Singulair and health

I have a daughter who is almost 3 yrs. old. Her pediatrician prescribed her Singulair when she was 18 months so she's been on it for a little over a year. She has suffered from allergies since she was an infant although we've lived in Atlanta and Cincinnati since her birth - two of the worst cities in the US for allergies and air quality!! I cannot tell you how disturbing yet reassuring it is to read all of your posted side effects..I can relate to so many of your experiences! Its so ironic though b/c the initial reason our last pediatrician put her on Singulair was b/c she was feeling so badly from her allergies...but since she began taking it, she has had SO many more issues with not only her health but mental state. She has had serious aggression issues - taking it out physically on other children, her peers and our poor dogs and cat. She has tons of trouble falling asleep at night, is a very picky eater and has unexplained bouts of anger. When it started, we thought it was b/c like so many toddlers, she couldn't express herself. But she began talking at 18 months and could also sign and always seemed to communicate to us in her own way prior to that so that didn't add up. We've had a lot of external changes in our lives in the past year so everyone I've talked to about her issues has assured me that it was due to these and to keep on trying everything we could; that it was only a "phase". But the one thing I keep thinking about is how different she was prior to taking Singulair and how her mental well being changed so drastically from that point on. She was such a sweet, lovable child who was sleeping throughout the night (since she was 8 months old). She had a great appetite and loved trying new foods. She never had any aggression issues AT ALL before that. I even asked her previous caregiver abt. any aggression issues she had while watching her (which was up until 2 months before she started taking Singulair) and she said she never had ANY issues. In all, like so many of you posted abt. your children, she was a completely different child!! After going to her doctor this morning to have her checked for what I suspected was a sinus infection, he told me to absolutely continue giving her Singulair year-round in addition to 10 mg of Claritin (which is twice as much as children ages 4 to 6 are supposed to take!) and Nosenex spray for the next few weeks. It seemed like an awful lot to give a 2 yr. old so I started researching and came across this site. I am going to stop giving her Singulair today and look into some non-prescription alternatives. I take Oil of Oregano for my allergies since I can't handle the side effects of over-the-counter drugs so maybe my daughter can take this as well? I am so scared of how this drug has affected my child and hope that there hasn't been any permanent damage. I feel terrible that I trusted both of her doctors before researching this drug. I am SO thankful for finding this site and for reading your stories and will report back in a few weeks to update you on my little one's condition.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Well i just got back from the docs.......no surprise he highly doubted the singulair would have anything to do with an insulin blood level......same old song and dance.......I as a mother don't understand what a leukotriene receptor blocker antagonist is,but i was hoping those i pay the big bucks to that have completed med school do......i am wondering that one.....so i have to see an endo doctor and spend more monies but i have no choice it is the health of my son

I am posting this as a new post. I am not against Singulair. I am against withholding negative side effects from the patients. I am against promoting that Singulair is safe and effective for everybody on the planet.

My entire family is health care. My father was a surgeon. I worked for a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical companies are supposed to ethically invent drugs and inform everybody about the safe and effective way to use those drugs. Pharmacists are supposed to police the prescriptions and dispense the correct dosage. Then pharmacists are supposed to be aware of side effects and drugs interactions. When necessary, pharmacist are supposed to intervene to prevent a mis- communication from turning into a disaster. Doctors are supposed to review the recommendations of pharmaceutical companies (who are policed by the FDA) in order to determine if their diagnosis matches the profile of drugs known to be therapies for certain symptoms. I, personally, am madder than hell at Merck. Singulair could really be a good therapy when it is needed. It could correct some bad stuff that happens short term. Why does Merck's need to make every drug a major block buster money maker ruin the market for Singulair?

Wow what it is with all these doctors not knowing these side effects, don't they know that there butts are hanging in the wind,the law protects the drug companies ,but doctors you are not immune

My 6 year old daughter Started taking Concerta about 3 months ago. Some things I've noticed are, loss of appetite and loss of weight.
She has had very noticeable academic improvement at school. She is concentrating better. At home I l see how she can go through mood swings and emotional episodes. She snaps all of the sudden and cries if things don't go as she expects. I'm not sure why this is happening. She is currently on the 36 mg. I really don't like having her on this or any other medication. It's very frustrating trying to decide what is best for your child.
She is also taking Singulair for her asthma and allergy symptoms. I was reading the reviews Singulair medication and they are scary! I don't know if her emotional episodes have to do anything with singulair or concerta med side effects. For now I'm definitely taking her off Singulair and see what happens.

These posts about contacting a bad viral infection while the immune system is suppressed by Singulair are particularly worrisome. This was from 2007 so it has nothing to do with the FDA investigation. Epstein Barr causes some really bad illnesses including lymphoma.

The scary part is that children are the most susceptible to viruses. They need to develop immunity at a young age that will build up over time to levels that will protect them for the rest of their lives. Why are we giving children a drug that will suppress the leukotrienes? Why do we think that it is okay to take away one of the bodies defense mechanisms? Wouldn't it be logical that a drug that suppresses the immune system is a last resort option not handed out like lollipops?

www.iddb.org/drugs/singulair/ - 243k
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Anonymous Immune System Dysfunction September 13th, 2007

Do users of Singulair and Advair understand how these products work? In order to understand how they work, you must first know what happens in the body during an allergic attack.

Allergic response is a function of the body's immune system. When an allergen enters the body through the nose or the lungs (e.g., a bit of pollen or cat dander), it is recognized by the body as a foreign substance, and the immune system then produces histamines to fight the intruder. Singulair and Advair work by disabling the body's immune system, so that there is no allergic response.

I too thought these drugs were wonderful. I was on both Singulair and Advair to combat asthma from my new husband's cat. I took high strengths of these drugs for approximately three years.

During the time I was on these drugs, some disease entity, most likely a virus (e.g., Epstein-Barr, Herpes Simplex I, HTLV I). I have been sick with a fever for the last four and a half years. My immune system seems to have been permanently impaired, and every organ in my body is now compromised. I have a fever, night sweats, liver and spleen enlargement, digestive problems, skin infections, hypertension, rapid-onset insulin-dependent diabetes and other endocrino;ogical problems, blood cell abnormalities, and neurological problems (e.g., tremors, myoclonic seizures, muscle cramps and weakness, vertigo, incoordination).

I am about to undergo a spinal tap and other tests, looking for the causative entity. Whatever it is entered my nervous system when I had an epidural anesthetic while on these immune system depressants. I have not been the same since. I have been too sick to work. This has ruined my life.

As we have all learned from recent reports of heart damage from Vioxx, the FDA no longer has the money to fully test new drugs entering the market. The "clinical trials" are a drug's entry into the population. If it kills or sickens too many people, they withdraw it. However, the drug companies define "too many people" as a number that could potentially ruin profits through lawsuits.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't rely on the government to protect you. Before putting any drug into your body, do the research into how it works. Read comments from other users. I wish I had done that.

Side effects as posted by the Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR600957

in response to bachaman---
For three months I have been taking my daughter to the dr. trying to rule out any and every reason that her behavior, sleep paterns, and eating habits DRASTICALLY changed overnight!!! I truly started worrying that my beautiful two year old was being ABUSED! Family members, daycare providers, and even distant aquatences noticed the difference in her! We parents don't have instruction manuals for our children or how to raise them so we TRUST in the doctors that are supposed to watch out for the health of our children! I don't want money---I want my little girl to tell me she loves me again!! Unfortunatly, the drug companies and doctors are not listening to the HUNDREDS of cases of strikingly similar side effects. That leaves one choice to get this potentially dangerous drug at the very least investigatted if not taken off the market--suing. You know what they say: Money talks. I guess they aren't going to listen until there is money involved. You know how the other saying goes: don't mess with a momma bears cubs unless you want to mess with mamma. I will do WHATEVER it takes to make sure another mother doesn't think her child is being ABUSED because of some side effect!!!!!

In response to the person inquiring about weight change since being off singuliar.My 7 yr. old daughters appetite has changed for the better.She had become anxious about food.She would want to eat within a half hour after eating a good meal.She would always tell me she was still hungry.Even as she was eating,she would worry that there was not going to be enough if she wanted more.I know its normal to happen sometimes,but for every meal?She had also developed chronic stomach pain.Which doctors could find no cause for,but stated she did have signs of GERD.I'm thrilled to say that her stomach pains are subsiding since stopping Singuliar.The doctor had said,that perhaps her over eating was in response to the stomach pain.Perhaps trying to appease it.These past few days she has eaten her meals not worrying if there is more for later.Actually,she has even left some food not eaten.The bloatiness in her stomach has diminished.So,as for the weight loss,time will tell.Right now she is about 10 pounds over weight,according to her height.I'm curios to see if that returns to normal,as are MANY other areas regarding her health.

Here is some perspective for you all. I take Singulair and do well on it and in ACTUAL studies it has one of the safest safety records. Understand that post marketing reporting does not mean there is a correlation between the event and the product. Throughout the life of a drug the companies must disclose any report of side effects reported to them REGARDLESS of causality. A popular antihistamine that is OVER THE COUNTER also has suicidal thinking/behavior listed in its post marketing section. However, just because patients who had reported having these thoughts while taking the product doesn't mean it was a result of the product! Maybe they had a depressive personality and were also on multiple other medicines to treat that. You must look at the "Adverse Reactions, Warnings and Precautions" sections of package inserts to see the side effects that were actually seen in studies. You can die from ulcers derived from over use of aspirin or ibuprofen. Decongestants can throw off your blood pressure and these events are documented in actual studies! Listen to your bodies when taking any med. If you feel differently report it to your doctor.

These are all drugs people, there are potential side effects. There are also side effects to those "natural" over the counter remedies that are not nearly as regulated by the FDA or studies by the drug companies.

To anyone out there who has experienced side effects to singulair timed to when you started it, talk to your doctor, stop taking it and see if it goes away. Same advice for any product prescription or over the counter medicine. Side effects can be a combination of many factors (what other meds are you taking?) But understand for many people this product is the safest and most effective treatment for them. The FDA and Merck are reviewing all information to see if there is any correlation to the reporting. But singulair been around for about 10 years and prescibed to billions of people and is known to be one of the safer medicines out there overall.

In between the legitimate posts on this site I get the sense there is a lot of ambulance chasing going on. People looking to cash in on this big drug companies. We want drugs, we want them cheap and with no side effects which is not a reality. Keep stepping up the regulation and make the companies hire more lawers to protect themselves and jump through even more hoops and see what happens to the price and access to new meds. Even better, see how regulation has impacted the development of new medicines around the world (here's a tip, it will dramatically decrease). Drug companies certainly aren't perfect but which industry is?

Please, when taking any medicine over the counter, prescription or herbal supplement listen to your bodies to see if the potential benefits of the product outway the risks or side effects. Report any changes to your doctor.

After reading the recent news reports and reading other parents opinions on Singulair I thought I should be fair to the company, and to other parents seeking advice on this drug, to write about our POSITIVE experience with Singulair. Our 7 year old son was diagnosed with seasonal Asthma when he was 3. We have him on the Ventilator and Advair. During spring time allergy season he would begin wheezing and coughing on a regular basis. We would then give him his puffers. While it would relieve him of the wheezing he would be quite hyper and out of control. Therefore, our goal was to wean him off the puffers. We added Claritin to his diet each day. When he was 5 he struggled through his spring soccer season. As the months went by he looked tired, very sickly, and worn out. His coach recommended that we investigate Singulair. It really turned his child's life around! We talked to our doctor about it. She wasn't familiar with children using Singulair but she prescribed the 5mg chewable but recommended that he use both puffers before his soccer games. We followed her advice. He took his Singulair before bed and the puffers before the game. Sadly, we noticed that he was completely "out of it" during his games. He had no focus (not shocking for a 6 year old boy), no real interest in the game, and no energy. We just assumed it was because he was tired after a full day of school. One day we forgot his puffers but decided to let him play anyway. He had a great game. During a daytime tournament he was back to having his head in the clouds, so for the second game we decided to "forget" his puffers again. He played a great game. But best of all..no breathing problems. We decided to omit the puffers for the rest of the season and just use Singulair. It worked wonderful for him. None of the side effects that the other parents have described. We use it when spring begins and for the the first part of the fall season. He doesn't use it during the winter months. We are experiencing a real dry March so I started the Singulair on Tuesday. Then all of the negative comments came out. I certainly will not dismiss the concerns of the product. We are watching him closely to make sure there are no negative side effects. So far, so good. And no need for the puffers!

I have a 10 year old daughter who took Singulair from age 3 until this past November. She has severe asthma/allergies. When she was 6 the night terrors started I informed the pediatrician of this, but they said she probably had sleep apnea. Her concentration level kept her in trouble in school. I never considered that it might be the Singulair. She developed a speech problem and the school speech teacher referred us to a speech pathologist because they thought she might have vocal fold dysfunction. Several specialists later, we wound up at an allergist's office who IMMEDIATELY took her off of Singulair stating that it was a dangerous drug and should have never been prescribed to her.

Her health has IMPROVED off of the singulair and we are doing allergy shots and symbacort with allegra. I wish I could have saved her the emotional roller coaster ride - all because of this drug.

My son started taking Singulair last year for seasonal allergies which cause his asthma to act up. He is now 7, and it wasn't until my husband read yesterdays news about the drug that I started to make sense of everything. My son is normally a very gentle, calm child who loves everyone. In the last several months he has developed a temper, is talking back and frustrated easily. His other symptoms include: headaches, stomacher pains,(especially after drinking milk and he has never been lactose intolerant), nightmares, a constant shivering feeling(we live in south Florida), neck pain, mood swings, anxiety and several ear infections within weeks. I am waiting for a call back from our pediatrician. As of today, my son will no longer take this seemingly unsafe drug. I'm also going to do more research on what we can do as parents and patients to help protect the safety of our health.

My 9 year old daughter has been on sigulair since she was 5. She just recently started having trouble with concentration and behavior. She is always sad and cries alot .She is an honor/gt student but just recently has been having trouble with her school work.She has also begun to hurt her brother and talks about how she wishes she was dead.We are really concerned and she began counseling. Her nuerologists says it could be depression but im thinking i should take her off singulair.She has had headaches,stomach pain,depression ,mood swings and weight gain.

Okay- A friend just emailed this site to me, my son is 4 and has been taking Singulair for about 2 years. He has seasonal allergies which seem to be year round, asthma and food allergies. He is on Singulair and Allegra daily, this in it self freaks me out. What I have noticed for at least the past year is that when he is running around or moving a lot he hold his right side and says he has a pain in it, we now call it a "stitch". it happens not from strenuous activity, our doctor just says its growing pains, that doesn't make sense. something is bothering him it happens with somewhat frequency. I am really thinking about his behavior, it seems to me he can change on a dime. from happy to very angry, outbursts and then right back to sweet, yes this could describe any 4 year old, but not any 4 year old is on Singulair. I remember saying to him where is my sweet boy? I feel like that might have been when we started the meds, i am so used to his behavior now that it seems almost normal but there was a time he acted differently. and i do remember saying that.... was it when he went on Singulair???

Okay, in addition to my earlier post, everyone will be relieved to hear that I took my 3 1/2 year old off Singulair immediately after my last post (he had only had 4 or 5 doses). He has not had another nose bleed, and his attitude seems to be back to normal today.
He's still peeing like a faucet, and again I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this while on Flovent or Ventolin??
Also...I think it is important to note that I was told by the specialist that SINGULAIR TAKES 6 WEEKS TO BEGIN TO TAKE EFFECT ON ASTHMA SYMPTOMS, so anyone who wants to take the risk and try the drug needs to stay on their puffers for the first 6 weeks.
When I told my son's specialist (a pediatrician whom I trusted completely up until this:) that I have removed him from Singulair because I had come across some rather alarming info regarding it's side effects--would she like to have the printout that I brought along--she stated that they were well aware of the side effects of the drug -- i could keep my printout.
........WHAAAAATTTT?
This is a doctor who, when I asked her if the drug was safe, she replied "yes". When I asked her if it were her child, would she give it to him? She said yes.
Either she is NOT aware of the true side effects, or she feels that the positives outweigh the negatives...who knows?
I urge everyone who reads this: Do not trust your doctors to make decisions about your children's health without doing your research first and asking lots of questions.
I am just grateful that I have not had to suffer the tragic outcomes that so many of you have had to suffer. My heart goes out to all of you and your children.

My son will be 4 next month he was only on Singulair for a month and a half to control his asthma and it has been such a stressful and sad nightmare for me as his mom. He was always been a smart and sweet kid, really calm and had a great attention span now after Singulair I feel like someone took my son and I can't get him back. His behavior is sporadic he has no attention span he can't sit still he has had leg pain, no appetite, not even for his favorite foods. He is about to be kicked out from his preschool because he has shown heightened levels of aggression for no reason and I don't know what to do. The pediatrician tells me that he has been off it for 9 days and it should be out of his system I don't believe it and I'm wondering when my son will be normal again. I feel terrible disciplining him because I feel like its not his fault its this medication that I didn't want to give him in the first place and I regret trusting her because of what its done to my son. There has to be a way to issue some kind of warning or lawsuit against this company this medication is NOT FOR CHILDREN! Please don't give it to your children.

My 9yr old son was prescribed singulair after hospitalization last October. This was 3rd such hospital visit,(intensive care etc) which is frightening for our child and ourselves. We have been willing to try anything after these episodes. Having read comments already posted I felt I had to relate our experience.
Our son has become terribly moody, anxious and lethargic. He has gained weight and we feel we have a complete stranger in our house. He is to be reviewed at hospital later this month (March) but do we as responsible parents demand that our son stops taking the meds and risk further deterioration in health and more hospital stays? I know that doctors always say "don't stop taking meds" but they do not live with us and see the adverse effects these meds are having on us as a family and also to our previously carefree lively 9yr old.