Singulair and heart palpitations

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

I have been taking Singulair for 5 weeks and stopped after developing high blood pressure, numbness and tingling all over my body, flushing, anxiety, memory loss/difficulty concentrating, skin burning sensations, fatigue, "heavy legs" feeling, heart palpitations. I have been off of this drug for 3 days. I still have the side effects and hope that they will go away ASAP. I am also a very well-controlled 28 year old diabetic and when I had neuropathy-like tingling sensations in my extremities (from Singulair) I became worried and angry. I am seeing a doctor tomorrow for a full exam. If this drug has caused me permanent nerve damage I intend on filing a lawsuit against the drug company.

Oh, wow. I've been taking Singulair for a couple years off and on, though definitely on for the past 6 months. I've had:
heart palpitations,
headaches,
eye-twitches,
all over back-muscle pain,
bowel/indigestion issues
anxiety attacks
and general tiredness.
it's freaked me out so much I've been to a few doctors including a cardiologist. they all found NOTHING. It wasn't until tonight that I thought to suspect Singulair. I'm going to go off it and see if it helps, though from the looks of the websites I'm finding- I think it will. It definitely has helped my asthma but it's not worth the side effects. Maybe some people don't have a problem with it....

This is only the 3rd day I'm taking Singulair. Tonight when I got home I quickly did a search for Singulair side effects. Here is what I had been feeling.

1) Extreme deep neuromuscular pain in my neck and shoulders and extreme pulling muscle tension along the length of my spine.

2) Thoughts of paranoia.

3) Extreme irritability

4) Heart palpitations

5) General feeling of malaise

6) Feeling that there is some toxic substance in my body ...

It is the Singulair!

7) Very very bad case of indigestion and upset stomach

Active physically fit male 54 years of age.

Have spent a lot of time and money with cardiologist and endocronologist to determine what has been wrong with me. All heart related tests negative; will see endo this week to see if hypoglycimia is the culprit, although blood sugar levels appear well within the normal range.

Biggest complaint is periodic fatigue, heart palpitations, panic attacks and abdominal and leg jerking. Also experience spells of near fainting associated with heart palpitations. Decided to stop taking daily dose of Singulair yesterday. Have been on this drug for the past 5-6 years. After reading this web site (and many others) hope this works. Will advise.

My mom (age 80 yesterday) has had a bad cough and bronchitis for about 2 months and for some reason the doctor prescribed Singulair. She had one dose last night and the side effects were immediate. She had extremely vivid dreams, hallucinations continuing today, talkativeness, nausea, pain in her hips, and tingly hand. She said she fell 4 times last night - tipped over, and asked her grandchildren and son-in law to help her - they were not really there though. It was a hallucination. She's also shaky and heart palpitations, but she had that already. I will never give her this again.

STRONG HEART PALPS, RACING HEARTBEAT
I've been getting some really strong heart palpitations. Also I sometimes wake up at night with a racing heartbeat. Scary stuff. I'm on Singulair and Flonase. Can't say for sure it's caused by Singulair, but after reading these posts and doing other Net research I'm going to stop the Singulair and see if these very scary heart palps go away!!

Been on Singulair since 98. I am 53. I too get heart palpitations and difficulty breathing for a short period a few minutes after taking it but only once in a while. It helps my asthma but if I go off of it for a while my breathing is quite impaired for 4 or 5 days then improves but not to the level achieved with the Singulair. I dream more and have some nasty nightmares especially if I take ibuprofin at bed time. The reason I go off of the drug periodically and take Ibuprofin is that I am much more succeptible to muscle cramping, spasms, hip pain and tendonitis while on this drug. I used to be a runner/racer but had to quit race training because my back and neck would cramp up. I get tendonitis easily in my forarms from activities that never bothered me before. I have had back spasms for 2 months that did not improve with ice, heat, Ibuprofin, chiropractic or physical therapy until I remembered the Singulair connection two days ago and stopped taking it. Today I am noticing improvement for the first time. Once my back heals up I think I will try reducing the dosage to 5 mg and see if it is enough to help my breathing without the muscle problems.

I have been having really bad dizziness, jaw pain, and ear pain for a while now and I never thought it could be Singulair, but when I didn't take it for two days, I miraculously didn't have any pain. This morning, I took my Singulair and I had HORRIBLE acid reflux that lasted for 4 hours of almost regurgitating, jaw pain, dizziness, and heart palpitations. I also feel foggy and tired and really wish I stayed off of it because now I have to deal with these side effects for another 24 hours when I've quite possibly been dealing with them for the past year or so.