Singulair and hair loss

I have been taking Singulair for runny nose due to allergies. I never associated things I was experiencing with this drug as my MD said there were no side effects, I have experienced weird vivid dreams, depression, hair loss, leg cramps, feeling tired all the time. Singulair has not helped my runny nose. I can't believe how many infants and children take this drug.

May 16 y.o. daughter has chronic sinus infections and sever headaches. They said it was allergies and put her in Allegra D and Singulair. Headaches seemed better with slightly fewer sinus infections. Once I heard about the mood swings and Singulair I took her off. Then the Allegra did not seem to be able to keep up with keeping the sinus infections at bay. We finally figured out that she has a deviated septum and will need surgery. Anyway, we put her back on Singulair so we can get though the season with as few sinus infection until we can schedule surgery around high school and sports. Then we were noticing how her hair has become so thin. She used to have really thick hair and now her pony tail is to thin and small. After doing internet searching, we found out that other people are having this problem with Singulair. I took her off of it 4 days ago and already the shower has less hair in it. You can't tell a teenager that she needs to stay on a medication and lose a ton of hair. I am hoping that her hair will grow back quickly.

Hi everyone, I just want to say thank you for all who shared on this site. I am a 47 year old woman. I have spent several hours reading posts last night and today, and discontinued my Singulair last night. I have been taking it for approximately 4-5 years for mild asthma. Since then my health has gotten worse and deteriorated rapidly in the past year. I have had chronic chest congestion leading to frequent infections. Have had pneumonia three times in the last three years and frequent bronchitis. In the last eight months I have been on antibiotics more often than not, along with Singulair and Advair and frequent rounds of prednisone. Still I continued to worsen. I have had a rash on both legs since March which clears up with a shot of prednisone, but comes back within a few weeks. I've been going to bed nights by 7:30 and still find it hard to get up and go to work. Energy levels would vary, but some days I literally felt as if I could not keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have always been the quiet, serious type and prone to depression, but this past year it has been getting progressively worse. I have become very antisocial and even missed my son's wedding because I was so stressed out about it. I have also had alarming hair loss and just feel that my body is in a very depleted state.
My doctor, an allergist, ran a number of tests, but could find nothing. He finally referred me to a specialist at a University. He did a bronchoscopy and tested for tuberculosis and sarcoidosis because I had very similar symptoms to both of those diseases. They were both negative, but they found a rare form of bacteria in my lungs that doesn't respond well to medication. They felt that it should run its course eventually. I'm sure all of the immune suppressing drugs I have been on have made it difficult to recover from this. Aside from a two week prescription for a form of sulfa which they felt the bacteria may respond to, I am off all other drugs. For congestion they have prescribed a therapy vest instead of medication. I am very anxious to see if being free of Singulair and Advair helps me to recover more quickly. Already on day one I feel a better outlook on life and even went on a shopping trip with my mother today :-) I can't say at this time what role Singulair has played in all of this, but am anticipating an improvement after reading all of your posts. Thank you.

Hi Everyone!! Today is such a beautiful day that my girls and I planted flowers, we had such a great time together. My daughter that was on the singulair is doing better everyday. I know it'll take time since she was on it for so long. I'm happy that everyone seems to be doing great! I wish everyone the best.

My almost four year old son has been on singulair for a little over two years now and I am SICK to my stomach after reading all of these entries.
Our son was such an amazing baby, he was very even tempered and behaved beautifully. After some chronic sinusitis and environmental related allergies he was placed on Singulair 15mg granule packets once/day. It was a gradual change in his behavior but very noticeable.

Our wonderful child became very irritable, hipper, restless, moody, and overly sensitive, Our son went from sleeping trough the night to waking several times a night. We are lucky if we have a couple good nights a month. He has also been tougher to get to sleep at night he goes from 8am to midnight on most days (no naps) and will stumble and fall - and he will still protest sleep. On other days he is so hard to keep awake sometimes crashing after school, missing dinner, and going thought the night.

He too like others has been complaining of leg cramps, but I just thought it was a tingly foot....after he would continue to walk around for hours limping, I just thought he was joking. But, the funny leg cramp would always make a reappearance.....and now this could be why????

He is very physical with us and his brother....always hitting and kicking intentionally. His behavior was only exacerbated by the recent birth of our 6 month old. My husband and I have been brought to tears and worn out by his extreme behavior. One moment he is happy - then aggressive or moody and brought to tears....he is like an emotional roller coaster.

He always has a blast at pre-school but completely loses control and freaks out when it is time to go, he says he hates school and is miserable there, he cries so much he throws up. He also goes through hunger strikes, when he is so emotional he choses not to eat. It did not used to be like this!

Coincidental or medical poisoning????

After reading all of these entries, there is no doubt in my mind that Singulair is the culprit.

This drug should be recalled and the pharmaceutical company should be held liable and accountable for this. Our lives have been disturbed and our children's health compromised, what for....a PROFIT?

The FDA needs to do more extensive testing on pharmaceutical drugs and implement more stringent guidelines. and the prescribing doctors shouldn't push these drugs so emphatically.

As of last night we stopped the medication and are relying solely on the Zyrtec OTC. I pray for a change.....we miss the little boy we used to know :-(

I was on singulair for years for asthma. At first it seemed like a big help and I didn't put two and two together for a long time that it was causing problems. hair loss, weight gain, racing heart, rising blood pressure, dreams, irritability, memory loss, leg and muscle pain, and much more.
I have gone back to using theodur (theophylline) it has worked for 50 years for me and many others without the side effects of singulair.

Back in the 90's when the drug companies first started promoting all these new asthma drugs, especially the puffer$$, they got together and got the fda to take off the combo medicines that contain theophylline off the market, saying they 'didn't work'. So they removed marx, quadrinal, tedral, quibron and a host of others from the market...to clear the path to market their new designer asthma medicines. They almost got rid of theophylline too, but the pulmonologists put up a fight as it is one of their important meds. Theophylline is a terrific bronchial dialator. They also removed theophylline from primatene, an old standby over the counter medicine for asthmatics.

The reason they want rid of the theo and related drugs is because the patents have run out and they can't make any $money$ off them.

So welcome to the nightmare of singulair and others. Hope this little history helps.

I have been taking Singulair for about a year and a half now, and my mild asthma is totally better. I have noticed a decrease in my shortness of breath, coughing, etc. and my allergy symptoms I struggled with for over 30 years are GONE. I also take Nasonex, so I can also attribute the improvement to that drug. But, I have had dramatic cycles of hair loss, which my hairdresser and doctor have attributed to "stress" even though I am not experiencing more stress than normal (except about the hair loss!) and the main thing for me is weight gain. I am a slim, petite 36 year old and I have gained at least 15 or 20 pounds since I started Singular. I have not decreased my activity level ( I am a waitress and walk about 5 miles each shift easily) or increased my food intake. My doctor and gyne keep telling me it's due to slowing metabolism, and implying that I'm slowing down in activity. I am not. I think it's the Singular, but I'm afraid of the allergy symptoms returning. Anyone else with significant weight gain?

After a stay in the hospital for my asthma 18 months ago, my doctor prescribed Singulair. I had already been taking Zyrtec for a long time. It finally dawned on me a few days ago, that it's primarily at night that I have difficulty breathing. Come to find out, this sensation starts not long after taking my Singulair. And even though I have fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, I've noticed that the pain and aching have become so much worse - now that I think about it, since I've started taking Singulair. And the hair loss that I was attributing to getting older - the same thing, since around the time I started taking Singulair. I'm going to try not taking it for awhile and just hope my asthma doesn't get worse, because I've not had to use my puffer or be in the hospital since I started taking the Singulair. Wish some scientists would get working on this.

I thought I had some new foreign disease, but now I think it's the Singulair! Thanks to those of you who have posted, I think I have finally figured it out! Since about May, I have had extremely itchy skin (like I am covered with bug bites, even though there is nothing on my skin to itch from), headaches, hair loss, weight gain, bloating, lower back pain, vivid dreams, night sweats, extreme sleepiness (taking naps during the day--I only do that when I am VERY sick), and general anxiousness. I was tested for hypothyroidism (that wasn't it), and went to my OBGYN to see if I had started menopause (I'm 43--she said that's not it, either). I hope if I stop taking Singulair, all this will go away. I hope this really is the cause of the strange and seemingly unrelated symptoms. I was starting to think I had something scary when it might just be from medication!

I have been on Singulair for about 2-3 years during which time I have lost a considerable amount of hair. It is quite noticeable. My hair hairdresser said "this is not good" the last time I got a haircut. I also have bad dreams, fatigue and irritability. I want to try something to replace the sinulair for asthma, but am trying to avoid steroids. Any suggestions? Would appreciate any information on a class action suit if the hair loss is not reversible when discontinuing product..

This is all very interesting, but it's all anecdotal! Can you PROVE that Singulair is responsible for all this stuff?

What other meds are you all taking? In what doses? Under what conditions? Do you have a family history of ? Are you under stress? Or are at least SOME of you just hypochondriacs who, reading this stuff, say to yourself, "Say, I get headaches -- sure, it's gotta be the Singulair!" C'mon, now -- hair loss?!

I've been taking Singulair for over 10 months, and if I'd been as damaged as you all, I think I'd know it.

Without rigourous medical studies to show what is REALLY going on, you lot are just gossipping.

This site is obviously trolling for a class-action suit.

I have been experiencing severe hair loss and thought it was the Fosamax, so stopped that drug, but the hair loss is continuing. I have found only one article relating Singular to hair loss.

Both my daughter and I were on singulair for asthma. I, for three years and my daughter for about 4 months. For the past few months, my 17 year old daughter has been complaining that she is having trouble conentrating in school and has been VERY irritable. She said she feels jittery or squirmy in class which was never a problem before. Because she started the singuair during summer break, she didn't notice the effects. After talking with her doctor, we traced the onslaught of these side effects to when she started the singulair.....I found this site and was amazed!

I have had horrible insomnia, hair loss, hive-like rashes on my face and serious memory and mind problems which have gotten exceedingly worse over the last year.....I would have never associated any of it to the singulair, but have stopped taking it and will see if these symptoms go away.

I started taking this drug 6 months ago for chronic sinus infections and it has worked wonderfully. For most of that time I've been having severe acne and skin boils, and severe hair loss. I also relate to others complaining of the loss of mental "sharpness". I'll have to give this drug up after reading everyone's posts. Thanks!

About a week or so into taking Singulair for asthma and allergies, I thought it was an absolute miracle drug! I am extremely allergic to cats and when I am anywhere near them I get horrible asthma and allergies which in several cases sent me to the hospital. The ultimate test was after taking singulair I was able to spend the weekend with my friend in her small apartment and 2 cats without even a sneeze. We couldn't believe it given my past. However, it was too good to be true. Around the same time I noticed pretty dramtic hair loss. At first I just thought I was brushing too hard, I couldn't fathom actually losing my hair. However, it become so dramtic it was coming out in handfulls and I wasn't the only one to notice or be alarmed by this. I immediately stopped the medication but lost close to 70% of my hair as a result of taking singulair. I've read about this happening to others but Singulair and my doctor deny it.

I have been taking singulair on and off for the past 4 years. It was not until a year ago that i started to notice that when on the singulair for 5 months straight my hair would begin to thin and fall out basically. This particular time around I am gaining weight rediculously. In a span of 7 months I have gained 13 lbs. It is getting so that the side effects are costing me more happiness than the asthma alone. Just like the majority of you, when i first began the singulair it was a God send, well minus the nightmares. However, now I think I am going to wein myself off of them and come up with something better. Truthfully I am thinking about seeing a lawyer. The hair loss alone is driving me insane. Please let me know if anyone else is noticing the hair loss or weight gain. Also to the individuals the mood swings, I am pretty sure if my husband read your emails and could pin point where these outrageous mood swings are coming from he would probably throw my pill bottle out right now. Please let me know if there is anyone else out there experiencing these same side effects. PLEASE....

hair loss !!!

I noticed a post from a female back in June in regard to the hair loss. I am an African American female who has adult onset asthma. I am taking singulair b/c I have episodes every few months where the asthma just wears me out to the point I can't get out of bed and the phlegm is thick and yucky as can be? The singulair I am assuming has made my hair shed beyond disbelief. I took sandwich bags of hair to my stylist. I had sinus surgery back in August and initially I thought it was anesthesia? MY anesthisioligist found this site for me. Has anyone experienced hair loss?