Singulair and heart

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

May 25th, 2009
11:20 A.M.

Started Singulair 5/14/09. Within last week or so started having extreme pain in shoulders, hands (especially thumbs), wrists and hips. Put ti down to arthritis. Pain has been getting worse every day. Thought it was a food allergy so stopped eating fruit and have cut out all sugar. Yesterday realized that pain has increased so it wasn't the food. It suddenly dawned on me that it could be the Singulair. Stopped taking it last night and am already much better. Still some pain but not so excruciating.

About a month before my Dr. gave me Advair. After a few days on it, I went to bed and thought I was having a heart attack. Pain across my back and down my arms, up my neck and across my chest. This happened 2 nights in a row and decided to stop taking it. Called my MD and he said to stop it immediately. However, he thought it really might be my heart so I had an echo cardiogram and stress test. They said my heart was perfect. After 2 days off the med had no more trouble..

My take is that these "air" drugs are not for me. My MD is on vacation and won't be back until Wed. I will speak with him then. Hopefully by then all paij will be gone. Will post again to report results of stopping Singulair. Reading all these posts also made me realize my depression, irritability and crying has probably been a result of this drug.

By: Fed Up

My daughter, who is eleven, now, was on singulair for about 5 years. She has been having a number of problems for a while now, but we never thought about it being the singulair until recently. She was having anxiety problems, tremors, being very argumentative, irritable, angry, depressed, pulling her hair out, (trichotillomania). I started doing research on her meds. (Zyrtec & Singulair) and was shocked to find so many other people were having these same symptoms, including several with the hair pulling. I took her to her allergy doctor and just told him I wanted to change her meds. and that I didn't care if they say these are "not" side effects. It was worth trying to see if things would get better. Well, she has been off the Singulair for about a month and half, and I am happy to report her hair is growing back, and she says she feels happy again. It breaks my heart to know that medicine that we had been giving her for so long was doing this to her. I also have decided a few days ago to take her off the Zyrtec after reading a lot of the same symptoms for it on this website.

My 6 1/2 year old daughter has been on Singulair for 3 1/2 to 4 years now and we have had horrible experiences! She was having night terrors, mood swings, angry issues, self control issues, crying over small things, etc. We have been to psychiatrists and psychologists who have diagnosed her with mood disorder, sensory processing disorder and anxiety disorder! Well she has recently been having stomach problems so we have been going to a GI to figure that out. I got online to research and found numerous sites that told how Singulair causes all these things in children. We took my daughter off the meds and within 3 or 4 days seen a tremendous difference! She is a totally different child! It just really frustrates me and saddens me that all these children and their families are going through all this and the doctors do not seem to care. The allergist or psychiatrist didn't believe me. They say no study has ever proven such things. I don't care what they say we as parents know our children and we are the experts when it comes to seeing how they change when on this medicine, we are the ones that live with them and are with them everyday not the doctors! I think they just don't want to lose out on their money from prescribing this drug 90% of children with allergies and asthma!

I am totally upset by reading the posts here. my son is just now 8 months old. he was put on singulair when he was just 6 months old. at first it seemed to be working...for maybe 2 weeks...then everything went crazy. he was started out on it when his pediatrician stated that he had asthma and apparently was on a very high dosage of it. they started him on 10 mg of the oral granules. before taking it he was a very happy baby, even with him being so young i never had any problems with him crying excessively or being massively irritated. since he started on the medication he has had massive irritability spells, constant fussing and crying and cant seem to fall asleep at night let alone stay asleep very long. i had taken him to the emergency room on christmas eve because a new problem showed up. he now was having a massive hard time breathing, he had a persistant cough, congestion in his chest and was almost always gasping for air. the staff at the hospital were in disbelief when they were informed that his pediatrician had put him on singulair at such a young age and at such a high dosage. i am now in the process of obtaining a lawyer and filing a lawsuit against the pediatrician for medical malpractice. this drug is very dangerous for anyone especially children. i would suggest anyone else having these problems with their child and this drug do the same. it can apparently cause long term lung damage, pulmonary disorders and even death. my son has been off of the medication since christmas eve and has already done a massive turn around. he sleeps well and through the night again, his breathing has improved and his cough is almost gone. they did say in the E.R that he has congestion in his chest due to the singulair but it should clear up over time with the help of zyrtec. please help make a stand and protect our children from the dangers our own pediatricians present to them.

My 8 yr old has been on singulair since May. I never put two and two together until reading these posts. He has been having anxiety at night..crying and looking terrified saying he can't stop the scary thoughts in his head. Tonight I felt so bad for him...because I can't make it go away. I am hoping with tonight being the last night on singulair he will not have such a hard time at night. He also says it's very hard to get to sleep at night. Poor kid. I also know he's a sensitive kid but it seems a bit overboard in the last few months....like getting upset and just not knowing how to handle his emotions so he just shuts down. Please message me if you've had similar experiences. I'm calling his dr. on Monday to figure out some other options if there is any. My son started with a cough in March and finally took him to see the dr. in May and she heard wheezing and started him on singulair and then added zyrtec. I know they control his coughing (wheezing...slight asthma) because if we miss a dose he coughs all day the next day. I'm a bit scared to go off it...but hope it stops the anxiety and moodiness. He had his first asthma attack last week too...and I wasn't prepared as we never have had to use the inhaler...so I didn't have it with us. Anyway, hoping he doesn't get too bad taking him off...and I hope he is able to control the scary thoughts by going off of it too.

My 10 year old daughter has been on Singulair for 5 years- I am in shock of all these postings! I logged on because someone mentioned the possibility of weight gain as a side effect. Has anyone experienced that?

My 7 yr old daughter has been off of Singulair for 12 days now. The change in her personality is amazing. She experienced two nights of strange dreams and waking in the middle of the night. We put her back on Flovent once a day as a substitute. Her aggression and frustration went away within days. She is so happy and content with herself. I can see that she is no longer frustrated by emotions that she could not explain. She's silly, funny, happy. She no longer hates us, pulls her hair, or tries to slap herself because she's thinks she deserves it. She has been on the drug since she was 3-1/2. We were doing family therapy to try to help her. This is no longer needed. She's back to her old self. What a shame no one warned us of this potential side effect. I also wondered how I missed the news story since I just found this site in September 2008. The news story about Singulair came out in March - just around Spring Break. Since we were out of the country, I missed the news. Isn't that a convenient time of the year to break a story? I'm sure many other families missed the news.

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

Just read an FDA article out today, I believe. The FDA is looking to publish quarterly a list of "potential problem drugs". That is fantastic! But where will this information be posted, and how often should a medical prescriber visit and hunt for such information?

I still maintain every medical professional with the appropriate credentials to prescribe any medication should be required to register with an email address with a database within the FDA to immediately communicate this new-found quarterly list, as well as any investigations launched (as with Merck/Singulair). Wow - what a concept.

I suppose I should be somewhat more optimistic with a slight move in the right direction - but I know with all my heart neither my daughter's pediatrician, nor my personal intern will receive, nor be aware, of any of the quarterly "lists".

Will keep trying to get a change within the FDA.

My son became soo aggressive 3 days after starting Singulair, that he was almost banned from soccer for life because of attacking another player on the field. It resembled what I had heard of 'roid rage'. When I questioned the doctor immediately, was told there was no connection. After months of the aggression, then came depression and self mutilation. My 15 yr old was secretly burning himself to 'punish' himself for things he done wrong or "disappointing" those around him. He now has permanent scars all over his arms from these burns. The depression took to drug abuse and my A student fell to an F student in 6 weeks. He completely lost his will to live and thrive. After 4 months of hell, the dr informed us that the FDA just warned physicians of this side effect. Im furious now that I read through the court documents and find that the drug company knew this all along. I know I am a luckier parent than some whose children committed suicide, but still wish that the FDA would get off their BUTTS and do something to take this drug off the market. I was told by a rep at the FDA that Merck will not take it off the shelf until they're made to because even if they had to pay parents millions for their child's suicide, they would still be pocketing more profit than our children's lives are worth in the court system. Not sure WHY we even HAVE an FDA, they won't do anything to protect us from these money hungry drug companies. A YEAR to do an 'INVESTIGATION" are you kidding me? If the CEO of Merck had to bury his child, it would come off the shelf THAT DAY.

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 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.

Hi to all,
I wanted to take a minute to say Thanks to all who post and search for answers to this drugs confusing and serious side effects.To all who have taken the time to contact the FDA and file a report to help others.Dr.Sarah Sellers is no longer the person to contact at the FDA,she has moved on after concluding her end of the investigation on Singulair.If you have a serious side effect please still take the time to file on the official FDA site for adverse event reporting.In NY. state we are still searching for legislation to help with the notification process for these serious side effects.There are to many Doctors that still do not have a clear idea of the updated side effects,and are not reporting as they should.
Letting your doctor know that good medicine is all about follow up on complaints,such as researching the singulair website to rule out that it may be the drug or it may not.Just dismissing the patient and prescribing another drug is how these drugs go undetected for so long.We want this to stop and only the unfortunate recipients of the horrors of this drug can make this happen.Again thank you for your efforts to change the system with follow through and perserverance.Our horror story is one of many and we want to help those who have survived the ravages of this drug, OUR CHILD DID NOT. Kate and Dave M.

In response to Wewe's post, I've been wondering the same thing. Since taking my daughter off Singular almost 2 months ago, I'm seeing a different almost typical kid. Four years ago about 2 months after starting Singular my daughter was diagnosed with anxiety. As her condition got worse she was diagnosed with depression. We started to see OCD and tics so they were added as a diagnosis It was determined that it was related to strep infections so she was diagnosed with PANDAS. She was started on Zoloft and klonidine. The Zoloft made her worse. Her fears of hurting herself got so intrusive she was hospitalized. Her cholesterol was high too. The Zoloft was discontinued and Prozac was started. She's had therapy all 4 years. She also neede physical therapy due to muscle and joint pain. Now she's doing better, off Singular. Does she really have PANDAS, OCD? I don't know. She's still on Prozac, we just did a slight decrease this week. Is this medication the trigger for underlying conditions. Learned behaviors can be unlearned, but are there lasting physical effects? If a gene has been turned on, can it be turned off? I wish we knew the answers to help all of our kids.

I am finally writing after reading these posts since the end of April. That is when I took my 11 year old son off singulair, in an act of desperation. He has been on singulair on and off for about five years for seasonal allergies. He started again in mid-March so it could get into his system, before the allergies started. Immediately thereafter his behavior changed. He was arguing on a daily basis. He would hit, kick or trip me when he was angry. He was starting to destroy things in anger. He seemed to be fueled by anger. It was affecting the whole family. He was starting fights with his younger brother, my husband's heart was palpitating and I was crying every day. I heard about Singulair side effects and looked it up. I saw that it caused behavioral changes and out of desperation, took him off, not knowing what to expect. We had three days of total peace, then on the fourth day another outburst. Then my son told me he had taken a singulair the night before. That was it. I threw every pill in the garbage. He no longers acts like that. It's been almost two months so I am convinced it was the Singulair. By the way, he always complained of headaches, stomach aches and would scream in his sleep. Who knew - it was the singulair all along.

Is heart racing one of the side effects? I have problems with edema which are worsened by Singulair and Zyrtec. Vivid Night terrors depression, anxiety are standard also made worse. Headaches extremely high blood pressure and nausea. I have been off the singulair for a month. I am Zyrtec Free as well.
I too will rely on my inhalers. This drug should not ever be prescribed for children.

I am a 41-year old female with allergy induced asthma, who has been taking Singulair for almost 1 1/2 years now. I was diagnosed with depression about 5 years ago (after my sister's death) and was taking 100mg of Zoloft daily, which my doctor upped to 200mg around the same time I started Singulair for allergy problems. I did not know about the Singulair/depression warnings until searching today on Google for drug interactions on the meds I take in hopes of trying to find a reason for my overwhelming depression. For the past 1 1/2 years, I have lived like a zombie, numb to the world and my family, gave up a $72K job, gained alot of weight, have the weirdest and most vivid dreams, and am tired all of the time, only finding rest after 10-15 hours of sleep per day. I am a working professional, have a Master's degree, and have always considered myself a rational objective person, and not a "lemming" that follows the rest over the cliff. However, the side effects I am experiencing ARE NOT NORMAL and ARE NOT IMAGINARY. I do not know if Singulair is causing my symptoms or not, however, I am going to stop taking the medicine today, and switch to something else. For me, QUALITY OF LIFE is the major issue. While Singulair works great to help me breathe comfortably, I can find other meds to do the same thing. However, what I cannot take is a medication possibly responsible for taking my "life" away.

My 17 year old daughter started Singulair last July for Asthma. She is brilliant and scored in the 99% on the ACT college entrance exam. She won 3 scholarships totaling over 60,000 and earned 27 college AP credits while still in high school, volunteering for the Red Cross, singing in choirs, and playing the lead in her high school musical and 3 plays. She was funny, sweet, and had many friends.
She left for college 3 weeks after starting the medication and saying she was breathing better. Her grades were terrible, even though I was able to check to see she went to class every session, as posted online. She became very depressed, withdrawn, staying in her dorm room. She was sleeping up to 20 hours straight without waking up. She didn't call her friends when she came home and only wanted to sleep. She was like a different person. She was so aggressive that she tried to run out in the middle of the night and attacked me when I tried to block her way, to the point I had to call the police. They diagnosed her with new onset major depression and ADD. They started her on Zoloft for 2 months and she got much worse and was removed from Zoloft as a result. She said she was too tired to stay awake even in class. We had a sleep study done for Narcolepsy and it was negative. Until reading these posts, I didn't connect the Singular. Everything I am reading is so familiar, it makes me feel ill. I can't believe I didn't know, I am a nurse. The guilt is horrible. I hope to get my daughter back, but she lost all her scholarships and only managed to pass 16 hours in one entire year of college. I can't afford to send her back without the money she lost. They even put her on a one time only probationary period to ever get Federal or State Financial aids and loans again. Singular had to be to blame. I am simply thankful my daughter is still here, she was very suicidal. My heart breaks for those of you that lost your children to the side effects of the drug. We have to get the word out by each filing a complaint to the FDA, and filling out adverse event forms.
Please don't let Merck get away with this. We need to act, even if your child was one of the lucky ones and is back to normal now.

In September of 2007 my then 13 year old daughter was put on Singular for mild asthma. At the time she was a straight A student, vice president of our school and a popular girl who's guidance counselor described as "the glue of her grade" because she was so well liked. In November she told me that she was struggling with advanced Latin and Science. She asked to drop down to on grade Latin so we did. In December her science teacher notified us that she had a C average. She told me that she thought she had ADD/ADHD and she couldn't keep up. At the same time she was having a lot of problems with friends at school and we just attributed it to being 14. 3 weeks ago we discovered that she is significantly behind in English and it was then that she told me that she is been having horrific night mares. She said that they usually involve someone killing her or her killing herself. She said that they were so graphic that she couldn't repeat it out loud. She also said that she would feel waves of anxiety that would come over her at school and she would act "witchy" to the kids in her class for no real reason. She said that sometimes when she is trying to do her homework she will read the same passage for 2 hours and still have no idea what it's about. She also said that the suicidal thoughts from her sleep happened during they day and that she had thoughts of her harming herself. Fortunately her pulminologist told us that this may be caused by singular and we immediately took her off of it which was 2 weeks ago. She has only had 1 "bad dream" not even a nightmare since. She had one anxiety attack 3 days after she was off it and she describes her moods as the "cloud lifting....slowly". Now, we have to pick up the pieces. Her grades have suffered, her friendships have suffered and most of all her self esteem is very low. I'm grateful that we found out the cause but I feel as if my daughter lost a year of her life and I worry that because Merck won't admit there are side effects we can't find out how long it remains in their system. Is anyone else concerned about the long term affect and has anyone pursued a class action suit to try to get this drug tested properly?

Up until today I was unaware of any side effects. I have been taking singulair for about a week and I felt fine, until yesterday. Yesterday, I felt anxious and on the edge. I felt as if I was going to blow up if anyone said anything that I did not like. I was feeling as if my heart was going to beat right through my chest. Then when it was time for me to go to bed, I had trouble falling asleep. I awoke the next morning with vivid memories of nightmares that I had throughout the night. Even after I awoke I felt in intense rage. I called my mom later on in the day and I mentioned to her that I was taking Singulair for my allergies. She told me to stop taking that drug immediately. She told me that she just heard last week that it may cause some people to commit suicide. I'm glad I mentioned that to my mom, if I hadn't I may be worse off. Unfortunately I did feel as if the pills helped my allergies, however at what cost? Possibly my life...

I just read a few days ago that Merck is trying to get approval for a new drug. It is a combo of Singulair and the Shering pharm. co. drug Claritin. Isn't it nice to know that while we are suffering from this drug, Merck and another pharmaceutical company are trying to make more money on a drug that is supposed to be under investigation. Fortunately, the FDA is not approving it along with a few other drugs Merck is trying to push. This shows us how concerned they are with public health. They would sell us arsenic if they could get approval for it.

I am a 57 year old man, who has been suffering from asthma several years. This spring my doctor put me on Singulair as an additional medicine to my cortisone-inhalator. after one month I feel symptoms of depression an mood-changing, severe ups and downs.
AND - as an additional symptom i have partially lost my feeling in some fingertips, and now parts of my left thumb and even a feeling of "cold2, mostly in my left hand.
anyone who share that symptom?
M.

My 13 yr old daughter was put on Singulair along with Asmanex and Clarinex for her asthma about 6 weeks ago. Everything seemed to be going very well at first and her symptoms were starting to get controlled. I started noticing after about 3 to 4 weeks that her temper and attitude were getting much worse. Anyone with children this age knows what I mean but this was like a 180 degree turn for her. Her actions were becoming totally out of character. Before I knew it she would cry and get highly upset over the least little thing. Week 5 came around and things totally bottomed out. She came home from school and WAS NOT HERSELF. Made comments about how she hated her life and it was not worth living. Later that evening we had a big argument because I was telling her nothing was worth saying that. She went totally out of control and I had to physically restrain her to calm her down. It appeared everything was better so she went to her room. I went down to check on her and she calmly told me that she had taken advil and tylenol pm and things would be better for her forever now. We went to the ER where they made us wait for at least an hour, then finally took her back. She had to drink two cups of charcoal and was poked and prodded repeatedly. They did a catheter to get a urine sample. She was very cooperative but also was in a complete daze so who knows. The poor child couldn't even lift her head up when she started the vomiting to get rid of the drugs. It was very upsetting and sad. Her heart rate and blood pressure went very low and I really thought in the back of my mind that this was it. Finally, after several hours she started coming out of it and they sent us home. The next evening when she was starting to really come around she proceeded to tell me how she had been seeing a man walking around in her bedroom at night and she was afraid to go down there. Breaking down and crying telling me about all of the horrible nightmares she had been having recently and didn't know why. I thought what am I dealing with here? This just isn't her. Three days ago I heard about singulair in the news and looked it up on the internet. OH MY GOD THIS SOUNDED LIKE US!!!!! I immediately had her stop taking it and the next day phoned her asthma specialist who agreed she should stop now. We are going to watch her for two weeks and see if any symptoms return and then decide if she needs something else or will be fine on just the Asmanex. As a side note, she also mentioned being unable to concentrate in school (unable to do even the simplest math problems) and that her brain felt confused or like something was missing. She said this had been bothering her for several weeks. I know it was this drug. They really need to take this off the market NOW and stop flirting with disaster. The only reason I posted this was to let others know they are not alone.

What needs to be explored now is the path of least resistance,the human body is an amazing thing,when things don't work right it tries to fix itself by taking the path of least resistance ,causing symptoms that we will go seek help for,My older son had hydrocephalus at the age of 2,and a shunt was put in, making him shunt dependent, as it would always be the path of least resistance,my dad had a silent heart attack, new capillaries showed up keeping his heart alive ,making this the path of least resistance,some of the behaviors that remain from singulair side effects may very well be symptoms that are taking the path of least resistance, can this ever be reversed???????????????

Hi guys,
I came to this forum after a client at our firm told me to check out whats happening with singular. I am not a lawyer, but I am a secretary for a med mal firm and I can tell you that we have already started taking these cases. I saw a few questions posted about whether you had to wait 9 months for the investigation to finish, but that doesn't stop you from filing suit. If it were my baby boy, I would switch meds, but if you can't--make sure you journal EVERYTHING. Take videos of outbursts, etc. We have one client who's son is self mutilating after using singular. If thats happening to you, try to document the episodes. Like I said, im not a lawyer, but I work for some so I can answer a lot of questions and I would be more than willing to help. I am so disgusted by what I have read. Please email me if you have any legal questions, etc. If i can't answer them, my boss will and if its a medical question, we have a staff nurse so I will give her a call. Again, I am so sorry for what everyone is going through. I pray to god I can help in some way.

My 6 year old son has been on Singulair for 2 years and I have noticed a big change in his behavior but it all started with leg cramps and falling down alot..I told my dr about what was going on but she told me that it was nothing to worry about that it is growing pains..Before he started the on the singulair he was always a happy go lucky kid never had problems with him back talking or ever really getting angry. Now that I read all these reports these are the problems I have with him now:
My child has never offered to hit, kick or slap me but in the past year he has gotten more aggressive not only toward me but others as well..
He is fearful of people now thinking that they are being mean to him or picking him out to pick on or make fun of.
He has problems of headaches on a regular basis but just thought it was due to his sinus infections...
I have also noticed that my child has started hurting himself like punching even slapping himself in the face when he gets really angery or fustrated about things..
Sometimes he has problems with nightmares but not that much..
He also has problems with stomach pain as well...
My concern is taking my son off Singulair with his asthma being under control right now and he just recently had sinus surgery but I think it will be the best thing for him just because I want my sweet child back not the aggressive and abusive child he is now.... That is why first thing in the morning he will be taking him to his dr to find another medication to put him on and take him off the Singulair....

My 15 year old daughter has been taking Singulair for about 10 years for asthma, and it seemed to do a great job of controlling that condition. However for the past year or two (since onset of puberty) her mood swings, anxiety, sleep problems, ability to concentrate, etc., seemed to escalate to extremes. She has always been a little high-strung and emotional, but I never related it to the medication. Lately I tried to convince myself everything was a result of hormone fluctuations although things were going from bad to worse. Late this fall she suffered a series of back-to-back illnesses (flu, sore throats, etc.) which caused her to miss so much school she almost flunked her entire first semester of high school. After the holidays she seemed to be back on track but then another bout of flu triggered asthma, and then she seemed to bounce from one to the other - and missing a lot of school again which caused a lot of anxiety, which caused the asthma to flare, causing greater anxiety, etc., etc. For almost 3 weeks she barely came out of her bedroom, and looked more despondent by the day, begging me to not force her to go back to school because people would make fun of her. After lots of arguing one Saturday she agreed to go with me to a therapist while we tried to find alternatives for school this year. Well, that same night my daughter woke me around 3 a.m. (she also does not sleep well...) to tell me about the story she had just heard on CNN about Singulair. After finding this website the next morning I was horrified - and she has not taken it since. Our allergist dismissed the CNN story, saying there was no scientific evidence to support that claim, but agreed that maybe we should take her off Singulair. We did visit a therapist, although since that day I have seen a noticeable change in her behavior and moods. If anyone else is considering a class action suit, please email me since I am seriously planning to take some kind of action - I believe the FDA should move quickly on this so that other parents may be able to avoid seeing their children have to deal with the effects of this medication. I could probably write pages, I am so appalled that this has happened, but I will end here for now....

Update...Today is the 11th day my 7 yr. old son has been Singulair free! He was taking it for "cold induced" asthma. He never had the typical asthma where he needed an inhaler. He got RSV when he was almost 3, then whenever he got a URI it seemed to go straight to his lungs, so the dr. prescribed Singulair and Xopenex (to be used with a nebulizer). I had asked the dr. a few times to take him off Singulair because he seemed to be doing much better and I wanted to see how he would do without it. The dr. would say "oh, let's wait until summer or let's wait until allergy season is over" and kept putting it off. I just had some sort of bad "feeling" about it. Of course, I look back now and know with certainty that his wierd behaviors started around the time he started Singulair. I am relieved now because his erratic behaviors are almost totally gone!!!! When I heard the news I decided to take him off the Singulair immediately. I was nervous because he had a cold and a bad cough, but did it anyway. You know what? He is fine! His cough is almost gone now without the help of Singulair! He is much happier and can actually focus on doing his homework without getting up from his chair until he is done. Before he would get up about 10 times and just couldn't sit still. He has a better attitude about everything now! He is doing great! I hope everyone who was taking this and stopped is doing better! I learned a valuable lesson from all this. I won't put him or my other son on anything until I research it! I will not trust anything anymore, and that in itself is sad, but true. Good luck to all!

My nine year old son started on Singulair about a year ago. Over the last several months, we've noticed his anxiety/anger level rise tremendously. He's always been a sensitive/serious kid and so we attributed it to our talking about moving. However, we're a pretty stable family (not perfect, but happy) and couldn't figure out why it was affecting him so badly. He was a ticking time bomb, exploding on everyone at random times. Then he began chewing on the skin of his thumbs and eventually all over the palms of his hands...a big chewed up mess. He said he did it because he was nervous. It was extreme and scary. Then a friend of mine happened to mention in passing about the Singulair reports. We've decided to take him off the meds and see if it makes a difference. I'll let you know what comes of it.

I'm also back with an update
I posted a few days ago about the extreme change for the better I saw in my son when I took him off the Singulair & that this week I was planning to put him back on just to make sure it was the singulair causing his crazy behavior & not a new bipolar med working

well I have now decided not to reintroude it, I think I have tortured him enough this past year that he was on it & I now know in my heart Singulair was the cause of making our lives a miserable living hell this past year :(

I have just sent my complaint to the FDA I also plan to let his psy. know what I think about Singulair & also the allergy doc within the next few wks! so now my ? is what do I do next I dont want to just sit here & do nothing when there are so my families dealing with this

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do right now?
I'll continue to pray for those families affected by this

Hey all. Reeces mom. I posted April 1. We went to the Dr. yesterday and she brushed off the singulair issues. She said that she was not convinced that it is the cause of his probs. She did state that she understood if I wanted to try claritin. I respect her and she is a great dr. but in my heart I feel that singulair was the cause and time only convinces me more. I can see it in his eyes and feel it from his hugs. To even get a hug from him is a miracle. He has been off the meds for 1wk. today. He is pleasent to be around.!! I don't know what else to do if anything, except I want EVERYONE to have the info and make their on minds about it!!!

I am a 32 year old female diagnosed with asthma and allergies as a child. This is very reassuring for me, all these posts, because I thought there was something really wrong with me. Maybe it will be as simple as not taking Singulair anymore. Today is day one. I have been taking 10 mg a day for the past 7 years. I have had increasing thoughts of suicide, have terrible moods swings, am paranoid and suspicious of everything, and a rash that comes and goes. I am severely depressed and have absolutely no interest in activities I once enjoyed. I saw the news a few days ago and there was some talk of singulair linked to suicide and I felt so relieved. I was so uncomfortable telling anyone about how I was feeling because it didn't make any sense. I was always blowing things way out of proportion in my head and couldn't talk myself out of it. I used to exercise, read, paint, and socialize. I never do any of those things anymore. I'm happy at work because I have to be, and am distracted by my clients. But as soon as the workday ends I drive home feeling empty and when I get home I get the bare minimum of chores done. I used to go walking with my IPOD and rollerblade in the park. Now I sit and watch TV for hours and have significant trouble sleeping.

Just wanted to update everyone reading in. I have been off Singulair for 6 days now and have felt more relaxed and better than I have in a long time. Also, I would like to know how long it has taken for others to not have ANY symptoms after stopping the medication? Just had a bad nightmare. Something I have been having since being on Singulair. Hope this is out of my system soon. Dizziness is still hanging around some too. To the parents with children, please give your child a lot of hugs and let them know how much you love them. I know you allready do, but give them a few more.

I have 3 children on singulair they are 11,8 and 4. My 4 yr old started it when he was almost 1 when we found out he had asthma and the other two were put on it for allergies for about a year now. I have heard from my 4 yr old that his stomach hurts, he says it all the time, everyday I keep getting on to my 11 yr old telling her if she wouldnt say things like that he wouldnt hear it and repeat it. My 11 yr old has ADD and is on Ritlin.My 8 yr old is ADHD and has been on different Meds to figure out which is the best for him. He has been really depressed and so has my 11 yr old. I put both of them on anti-depressents. My 11 yr old had to be hospitalized in October of 07 for taking medications, anything she could get her hands on. I would find baby tylenol missing knowing I hadnt used it all.Then it was pain pills and muscle relaxers that I had put up from when I hurt my back. When I first found out what she was doing I locked everything up took her to see her Psychiatrist and her Psycologist and I was told by one of them not to worry It was her age that it was normal and basicaly blamed it on tv. I spent more time taking her to her doctors. I asked question with so many people on what to do I got nowhere. I finally found a hospital they took her for a week, her answer to taking the pills was if she took them then she would die and everything bad in her life would all go away. She was released before she could finish treatment because insurance wouldnt cover her stay inless it was outpatient. I couldnt find a place that would was close to do out patient so we stopped going. I finally found a doctor that treated everything her eatting disorder,nightmares,ithching,depression,moodiness,anger,stomach aches,crying and leg cramps, We have been going to these doctors and it has never helped. My 8 yr old has been mean, screaming at everyone crying all the time for no reason you ask him why he cries and all he can say is he doesnt know why. The crying is different than any other crying its not the same as when he gets into trouble or when he gets hurt, its just a very sad cry.He has OCD, seavere depression, ticks, anger, night mares and is very moody.He is never happy, he never smiles. Its really sad to see him like this and to not know why and what to do. My 4 yr old He has asthma that is why he was put on it. He used to get ear infections all the time, no sooner than he got over one, another one started. He is always saying his stomach hurts. I took him to the doctor she said nothing was wrong. He has been really mean I just always thought he see's his brother and sister acting this way so he learned it from them. He has been in Speech therapy since he was 2 and is finally doing better, I always thought because of the ear infections thats why his speech has been so bad, the school thought the same thing, he has been tested and and everything is normal so the infections have been to blame. He wont sleep in his own bed he is afraid we are going to leave him. I took them off of it and it has been about 7 days now and my 8 yr old has stopped crying, he is happy I dont have to get onto him for being mean, My 4 yr old has not complained about his stomach hurting. He has been nicer to his brother and sister. Its amazing at how there is such a big difference in them and I can only hope it will get better since it has only been a few days. I have pulled them off of there anti-depressents and they havent needed them. Its amazing at how there is such a big difference in them and I can only hope it will get better since it has only been a few days.

Update: My daughter has been off Singulair for 3 months and is doing so much better. She is not having anymore nightmares, heart racing, anxiety attacks. No more itching, headaches, stomach pains, depression. She is so much happier now. She is 7 years old and acting like a happy child now. I am so glad that I took her off it in December. She is not crying and upset like she used to be. We could tell that she improved within one week and is still improving. Hope everyone else improves like my daughter has.

My grandson was put on singulair when he was 2 years old due to severe asthma. He fell out a 2 story window at 2 years old. His behavior became more and more aggressive as time went on. At 3 years old, he rode his bike toward a car and said he wanted to know what it feels like to be dead. At 4 years old he tried to plug a broken cord into an out let to see if he could get electricuted and die. He has obviously been to counceling and diagnosed with ADHD and on more medication for that.
Let me add that his father was shot and killed, and his mother was incarcerated twice for over a year each time. He has lived with me since he was 8 months old. He has been through a lot in his young age, so most of it has the potential to be explained away by this.
However, if there is any chance that singulair has caused or increased any of his problems, you can bet I will take him off it to see if there is any improvement.
I'm a nurse, so I know that there are side effects with all medications, and that some people encounter the side effects and others don't. I don't think that singulair is a bad choice for everyone, in fact, it has been proven to be very effective, and as long as there are no noted side effects, or possible side effects. why would you worry. If there are questionable side effects-you certainly can't ignore them! The only true way to find out if your childs problems are due to singulair is to try to take it away-maybe only temporarily.
My instinct tells me to pull it-if there is no change in behavior with him off the medication, I'll consider putting him back on it if necessary for his asthma.

I posted earlier, and I just felt it was necessary to add a few additional comments. My daughter is 9.5, and after I got home from work tonight and spoke with her pediatrician, I felt it was important to have a long overdue heart to hear with my daughter. First off, I told her that I no longer wanted her to take the Singulair, and that her Dr. supported that. I told her what she needed to in place of the Singulair. Then came the hard part... My daughter has made comments to me over the last several years, as often as 2-5 times per week about suicdal thoughts. I am not sure when it even started, maybe when she was 5?... about wanting to die, or wanting me to just kill her, her killing herself. This has troubled me for years, and again, thought this was my parenting, and found it too embarrassing to discuss. I briefly mentioned this once to the pediatrician and once to my son's therapist, and didn't seem to get any reaction from either. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken these more seriously, but given her age, I thought she was just having an angry temper tantrum, which there were many.

At any rate, tonight, I talked about these comments with her, and asked her to tell me more about why she said them, and did she mean them, or was she just angry with me? Her answers were very disturbing. It took a great deal for her to be willing to answer me, she was afraid I would be upset with her, and when I reassured her that if she didn't talk to me, I couldn't help her, she finally talked to me. She told me that frequently she did feel like she wanted to die. Sometimes it was a feeling of wanting to make me suffer. Sometimes it was a feeling of just wanting to end her life. Many times she would have these thoughts and they were just kept to herself. She would often think about how she would end her life while laying in her bed, after she had taken her Singulair at night, and not falling asleep. Or, it would wake her from her sleep. She stated that these thoughts would occur 4-5 times per week. Many times she had nightmares that involved me, and did not feel that she could tell me. What frightens me most, is how many times my daughter would awaken in the night and sleep walk. She has not harmed herslef before, but had I not learned about this, and stopped the Singulair, who knows??

So, this all came out tonight, as I held her, we cried together, and I assured her that these thoughts were not her normal brain thoughts. I told her I would help her, as long as she communicated with me.

I have got to share my great news with anyone who will listen. My daughter has been Singulair free since Friday of last week. She has no idea that we are not giving her this pill at night and we haven't discussed any of our recent findings in front of her. In other words, she has no incentive to behave any differently than she ever has. The changes are so dramatic that at times it's hard for me to believe. On three different occasions today she made note of her positive change in mood (keep in mind she is 7). Right after school when she was going over some of her graded papers she pointed to a smiley face on her paper. She said, "Mommy, that's how I feel today." I replied, "That's great honey. Is there a reason why you are so happy today?" She stated, "I don't know why, I just am." Then a few hours later I overheard her talking to her younger brother at dinner say, "Will, I haven't cried at all today." Of course he didn't have much of a reply. Then at bedtime, she said, "This has been the best day ever!" These are all statements that quite honestly I have never heard her say before. It warms my heart to know that I do have a "normal" child in there. She's been on Singulair since she was 3, before she could verbalize many of her feelings. All we have known are negative, grumpy feelings and emotions.

But these are not the only changes we have noticed. I have had to wake her up for school the last two mornings in a row (hasn't happened since she began school). She has always been such a terrible sleeper and seems to never really get as much as she needs. She hasn't been so obessessive in the last two days about playing with her best friend. She actually asked if she could play cars with her younger brother instead of going to the park. She has eaten about half as much as she normally does. She has developed such a ferocious appetite that weight has become a huge problem. She has handled disappoints in stride when the same trigger would have totally set her off a few days ago. The list really does go on and on.

I can honestly say that the only thing that has changed is the absence of Singulair. I pray that I continue to discover more of my daughter's great qualities.

I have wondered so many times over the last few days, "What if I hadn't been listening to NPR?" I would have had no other reason to look into the matter further. All of our stories need to be told to the greater media. There are millions of children on this drug and based on this message board, millions of children sufferring negative side effects. Please join me in this crusade!

My son is 10 yrs old and has been taking Singulair for over 4 years. My husband and I have seriously been talking about taking our son to counseling and have been feeling helpless on how to help him with his feelings. He gets good grades but over the last few months he has been so emotional and cries very easily. We could tell he was extremely sad at times and would have very high highs. and low lows. He would get angry quickly and also complain of stomach pain. My husband and I did ask ourselves if maybe he could harm himself. Although he never mentioned anything about hurting himself, he did say he was afraid to go sleep at night and thought about death. We have started going back to church and thought he was worried about what happens after you die ie, eternal life. Last month I asked my husband to check out one of his Asthma medicines (Advair) for side effects because I had a feeling that this could be from a medication. It never occurred to me that it would be Singulair. My mother called me this morning and read an article to me. She had noticed his "sadness" when she came to visit. So here I am reading all of these similar articles from families going through the same things!!!! I am in shock and in tears!!!! We have a doctors apt in two days and will not be taking this pill again. PLEASE LET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNOW ABOUT THIS! Many children will be diagnosed with add and given other medicine. My heart aches for what he has been going through! I am soooo glad I received that call about the article. My prays will be with you all.

I am Cody Millers mom ,the boy who died from Suicide while on Singulair for 17 days, I just wanted to say one thing to all of you that take the time to post.GO ONE STEP FURTHER CONTACT THE FDA and report to medwatch .The investigation needs evidence like your stories to help make informed decisions about this drug.The poorly orchestrated disclosing campaign that Merck had supposedly set out to accomplish in 2007, has obviously not reached the mass majority of people using this drug .Seeing now how many people did not make the connection to these HIDDEN AND DANGEROUS SIDE EFFECTS.Our child's pharmacy sheet that came with the medicine ,showed none of the updated side effects.They were added in April 2007,I filled the prescription in July 2007.Nothing had been disclosed until we put forth this effort to get the FDA's attention ,by asking the Senate and Congress to look into this matter.Go to your doctor and insist that they report YOUR SIDE EFFECTS to the company and the FDA.It is of the utmost importance.,Kate and Dave M.

Here's something to ponder...
Here's a quote from Merck's site "Merck voluntarily updated the worldwide product label for SINGULAIR in October 2007 to include "suicidal thinking and behavior" and included similar changes to the patient product information". So if they voluntarily updated their information, why aren't doctors aware, why is the public not privy to this information?

Moms, Dads, and everyone who is taking Singulair with these side effects..if you are wondering why you've changed since being on Singulair, it just may be the side effects of this drug. Please don't wonder anymore, and take yourself off. You don't need to wean off it (coming from my son's pediatrician). It may take a few weeks to really see results. With our 5 year old son, we saw results little by little, and now it's been a month and he's completely back to normal. No more suicidal thoughts, no more blank stare, completely focused, and is his loving self again.

Every time someone new comes here and posts their story, it just breaks my heart that we've all suffered silently for so long without knowing the causes. To all the Mom's and Dad's who've thought they were doing something wrong as a parent, I feel for you, I was there. We did do something wrong though, we trusted the very person who made an oath to protect our children, to help our children. But we cannot blame ourselves for that. We're doing everything in our power right now to make our children's lives better, be proud of yourselves that you're here, finding the answer. Now let's do something about it. It's important to educate everyone we can about this. Don't let these doctors or compassionless people come in here and tell you there are no side effects, trust your parental instincts and go with them!

I like to live my life with facts, not speculation and drama. My child is on Singulair and doing fantastic. I remember the trips to the ER when I did not know if my child would live or die. Of course when I saw this report, it caused me some concern so I did some research on my own. Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of violent death in New York State, the United States and the world? In 2002 in New York State there were 1,292 suicides which exceeded homicides by 32%. The statistics show that 1 in 10 teenagers plans to commit suicide. The National Center for Health reports a 10% suicide rate in kids 15-24 years of age and 4 male suicides for every female suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.

So now we have 1 child in New York that has committed suicide that just happened to be on Singulair, and it is Singulairs fault? Show me the proof. All I see is one distraught mom who is trying to find blame for her son’s tragic death. Is there only half the story being told, a trend I have noticed in journalism these days. Let’s face it, life happens. I am NOT on Singulair and I have had melt downs, thrown things across the room, been depressed over things, cried, and even for the past week have been having some crazy dreams. I remember as a child putting notes on my room door telling my parents how much I hated them. I remember as a teenager thinking my life would be better if I were dead. I remember my child being cranky and fussy before she was on Singulair, gee maybe she was teething. The term “terrible twos” has been around a lot longer that Singulair. Let’s face it, we have turned into a society of people who always want something to blame. I think it is time people start taking responsibility for themselves and accept the fact that sometimes life just happens. Take accountability for your own lives, and stop trying to blame everything and anything.

I also live my life by reading internet blogs with a grain of salt. These blogs are public forums and places where anyone and everyone can post. How do you know that all these posts are real? Remember the day when kids made prank phone calls for fun? Now they have the internet and can post pranks on these blogs. How do you know that a competitor to Singulair is not posting in order to fuel the feeding frenzy? How about a registered sex offender or a felon in prison? There are a lot of “sick” people in the world and yes, they have access to the internet too. If you are hanging on every single one of these posts as being true and real then I feel sorry for you. The internet provides anonymity and it is easy to create a fictitious identity and a fictitious story. That is probably why if you do a search for “internet safety” you get 15,700,000 hits.

Until I see proof, I am not going to take my child off Singulair. The CDC reports that in 2002 there were 1.9 million visits to the ER for asthma and 4,261 asthma deaths. If I did stop my child’s Singulair, and she died in the ER from as asthma attack, whose head does that fall on? The media?

As a pediatrician I write for singulair every day.
The medication is for allergies.
Allergies cause adenoidal swelling, which cause sleep disturbances which makes the child tired the next day with makes him over weight, less attentive, hyper and eventually act out.
This in turn makes the child experience parental, peers and teachers criticism/ abuse, with leads to the child feel inadequate, embarrassed, frustrated and eventually depressed and suicidal.

Yes, singulair does cause behavioral change but they appear within the first couple of peels, the rest is due to allergies, lack of medical care, i.e. sleep, singulair, and zyrtec deficiency.
Allergy shots cause 4 times the incidence of suicidally than singulair, and Ritalin 10 times more.
They say in hebrew "once a stone is thrown into a well, thousands of smart people won't find it".
Check it, it's true.

I cannot believe that there is so much of ignorance in such an educated society. Let me first start by saying I am on no medication absolutely I do have bronchitis I don't take cough medications or allergy medications or inhalers etc etc. I read at the bottom in a post that this 28 year old cries every time she sees te Save the children advertisement. I can tell you I listen to music, I watch tv and every touching or heart rendering story or lyric makes me cry!!! I wonder if i was on Singulair I would certainly be committed to some mental asylum.
I think all you educated people should consider that you do not need to be on a drug or any medication to suffer from depression symptoms or any such other emotional trauma. Why blame one thing alone, blame the governments for putting its citizens under stress , blame your economies for bringing down your county into a recession where your earnings don't meet the cost of living, What we should be fighting for is irrelevant, so some strategy comes into light where all these years, read all the posts, 2 , 5, 7 10 years of using Singulair and NOW you want to complain. Why didn't they complain all these years ago and get the drug recalled.. Don't blame one thing alone. Maybe if people lived cleaner, healthier lifestyles you wont be taking medications.

I am so upset about this news about Singulair. My 9 year old son was put on Singulair in November when he was diagnosed with pneumonia. We have had a horrible time since then with his 'attitude' and now it has spilled over into school. He has had all the symptoms that everyone else is talking about on this site. He has severe mood swings and outburst, he yells and can't control his anger at times. On three different occasions specifically I can remember him saying he wished he were dead or that he was going to kill himself. He also has complained of headaches, leg cramps, nightmares, he says he is unable to sleep or to get back to sleep. He is also very emotional.
I thought he was having a hard time dealing with some family issues going on, which may very well still be the case but I believe with all of my heart that Singulair is making things worse.
We ran out of the medication about 2 weeks ago and I didn't refill because the doctor said he should stop taking it in the spring and begin again in the fall.
My son will not be taking this medication any more.
I feel so horrible that my son has had to feel like he has only because of medication.

I am a 60 year old woman,and was on Singulair in 2000 for the treatment of asthma. At the same time I was put on inhalers Flovent and Serevent, taking the inhalers twice a day. Almost immediately, I began waking up at night, screaming my lungs out, having a very strong, vivid feeling that my heart had stopped, the blood was draining from my head and arms and this was my last breath and I was dead! It scared the hell out of me. After calming down I would go back to sleep and it would happen again. Sometimes it would happen 10 - 12 times a night, and sometimes even while I was awake. It wasn't a dream. It frequently was accompanied by a restless leg. I spoke to my allergist, my primary care doctor and a pharmacist, and all said it wasn't related to my drugs. I had a sleep test and woke up screaming my lungs out, scaring the night-shift technician, but nothing showed up on the tests. This went on for about 6 months, and then I quit taking the inhalers at night. My "night terrors" eased off a bit to only once every couple of nights, but didn't go away. I quit taking Singulair and Serevent after about 2 years, and only then did the terrors really subside. I had thought they were caused by the Serevent alone, but after reading these stories I suspect it was a combination of the 2 drugs. I still have the terrors a couple of times a year, generally preceded by a restless leg.

I'm just heartbroken over this. My 6-year old identical twin boys have been on Singulair for 4 years to help control severe asthma. Looking back...I now realize there was a definite "personality" change in both of them after going on it. I've been living with it for 4 years now and have just "gotten used to it." Since October, one of my sons has experienced severe back pain, abdominal pain, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes (though I don't know if this is related), and sadness. I have put him through tests because I just knew something was wrong - he has had an MRI spine, CT chest, abdominal ultrasound, and lymph node biopsy (all negative). I am just crushed because I wonder if I have put him through these tests for absolutely NO reason. That all along, it has been the Singulair. My other son has had insane mood swings for the past 4 years and I had just chalked it up to his personality. He can be extremely mean to his brother and has indicated to me that sometimes he just doesn't "want to be."

The only positive thing out of this is that I learned how insightful my pediatrician is. He took both boys off the Singulair about 6-8 weeks ago. I have noticed a slight improvement in his symptoms, but they have not yet all gone away. I'm hoping there's not lasting damage...

My almost ten year old daughter has been on Singulair for a few years now. Since the age of two, she was hospitalized every year due to her asthma. The doctor has her on Flovent but switched her to Singulair because she was concerned that the Flovent might be stunting her growth (my daughter has only been in the 25th percentile for height since she was very young) and the Flovent did not seem to be completely helping with the asthma. Since taking Singulair, my daughter has not been hospitalized for any asthma complications in the last two years. But, when I saw the news about Singulair, I nearly fell out of my chair. My daughter gets mood swings like you would not believe and has temper tantrums like a 4 year old. She NEVER ever used to be this way. It just started within the last two years. She is our oldest, so we thought maybe it was her hormonal changes starting. But, she is always the one who says nobody loves her and storms off in a range. I believe she knows this is completely untrue, but isn't it ironic that all of us have such similar stories to share?! Could all these problems be there for all of us because of a drug we were given to HELP our child?! And, if that is the case, what now?! Do I go back to the Flovent and keep stunting her growth?! Do I pull her off all her current asthma medicine, only to be prescribed another one with something else negative we will find out about years down the line? From day one, I have felt all these medicines for her asthma were not a good thing. But, I have asthma too and the last thing I want is to see her suffer, not being able to breathe. What is the answer?! I am completely horrified and distraught over all the people, especially young children, affected by this drug!! And, to top it all off, I was just at the allergist, myself, this past week and she suggested I take Singulair for my allergies since she didn't want me taking Allegra D because of the decongestant thinning your blood! AAAAHHHH!

I have just heard the news on this horrible Medicine I was absolutely shocked I cant believe this I have been taking this medicine for 2 years I have been told I have been acting different lately I have had depression stomach aches, head aches, I have also been paranoid, I cant sleep well at night, I have also been told that I have ADD and I have come to learn that I don't, I have been getting night sweats also. It breaks my heart that this medicine would cause this to happen
PUT A STOP TO THIS HORRIBLE MEDICINE RIGHT NOW WE CAN DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE THIS FROM THE YOUNG ONES.
God bless you all.