stuff. He still seems really agitated. His muscles hurt, his tummy hurts, his eyes hurt, his ankles hurt, and he has diarrhea. My beautiful boy is now mentally and physically SICK because of singulair. I feel really bad to, because I did not know at first that the singulair was causing this and I was always getting on to him for his behavior and putting him in his room. At pre-school a couple of days after first giving singulair to him he started crying ALL DAY at school, and I made him stay there because I thought it was just because he had gotten a new teacher and he needed to get used to her. I feel terrible!! Does anyone know if the ocd will go away or has he now learned the behavior?

Hi,
I'm a 38 year old woman who went on Singulair in September of 2006. By December of that year I started experiencing heart palpitations,dizziness,and nightmares that stayed with me in my waking hours. By January of 2007 I was having full blown anxiety attacks. My doctor ran every test under the sun and I went to several therapists. By the end of January my doctor had me on Effexor, and several other short term aids such as atavan. The summer of 2007 I started experiencing stomach pains and sever diarrhea. As much as I loved my 20 pound weight loss, it was not a lot of fun. Again every test under the sun showed nothing. This spring I heard of the concerns of Singulair and immediately went off of it. Within a few weeks I felt like my old self. I am still weaning off of the Effexor and my asthma is not as good as it was on the Singular, but it is worth having my health and my life back. I feel that Singular almost ruined 2 years of my life. It should be taken off of the market.

What you will not hear elsewhere: Though Singulair is likely safe, it is ridiculously over prescribed. Singulair is indicated for the treatment of allergies and asthma. For allergies, It has not been shown to be more effective than Claritin (which is now generic and over-the-counter). In fact, when Merck-Schering were trying to add Singulair to Claritin, they found it no more effective than Claritin alone (sound familiar?). In this case, they decided not to manufacture this new pill. The most effective agents for allergic rhinitis are inhaled nasal corticosteroids. Flonase is now available as generic fluticasone, and is much more effective then Singulair (which is not generic), Claritin or the combination of the two. Regarding asthma, the updated 2007 NIH guidelines recommend inhaled corticosteroids for asthmatics of all ages. The data is overwhelming, clear and convincing. Singulair, which has much less of an effect is considered alternative therapy by the NIH. Yet, Singulair remains one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for asthma.

Wow- this floors me. My daughter is 20 now- we had her on Singulair for years for her asthma. She suffered from horrible leg pain, but she was a 4-sport varsity athlete and we attributed the pain to over training.

Her first year at college she started suffering from severe depression and lost a lot- I mean a LOT of weight. She went about a year and a half with no period due to low body weight. We wanted to check her into an inpatient treatment center for eating disorders but couldn't because she was over 18 and didn't want to go.

In June we sent her to a new allergy doc who retested her and switched her from Singulair to Symbicort as the Singulair was not managing the asthma well. It was like we flipped a switch- she stopped having vision problems, stomach pain, and insomnia almost overnight. She has gained back at least 10 pounds and is looking like her old self again.

I'm so glad we stopped the Singulair, even though it was accidental. A year ago, we thought we might lose our bright and beautiful daughter. We had no idea it could be as simple as the asthma med. I'm telling everyone I know about possible side effects of Singulair.

I have been on Singulair for about one month and am experiencing extremely painful cramps/charlie horses in my legs. I am taking Singulair for adult onset asthma. Have a horrid cough, been told over the past 20 years, yes, 20 years, it is caused by allergies but no medication stops the coughing. Then they figured it had to be caused by acid reflux. So prilosec is prescribed. Still have the cough. Now this specialist deems it to be adult onset asthma. The Singulair does not stop the coughing - so what is next? Major leg cramps/charlie horses.

I am a loving mother of a 5 1/2 year old boy. He has been on Singulair for over 3 years. In this past 3 years my son has suffered in an unspeakable amount. He came down with Rota Virus and was hospitalized at 2. He then came in contact with Pneumonia in the hospital while he was there. They automatically put him on Singulair, Zyrtec, Prednisone, and antibiotics to treat the pneumonia. Since that day, my son has gone though more tests than I have in my entire life. He has had asthma, sinusitis, leg cramping ( to the point he cannot walk for 2 years), IBS, Acid reflux,(they gave him laxatives for a year that made things worse and addicted to them also), stomach pain, constipation and diarrhea back and forth. He also got Erythema Mulitforme TWICE, while on this drug. All of which the doctors said could NOT be caused by Singulair. He has had several Upper GI's and CT scans. Along with Barium enemas, several hundreds of blood tests, and many many pokes and prodded that were not necessary. All since he has been on Singulair. He now has frequent bathroom trips, depression, confusion, and anger outbursts. He also has to go to the restroom every 5 minutes. He has had genital swelling, and many other aches and pains. None of which his "doctor" ever said could be a result of Singulair. I am 100% sure it was!!!! He currently has anxiety and emotional sporadic issues causing problems in school The teachers and counselors say that it is so strange because there is no TRIGGER and the outbursts are completely inconsistent. His preschool teacher and director are sure he has ADHD. Well, we had him tested and he does not have any part of it. He has no learning disability what-so-ever. So that brought me back to square one. He is in a positive loving enviroment. How could he be depressed and want to hurt everyone around him? He cannot sit still. He cries and says he is 'stupid" and "can't think" like the other boys. He has nightmares and cannot sleep alone. He is scared of everyone and everything. So, as I sit here crying, I realized that this has all been a reaction of his "medicine" Singulair. He never should have gone through all of those painful tests, only to prove they couldn't find anything. So many treatments and sound full advice speeches from his doctors. How could they be so naive and selfish in the life of my son?

When I called my pediatrician of 5 years, she told me that " parents that have children with behavioral problems will LOOK for something to blame their problems on." She also said "drug companies only put side effects on their labels to PROTECT the drug companies. (as she laughed at me) They are not always valid". Then she said "if you take you child off of Singulair you will be playing Russian Roulette in his life." Then she said that all children around 5 or 6 go though this emotional time in their lives." She told me that if I take my child off of Singulair that she would no longer be a part of his health regimen for his asthma. She told me to see a Pulmonologist for further treatment.
Who is paying who? This is my son's life???????? I decided to go with my mother-gut instinct and get him off of this medicine. No matter what. He has been a different person since. He is currently going though a lot of side effects and withdrawals (leg pain, insomnia, hic-ups, emotional distress) but every day is getting better. How can the drug companies say that this is a "wonder drug?" There are more reported side effected patients then clinical studied patients! How can a "medication" that stimulates the brain not be connected to other problems? This "medication" interferes with the bio synthesis and action of LTs and has been marketed as NOVEL medication against asthma and allergic rhinitis. Who the hell is playing God here??? The pocket books of Merck or our over PAID "doctors?" Who pays the price? Our children? Or us. Thank god I found this before it was too late. I would not be able to withstand the pain of losing my son due to their lack of scientific evidence. They are lucky I am one of the smart ones. I will not settle for less than Justice for the drug companies and their paid "doctors?" You all end up in the same place. HELL

There are 18 million people on this drug. Most of them are children. Please save a life if not your own child's life. Thank You

POLL: If you or your child have been adversely affected by Singulair could you please reply to this and let me know what ethnicity you are and skin tone. (fair, med., dark, etc.) I'm interested in the demographics of this drugs effects.
Thank you!

I have been on singulair for several months or more. In the last month or so I have had a handful of breakdowns emotionally, crying like a little baby some worse than others. I feel paranoid but i don't know if that is just a case of anxiety.Leaving the house has become an issue if it is a bad sad feeling day. I just learned about an investigation tonight and googles it. It lead me here.

I don't know what to do.

for the people that have taken their children off singulair...
what are you using for a preventative med?
my daughter has really bad asthma and I don't know of any alternatives

This past winter we found out that my son had developed asthma. His allergist /asthma doctor put him on Singulair as his preventative. Not two days later a report came across the news that Singulair has depression as a side effect. I immediately called my son's allergist / asthma doctors and was told that these symptoms have been found ONLY in children in their teens. That they are linking something in the med with hormones and it spawns depression.
Even though this is terrible for the parents of teenagers, my son is 6 years old... the chance of this happening to us was slim. Or so I thought.
One morning, to my horror, two weeks later my 6 year old son whom never really watched anything on television without his parents (with the exception of Noggin programs) is talking about how he wished he was never born. That no one would care if he was to die or disappear. That maybe he should just go to sleep one night an just die..... he was getting so angry for no apparent reason, throwing things and yelling all the time... telling me, his mother (we have always been so close) that he wished I were dead and that he hated me...
Needless to say I immediately called his doctors and they told me to stop the Singulair right away. The doctors were shocked that this has happened to a 6 year old and had filled out reports for the FDA that I had to give detailed descriptions of what happened to my son so they could start warning other parents.
Now, four months later and we have our happy go luck son back. No preventative, but the inhaler is doing the job.
Good luck out there if you agree to put your child on this medication. I understand it does not happen to everyone, I just cannot tell or describe to you how horrifying and traumatizing it was to go through seeing my happy go lucky son become this extremely depressed angry aggressive child within two weeks. We are still battling the aggressive behavior, but hey, he is 6 and that could be normal... right?

I also want to add that he has been having nightmares a lot as well. And exhibiting some behavioral issues on and off at school.

Again I can not tell you how scary this is. I have no clue where to start or what to tell my congressman. What do I say? Do I make specific reference to Singulair or do I just medicines in general? No offense, but right now my concerns are selfish, and I need to find another alternative to Singulair. I cant bear to have my son experience what I have to deal with everyday with my depression.

He says things like
"I hate myself" and
"This is the worst day of my life"

I am so scared I plan to call his Dr first in the morning.

This is so scary!! I was just looking up "my son says he hates himself" on google, because I was concerned, as I deal with depression and wanted to find out if a little boy saying this (6 yo) is normal or if it may be signs of depression. Weirdly this link for singular came up.
My son DOES take singular for his asthma and has been taking it for about a year on and off. I have tried to take him off because I hate feeling like a pill pusher, but then his asthma flairs up again. So I put him back on it.
But today he has just been whining and crying (he is still crying and screaming for me loudly now!) and I began to get VERY concerned that my son was exhibiting signs of depression. If this is true, we may need to file a lawsuit against the drug companies as there are too many similarities and coincidences with this singulair. It wasn't even a THOUGHT or consideration that the medicine could have been causing this. I just thought that he was growing up and just goind through stages. Now I feel stuck because I don't know whether I should take him off and risk his asthma flaring up, or keep him on and risk his depression gene flaring up. This is VERY scary....

My 9 1/2 yr old son started Singulair in July 2004 when he was 5 yrs old.Looking back now we realize that he started showing signs immediately. We only gave him Singulair in the fall when he had the most trouble with his asthma. His asthma was under control immediately but was not worth the damage that was done. He complained of pains in his legs that I just thought was growing pains. He would sometimes run a fever with no other symptoms of being sick and then the fever would go away. He would also feel like he always had to go to the bathroom, especially after he went to bed. I gave him Singulair at 7pm before he went to bed. The biggest change we noticed in him was the signs of attention deficit. We first noticed that he kept getting out of his seat at dinner time. No matter how many times we told him to sit down he would sit down and then a little while later he would get right back up. We realized after a while that he wasn't doing it to be defient he just couldn't help himself. I asked his Kindergarten teacher if he had trouble sitting in his seat or with attention but she didn't think he was any worse than any of the other Kindergarten kids. In 1st grade, at the beginning of the year, his teacher said he had trouble keeping his attention but then by January she said he was a different kid. We usually stopped giving him Singulair in December. The same thing happened with his 2nd grade teacher. I question his allergist in the fall of 2nd grade but his allergist said Singulair wasn't the cause for his ADHD symptoms. When his 3rd grade teacher contacted us in Oct 07 with the same complaints I realized that it must be the Singulair. I looked online for Singulair side effects and came across this website. I couldn't believe it. I was so disappointed in myself for not doing it sooner but we took him off Singulair immediately. I called his allergist the next morning and questioned him for a second time and he told me that sometimes parents of kids with ADHD just look for something to blame for their childs behavior. I couldn't believe he said it to me. We made an appointment at Children's Hospital Boston to have him evaluated for ADHD just in case but couldn't get an appointment until Feb 08. When we had him evaluated he had been off Singulair for over 3 months. The neurologist said he did not have ADHD. When I asked him if he thought Singulair could have been to blame for the symptoms he was showing and he said there was "compelling evidence" that showed Singulair does cause ADHD symptoms in some children. We were happy that he did not have ADHD but were so sad that we gave him this medicine for 3 years without realizing what damage it was doing. My biggest fear now is that there may be long term damage. All his symptoms have gone away but sometimes he still seems a little out of it and I don't know if it is just his age or his personality or if it might still be some long term effect from the Singulair. He is such a sweet, loving, caring boy and I hope that I didn't do any long term damage by giving his this horrible medicine. I hope that something will be done soon to get this medicine off the market. My prayers go out to all the families who lost children on this medicine. I can't even imagine the pain you are feeling but I thank you for getting your story out and saving other children! I am thankful that I was able to get informed by this website because God knows my allergist wasn't looking out for my son! His asthma has been under control since being off Singulair and just seems like a happier child over all!
Thank you!

This is just amazing to me. My son was prescribed singulair for asthma when he was 8, he is 19 now. I only kept my son on this medication for about 4 weeks. I noticed a HUGE change in his personality, defiant and very fired up. I took him off, because there was just no talking to him. It made a difference, he was back to normal. I said something to his doctor, and he didn't know what to think, he said that the drug shouldn't alter his personality, it's an asthma medicine. I'm glad i listened to my gut instinct and took him off. My doctor just prescribed singulair to me for severe allergies and i wanted to see what the side effects where. I had NO idea i would see the side effect, that i knew my son was having 10 years ago, when this medicine first came out. I am speechless...

While I am sure that Singulair has adverse effects for some children/teenagers/adults, I took Singulair for 2-3 years (until my asthma symptoms improved to the point where I didn't need to take it) while I was a kid and had no adverse side effects. Started back on Singulair in April after having severe reactions to my new puppy (I am now 21). Since then, I really haven't had any side effects at all. I agree that they should black box Singulair and possibly not prescribe it to some children/teens, but for some people (like myself), it works, and shouldn't be taken off the market completely.

I have a 7 year old daughter. She is taking singulair. lately she has been complaining about pain in her leg it hurts when she walk. She also have pain in her arm. I gave her a pill tonight but I did not find this website until afterward. I am so glad I came across this site. She was taking zyrtec and she was having behavior problem. So the doctor switch her to singulair. I was hesitant to give her this medication. She also have seasonal asthma so I just got to find another way of treating her. I hope someone have good suggestions.

My wife and I recently took my daughter to an asthma specialist and she was prescribed Flovent and Singulair as everyday suppressive treatment. Our daughter is only 4 and the first evening of taking SIngulair she was exhibiting exaggerated emotional behaviors such as sadness and excessive crying (sad/moping). The following day the same emotional state was there without anger, but with abnormal crying (for my daughter). She went to preschool and her teacher said she was saying things such as, "I don't care", "I don't need anyone", "I hate this", etc. These are not normal behaviors for our typically happy child. Her doctor said suicidal thoughts and depression were possible side effects in adults, but I am beginning to think they apply to children as well. After only 4 days of Singulair we have decided to stop the treatment. I hope these comments help some of you other parents experiencing the same thing. -Rob

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

My 13 year old son has been on sigulair now for several years. I only give it to him during the school year. I have come to realize taht every fall when I restart it he complains of severe stomach aches. As well we have noticed a him morphing into a defiant, easily angered young man. Totally out of character for him. I have now taken him off and will hopefully be able to contro; his asthma with inhalers. No more singulair for us

My daughter had been on singulair from the time she was 8 yrs old until she was 14. This will sound as if I am a horrible mother but I just thought that she was a raging bitch. Without my knowledge, she stopped taking her Singulair for a few months and she became a different person. She was so sweet and loving. One night she came in my room having an asthma attack and I asked her if she was taking her meds, she admitted that she had stopped taking her singulair and I got on to her and immediately got her prescription refilled. Within a few days of taking the singulair she turned into a raging, screaming emotional wreck, a TOTALLY different person. I feel so bad that for 6 years of her life I put her on medicine that caused her to have screaming, uncontrollable tantrums, and severe mood swings that caused her to be miserable. It does seem to be the only thing that effectively controls her asthma symptoms but the emotional havoc that is causes her and the people around her is not worth the benefits. We have an appt. with her doctor to see what other options we have.

I'm on a roll tonight!

I have 2 questions to all the people who stopped taking Singulair or giving it to their children:

(1) What maintanence medication(s) are you/your child using now to control asthma symptoms?

(2) How long have you/your child been on it and how is it working?

To anyone new to this site whose child is on Singulair and having problems consistent with the adverse reactions to Singulair documented on this site: take your child to the doctor as soon as possible and tell them you believe that your child is having an adverse reaction to the drug. Do not let yourself be talked into believing that Singulair does not have these side effects. Too many of us right here can confirm that it does. Even though the prescribing information for this drug has been updated to include a warning about these adverse effects, and the FDA is conducting an investigation into the safety of this drug, not all doctors are aware and some are simply unwilling to believe. If you hear "anecdotal evidence", "highly unlikely," or "I've never seen it happen" uttered during your visit, know that your doctor is making excuses for not knowing accurate information about this drug.

Doctors may attribute your child's behavior to their personality or developmental stages. But any child on Singulair should be removed from the drug if a consistent pattern of different or abnormal behavior is present. Most children do not fly off the handle for no reason, have night terrors, prolonged, violent temper tantrums, and act anxious, angry, sad, hateful, disconnected, or withdrawn most of the time. Most children do not have behavior problems that consistently leave you feeling like the worst parent in the world and completely mentally exhausted at the end of each and every day.

Tell your doctor that you want them to prescribe another asthma maintanence medication with a documented low risk of side effects. If your doctor trivializes your concerns or refuses to honor your request, FIND A NEW DOCTOR! YOU are the expert on your child, not someone who sees them a few times a year for a few minutes at a time.

After Singulair has been stopped, watch for a positive change in behavior over the course of several weeks. Make sure you have rescue medications on hand in case needed.

Most importantly, GO WITH YOUR GUT. "If something doesn't feel right, then something ain't right!"

I was searching for a site with the side effects of Singulair for my son who is 10 and has been taking Singulair since he was 2. It was a life-saving drug for him and his life has been wonderful since then (as far as asthma goes). He is a very athletic boy who plays every sport he can and he is still a little overweight with cellulite and love handles. I had heard that maybe it might be the Singulair so I decided to check it out. Little did I know about all of these other side effects. He's been taking it for so long that I assumed his depressed personality was just the way he was. He has also had such horrific nightmares and he's convinced he has a ghost in his room that shakes his bed that I was really starting to consider that maybe he might. His brother sleeps in the same room and does not have any of these experiences (also on Singulair). I am SHOCKED! I only read about 20 entries but I'm going to read more. Has anyone had the weight gain problem? Thank you for anything you can share.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with this medication. My 4 (almost 5) yo has been on Singulair for almost 2 years now for allergies. I've noticed over the past few months a slow change in his behavior/attitude, not positive changes. He's become an aggressive, angry child that can be set off in a split second over nothing. He's also getting worse with not wanting to go into other parts of our home alone. He won't even walk down a short hall to go to the bathroom alone - is afraid of I don't know what. Lately, he's also been obviously having bad dreams because he kicks and yells in his sleep. I've just chalked all of this up to his age. While taking a walk yesterday I ran into a neighbor that was telling me the doctors want to put her son on Singulair but because of the possible hyperactivity and other side effects she won't do it. I came home and found this site along with others describing similar side effects as my sons. As of last night, we took him off of Singulair. I'm curious to see if this is the problem. I'll keep you posted.

I just started the Singular and it has helped my asthma a lot. I can't tell about the coughing because I also started it while I had a cold. But now and then even before I took singluar I would cough. Sometimes coughs are produced from various types of airborne things, many different types of things. I have a mold aggreviated asthma so that could be why its helping my instead of causing me to go nuts like it does for some. But it doesn't sound like a very good drug for children. It seems as though none of the posts coming from children taken Singular are positive. But so far it's helping me. I made it through the day without grabbing for my inhaler which was a great relief for once.

I am happy I found this website to express my concerns about singulair. My husband and I are still shellshocked about how singulair turned our lives upside down. My son was on singulair for 5 years. During that time he had extreme anxiety, nightmares, stomach aches, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, difficulty in school, aggressive behavior. We were at our wits end when we sought therapy at an anxiety clinic a year ago. He never went on any antidepressants or anti anxiety pills, just behavioral therapy. He went to therapy for approximately 5 months once a week. At the time he started therapy, I happened to switch doctors for his asthma due to an asthma flare up. He went to a pulmonology specialist at CHOP. He was taken off of singulair and put on other inhaler medications. Slowly, we began to see improvement in his behavior. I was holding my breath, thinking I was imagining his improvements and hoping his symptoms would not return. My son is now 9 years old and has been off singulair for one year. His horrific symptoms are gone and he no longer needs therapy. He is a happy, active nine year old. He had a successful year in second grade last year. I never realized it could have been singulair that caused his symptoms until I heard it on the news. His symptoms were always related to "behavioral problems". It was such a heart wrenching, frustrating experience because we could not figure out why he was behaving this way. My heart goes out to all the families who have experienced devastating symptoms. I contacted merck and the FDA. I want to contact my state representative. I am looking forward to seeing the results of the FDA study. I am curious how they are obtaining their data because I was never questioned about the details of my experience.

My daughter began taking Singulair in 2003 for asthma and allergies. I slowly watched her deteriorate from a lively, intelligent, and outgoing young woman to a depressed, withdrawn and self-mutilating person who said that she hated herself and everybody else in the world. She was an athlete, a straight A student who had received an academic scholarship to college, she was fluent in German and had been teaching herself Japanese, and she was a staunch supporter for equal rights for children with disabilities and gay and Lesbian teens. On February 3rd, 2007 my daughter hung herself after working at the local community center. I no longer recognized who she had become. I have a degree in psychology, my father is a retired police officer, and my mother is a retired R.N. We were all trained to recognize the symptoms of depression and suicidal thinking, but we were never able to connect it to the medication that she was taking.We must all ban together to prevent other people from suffering the way that our loved ones have! Educate everyone that you know about what Singulair can do to you. They are still prescribing this drug to people without any notification of what the side effects are.

A few years ago Singulair was prescribed for me. I am 56 years old and generally healthy with asthma and allergies. Within only a few days I started to notice that I was very depressed. I was frightened at how hopeless I felt. After a couple of weeks I starting using a new drug. The terrible depression went away within a few days and I was my normal cheerful self. For some people, Singulair is a very dangerous drug. I will NEVER touch this drug again! I'd be especially hesitant to use it on children or teenagers that aren't as aware of changes in their moods.

My son has been taking Singular for a few years for mild asthma and recently in the past few months all of the sudden he has been having a hard time falling asleep,anxiety at bedtime taking hours to get to sleep with me having to stay in the room. We took him to his pediatrician who ran blood tests and referred me to a sleep specialist who suggested he may have OCD or Anxiety. I just thought it was just something that would pass after 4 months it still has not passed. I am removing him from Singular TODAY. After all these visits with these doctors who knew he was on the medication and never said anything to me about possible side effects . I cant believe it took an article my husband saw in the paper for this to come to my attention.

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. researchers found no evidence to support regulatory warnings that Merck & Co.'s Singulair asthma and allergy drug, taken by millions of Americans over the past decade, may be linked to depression or suicide.

The findings will be published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the American Lung Association said in a statement on PRNewswire today. The study was sponsored by the association, which doesn't endorse products, it said.
HOLY COW

I just read an article dated 9/1/08 that stated that the American Lung Association just cleared Singulair as causing depression and suicide. They had researchers study the results from the original test trials because they are supposedly more accurate than after market reports. The article is at ******. I cried when I read this report. My now 8 year old daughter has been on this medication for mild asthma since she was 4. We have thought the stomach aches and tantrums were related to moving to a new town around the time she started taking singulair. But, 3 months ago, she all of a sudden started having depression, ocd about germs, afraid she might hurt herself and then depression and suicidal thoughts. She has been off meds for 8 weeks and still has some problems with thinking she wants to hurt herself and feeling down. She is normally very happy and our family is happy and normal, but dealing with this is difficult. How long does it take to get out of their system?

My eight year old son, who has asthma and has been taking Singulair since he was three, has been off Singulair for four days and is becoming a completely different little boy! He has always been a "difficult child" with intense emotional reactions to things, anxiety, oppositional behavior, a short fuse and bad temper. He has also displayed obsessive/compulsive behavior. His father and I never thought that his behaviors and symptoms were caused by Singulair. His pediatrician never suggested it. With a family history of anxiety, we just assumed it was the way he was. At four, his preschool requested he be tested for ADHD. The testing revealed a short attention span but not a diagnosis of ADHD. As he got older his symptoms grew more intense. Last year we considered taking him to a psychiatrist but decided to "wait it out" one more year to see if maturity would bring an end to some of the behaviors. It didn't and in fact they grew worse. He became aggressive, explosive and depressed.

I recently began taking Singulair for another medical condition and had noticed that it made me a little moody. Last week, on the verge of making an appointment for my son with a psychiatrist, I started to wonder if maybe he was reacting in a similar, yet more intense way to the Singulair. I reviewed the patient information on line (I had read the patient info for Singulair when my son started taking it, but had not done so in years. I learned a tough lesson: check the information that accompanies prescriptions each and every time I get a refill.) When I read what the "less common side effects" were I was convinced that my son was reacting to his medicine. Then I found this website. We stopped his Singulair immediately and within two days began seeing a dramatic change in our son. He was less high strung, defiant, and explosive. Yesterday we had a cookout with some friends and he played with other kids all day without fighting for the first time in his life! He even cooperated when we asked him to help us get ready for company.

I strongly believe that this medicine should not be given to children and teens. I am so upset that when I asked my son's pediatricians about his behavior TWICE last year, they never mentioned that Singulair could be the problem. I called today to tell them he wasn't taking it anymore and the nurse said that she would note that he is "allergic" to it in his chart!

We are exploring alternate and natural ways to treat our son's asthma. I will NEVER give him Singulair again!

FYI: the labeling for his albuterol inhaler states that "safety and efficacy have not been established in patients under 12 years old". His pediatrician has been prescribing albuterol inhalers since he was three!

Does anyone have information about herbal inhalers and naturopathic treatment of asthma? If so I would like to hear.

My son has been on Singulair off and on for two years. He goes off in the summertime since his asthma is mostly due to upper respiratory infections. He recently went back on it, maybe three weeks ago. He is 7 years old. Every morning now he wakes up with nightmares. This morning he said that he had a nightmare that all six of his webkinz were killed, except for one. The night before he said a tornado had blow our house away. There have been other nightmares too.

I decided this morning to stop Singulair, then called the allergist. The allergist agreed we should stop it and see what effect would happen. Today during school, the teacher had to call me because he was yelling at other students and was hitting books because he wanted a prize for fund raising. She said he was inconsolable.
During the summer, he was a totally different child -- easy going, laughing a lot. Now he seems stressed out, anxious and depressed.
I also noticed he has begun oversleeping.
Even worse, he was diagnosed with ADHD back in April. All of the surveys filled out by teachers and by me were from when he was on Singulair.

I know that drugs can do this to adults. I was once on a birth control pill that made me so paranoid and neurotic, I had never felt that way before. A different pill was fine and never had that happen again.

5 months Singulair free,yesterday was Matts first day of high school,his first day of regular school in 2 years as he could not leave the house or cope with out panic and fear.7am he awoke by himself and got ready for school,the only thing i saw in his eyes was excitement,he left the house smiling.While he was gone i passed and worried waiting for the phone to ring in case he needed me ,watching the clock and wondering how his day was. he arrived home at 2 thirty still smiling,i asked him how his day was he said fine, i asked him what they did he said nothing ,lol all is good ,thank you thank you thank you

I am 16 and have been on Singular since July 9th of this year and the only side effects that has been affecting me that I really notice is the ear infections and headaches. my mom and I think that I might have one right now but have not gotten the chance to make a doctors appointment. The other side effects that I read about while googling it were a sore throat and upper respiratory infections which are both things that I have been fighting since March, which is what lead to me being diagnosed with asthma. In response to the person that was talking about asthmex, I also got put on that the same day and the only side effect that I had from that is a higher blood pressure that usual but it was still in the normal range, caused by the steroid in it.

My son, who just turned 14 this month, was on Singulair for over 2 years.
He was diagnosed with reactive airway disease and possibly Asthma--and prescribed this awful drug-even back in 2004. The doctor said how wonderful this med was and prevents any further attacks.. So, for 2 years-every night, he took this mood altering, destructive drug. He lost all interest in school, his athletics-soccer, skateboarding, biking..in fact became almost a vacant , very unhappy, child-had stomach aches, joint pains and reflux--why--I brought him to the doctor and Pediatric center so frequently--all they kept saying his --his asthma is better, much be other issues...Even after the March 2008 suicide--his doctor said-that is just an isolated incident-just monitor him--It is a good drug. Right, month by month his behavior escalated to wanting to die, no reason to go to school-he said he was stupid and a failure and why don't I understand there is no reason to his life. A usually happy fun-loving boy -my son- didn't want to live. Nothing made him happy-I started to believe what the doctors said--maybe something or someone at school (bully, pedophile??) caused this change. Terrible nightmares and vivid dreams...Until this past July, I asked him want to go to the library for some books or dvd's...he went ballistic-threw everything off his computer desk and tried to break his chair. He is not an aggressive boy but this behavior was becoming a daily issue. Along with everything flying off his table, was his bottle of Singulair pills. It then dawned on me..I have been poisoning my only son. The child I know and love and gave birth to returned within a few days--although I am worried sick about further asthma attacks --all the doctors can prescribe is a steroid drug-asthmex or Pulmicort.. I cannot understand nor comprehend why this drug is being prescribed for children and young adults. The guilt I live with is terrible as my son has lost 2 years of his life--
and thought there was something really wrong with him-At least we woke up---in time--how about some other parents..thinking it's just normal adolescent behavior for their child or their fault???

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

To all the parents who are wondering what else their child can take as an alternative to Singulair, please read an exact quote from a leading professor of Pharmacology and Pediatrics at the University of Florida:

"In response to your last comment, I think Singulair has modest efficacy, and if we take all of our patients off this drug, they won’t suffer. This is not an important drug for pediatric asthma, as are inhaled corticosteroids."

There you have it folks. Singulair is NOT an important drug for pediatric asthma and has an overall moderate efficacy. Inhaled corticosteroids have a much higher efficacy. I have communicated directly with this professor through email.
Any questions??

60 year old female--depression, anxiety, weakness, ear aches, body aches, heart palpitations, tired all day long, insomniac at night. Been on Singulair for 6 years. It has greatly helped my asthma, but at a real cost to my health. After reading all the comments I will definitely take myself off of it tonight and speak with my doctor this week.

LaWheeze

I can not believe what I'm reading. My 5 year old was also given Singulair to treat asthma/allergies. He began having night terrors that increased in intensity over the past year. I stopped the Singulair on July 1 and the night terrors have reduced greatly. I am concerned about his asthma though. He has a consistent cough at night and I feel like he needs some type of treatment. Any suggestions?

Have been experiencing the same serious behavioral issues (screaming, launching every toy he has out of his room, knocking over his night stand, hitting, kicking and just being hateful) with my 4 year old who has been on Singulair for 2 years as I'm noticing many of you have here. My wife and I have a wonderful relationship and happy home and tons of love and support from other family that's close buy so the kid has a very nice environment. We have taken him off the medication as of yesterday. I have consulted his doctor but I'm anxious to hear what methods of treatment for the asthma all of have chosen in replacement of Singulair or did you just maintain with an inhaled maintenance program with something like Pulmicort? Also, how long was after taking your child off of Singulair did take to for the outburst to subside and the behavior to become more mellow and normal (what is normal for a 4 year old?). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I have asthma that was not controlled. I coughed and wheezed constantly. I had trouble eating, because even the food passing through the esophagus was enough to cause an attack. I was in and out of the emergency room for years, and the Ambulance folks knew to arrive with epinephrine when I'd call.

I started taking Singulair sometime around 1998. I haven't had any serious problems since then with asthma, and have had ZERO side effects.

Every drug has side effects for some people. For me, Claritin causes my heart to race. I can take that or that purple circurlar inhaler thing. I had a terrible reaction to that.

For ME, Singulair works. I am not sure it should be given to children if they are having severe problems. But it certainly should NOT be removed from the market...because people like me needed it to control their asthma.

i just posted a message and wanted to add a little to it...when i said she has screaming fits i mean she arches her back her eyes go blank and she screams at the top of her lungs. she picks things up and throws them she will hit, kick, punch, pinch, and call you names its like anything she can do to hurt you. One day at daycare she was in a bad mood and a little boy walked by her and accidentally bumped her and she punched him in the face and when they tried to put her in timeout she decided to pull the phone jack out of the wall. This is the 2nd daycare she has been in since being put on singulair the first one she broke 3 of the owners fingernails off by kicking her and she got suspended for a week due to her being violent towards other kids. As far as the asthma goes I will say that singulair works great for it i haven't had to do as many breathing treatments on her but i will do 50 breathing treatments a day if i have to because she has been off of the meds now for 2 weeks and i am seeing a slight improvement in her attitude.

my daughter was 2 yrs old when she first started taking this med...now she is 4 yrs old and it works great for her asthma BUT she has sever mood swings, violent out bursts, screaming fits that last anywhere from 5 to 45 min she throws things, at her daycare she has a pregnant teacher that she goes after because "she has a baby in her belly" my daughter used to be the sweetest little girl now she has everyone walking on eggshells because any little thing sets her off. any clue on what to do?

My 10 year old son has asthma. His inhaler is not working so the Dr. put him on Singular yesterday. I had him take one right when we got it. I then dropped him off at a friends house. Around 2pm I picked him up. He fell right asleep when we got home. He woke up crying. He proceded to cry & be totally unreasonable for 5 hours (until bedtime). He told us he didn't want to play football & he didn't like it (this from a kid who lives for football). He then proceded to call his coach & quit football. We tried to console him but there was no consoling him. This was all after being on it for less than 12 hours. I think the only reason we noticed this dramatic change in demeanor was because his is normally a very good kid & he instantly became uncontrollable. I then called his friends mom & according to his friends older sister he was 'out of it' for most of the time he was there & kept asking the same questions over & over. Needless to say he will not be taking another Singular pill! I have notified my son's Dr. of this & hopefully they will report it to the company.

I'm a 44 yr old female with asthma and since I stopped smoking 6 months ago my asthma got worse and doctor put me on Singulair about 6 weeks ago and have noticed many things.I have a lump on the base of my neck about the size of a baseball it wasn't there before i started taking Singulair. Also I have had several melt downs over stupid stuff and will cry over the smallest thing. My anger is very explosive. My body hurts and my heart races. I feel weak and sometimes like i'm going to pass out. It really scares me to the point I think I'm going crazy. My family has said my attitude has really changed since I started taking this drug. I'm not taking anymore of his drug. Singulair needs to come with more warnings than what they have now or take it off the market.

I'm a 45 yr old female, I've been on Singular for many years (originally for allergies and then asthma too) and have quit three times due to "possible" side effects and tried other asthma medicines. Inhalers make my GERD worse and I'm anxious all the time. I have to say Singular is the only thing that really works for my asthma and I keep going back to it because it does work. Also, I found that when I quit and expected my depression, headaches or fibromyalgia to go away they didn't... so I own these symptoms now regardless of Singular. I've always had mild depression and anxiety and all the prescription drugs for this I find are really too strong and are made worse then by Singular. For mild depression I find taking SAMe and St. John's Wort to really help me. Can't say if it would help others but you might look into it. I think it's important that doctors understand a link with depression and Singular but for some of us there's not another choice.

I just wanted everyone to know that I am still here and concerned about everyone who is having side effects from Singulair. Sometime within the next few weeks I am going to post a summary and conclusion about all of the research that I have posted. I hope to come up with a well organized concise statement about why everyone who experiences side effects from Singulair should stop using the drug immediately. Not everyone has an adverse reaction to this drug. For those who do, it is very dangerous to continue this medication even for one more day.

STOP IMMEDIATELY IF YOU SUFFER SIDE EFFECTS FROM SINGULAR. WHEN YOU SUFFER SIDE EFFECTS FROM SINGULAIR, THE REASON IS THAT YOU ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE DRUG'S GENETIC BASED MODEL.

Singulair targets the CysLT1 receptor, which is a gene. This gene is not the same for everyone. If your doctor does not understand that the mode of action of Singulair has a genetic component, then tell him/her.

I am a parent of a 14 year old son. He has been on many meds due to having migraines, adhd, seizures, and asthma. For 3 years his ADHD meds have been switched. Now Thanks to a friend she told me about singular side effects. OH MY GOD. it blows my mind reading this stuff. He has been on singular for 3 years and never once did I think all these problems were caused by that drug. Flipping out over the smallest things, arguing with us his parents, his friends, being mean to us and a real smartass, depression, and MAJOR attitude. Getting upset over nothing at all then crying for no reason What was his Dr. thinking? Needless to say, I took the singular while she was telling me this stuff about her own son, and threw them away, I will never allow my son to take that shit again. I hope in three days like all of you say, that my son will be that loving, caring, friendly person he use to be ! Singular free is how he will be!!

I have 2 sons with asthma that have both been taken singulair (the oldest for 3 years & his brother for 2). My younger son's asthma got alot better since he was diagnosed & he was recently taken off Singulair thanks also to my husband hearing a report about the moodiness caused. When he was on it he would cry for no reason, get very irrational & seemed to think the world was against him. In just 2 weeks he is happy & cheerful and has told me he thinks it is due to being off singulair. His older brother's asthma has gotten worse over the years & I'm concerned about taking him off but he too has crazy moods. Just tonight he started a new soccer team & got crazy & suddenly didn't even want to participate in something he loves (wanted me to let him quit right then) until we argued enough he reluctantly participated. He then came home complained of a headache (which is also way too frequent) and now has been asleep for hours. Are there any alternatives to this drug? I'm a stressed out mom that doesn't deal well with these mood swings. He is normally a social butterfly & a sweet kid but lately seems more withdrawn, more irritable (especially tonight) & complaining about leg cramps in addition to these frequent headaches. I can't deal with too many more of these evenings & wonder if all these things are possible side effects. I'm glad to see my other son doing well but miss his normally sweet brother! Even his siblings think he is acting crazy :(