Singulair and high blood pressure

Hi, I was on Singulair for two years and I had one additional side effect that I've not seen anyone else mention: allergy-like reactions to antibiotics. Prior to taking Singulair I had a bad reaction to only one antibiotic, doxycycline. I had elevated heart rate and blood pressure and ended up with what I was told is called intracranial hypertension or high blood pressure in the head which is the worst and most severe headache I've ever experienced.

While I was on Singulair I had the same reaction to every antibiotic that I was prescribed and they were all antibiotics that I had taken in the past without any problem. I stopped taking Singulair about a month ago and was able to take an antibiotic again without any problem. Every medical professional I've talked with about it said it was news to them and they've never heard of such a side effect.

This was, of course, in addition to many of the other mental and emotional side effects that other people have posted about: severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts, depression, inability to think coherently. The worst was just before periods. I figured it was wacky hormones after having my son but my periods since stopping stopping Singlulair have been WORLDS different. The first was within a few days of stopping and I had really heavy flow with lots of clots. (I know, TMI... sorry!) The most recent period came with mild PMS instead of the mental near-incapacitation accompanied by paralyzing anxiety and depression that I had been experiencing the past two years and the period has been relatively mild and manageable.

One more side effect I want to mention is intestinal cramping. I have been having increasingly frequent intestinal cramping and pain over the past year and had no idea what was causing it. I missed work and spent long periods of time in the bathroom expecting diarrhea that rarely came. Since stopping Singulair that has stopped as well.

All I can say is that Singulair was clearly not the drug for me. My entire life has been improved in just 3 - 4 weeks since I stopped taking Singulair. That's good considering my entire life was turned upside down over two years of taking it... at least the improvement has been faster than the degradation. Now if I can just get my asthma under control again (no, Singulair did not manage the asthma well to top it all off) I'll be doing beautifully!

I have restless legs, nightmares and weight gain. Trouble concentrating, numbness and tingling of the hands and feet, falling. I have been evaluated by a neurologist and no one has made the connection of weight gain to singulair.
Also, have high blood pressure that came on suddenly.

I have followed the South Beach diet and continued to gain. I am going off this drug and really appreciate this website.

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.

I am nearly 60 yrs old and have been on Singulair for some time. I have noticed mood changes but something even more alarming. My blood pressure usually runs a bit low but since going on Singulair, it has gone up. I have also had many instances of feeling faint and having to sit down and lower my head. I've had two incidents of E.R. treatment due to irregular heart beat, feeling faint, and elevated B.P. When I quit taking the medication for several days, my B.P. was again on the low side and I never felt faint. Although an irregular heart beat is an identified side effect, elevated B.P. and fainting are not. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced these symptoms, as the doctors have told me these are not side effects of the medication.

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.

Our son started taking Singulair when he was 2 for severe allergic rhinitis and cough variant asthma (in addition to Zyrtec, which didn’t control all of his symptoms). He is 5 now. For the last three years, he has been an increasingly violent, difficult, defiant, argumentative, volatile child who has intense mood swings--one minute he’s laughing uncontrollably, the next he’s weeping over nothing. His doctor and therapist recommended that we see a psychiatrist to have him evaluated for bipolar disorder, which used to be unknown in children. Because he has such chronic sleep problems, the doctor also suggested we take him off Singulair (and increase his Zyrtec dose) to see if it improved his sleep issues. Within a week, he was sleeping much better and was a calmer, happier, gentler boy. He suddenly could take “no” for an answer without flipping out and trying to hurt me. We thought that we were just in an unusual, calm window that would shift either to mania or intense sadness or both, any minute. We also thought that his behavior change might be due to sleeping better. We were enjoying the rare reprieve. Over the last weekend, his springtime allergies really flared up. We gave him Singulair on Monday and by noon, he was completely out of control. I had to strap him into his car seat at one point to keep him from hurting either me or himself. It finally occurred to me that Singulair might be causing his “bipolar” disorder. Of course, we stopped the Singulair. After two days he was a new boy. Yesterday, I Googled “Singulair bipolar children” and got a few hits. I am stunned to read how similar other families’ experiences have been to ours and I feel sick that we gave this drug to our child for three years.

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.

Hyper, anxious, weight gain, high blood pressure: I started taking Singulair in January after having some kind of allergy reaction to either the cats or something else. My GP suggested that I take it every day -but I'm quitting today. I have been so hyper the last three weeks and feeling -not well. It's like I'm off filled with dread and anxiety. Last week I ended up in the hospital with heart attack symptoms and with incredible anxiety,hyperness and high blood pressure! I never had any of these symptoms before then. I am healty cook and eater, a non-smoker, and was within 25 pounds of my normal weight for a 56 year old. Yes, it's gotta be the Singulair. It's the only medication that's changed. J. Haggerty

I have read about Singulair side effects and also Advair. I am convinced that I need to be OFF these meds ASAP. I am not sure which meds are causeing my side effects, but I know I cannot live this way! Racing heart, nervous, anxious, pain in my calves, high blood pressure, headaches, Im irritable and not the person inside that I used to be before I started on Singulair and Advair 3 months ago. I want to go the holistic route and rid my body of these toxins. Can someone please give me a reference, a book or something to help me find alternatives!!

Last February, which is Mountain Cedar Season in Texas, my doctor put me on Singulair. All was well for a couple of weeks and then I started experiencing an inability to focus for long periods of time, was anxious, nervous, depressed, and passed out one evening while in a heated discussion with my son. I was also eperiencing rapid and at times hard heart beat, and while at a clinic for a leg injury, had high blood pressure (which has never been a problem).

Fortunately, I found this website and read another persons posting that was experiencing most of my symtpons. I immediately went of the singulair and within a few weeks was back to my normal self.

After five days my hot flushes returned, ringing ears, strange morbid mood, but the big clincher was the MONSTER headaches like a 'high blood pressure head ache', would stretch in bed when moving especially around 4-5am and wham the headache would pound/bound. Headache would calm down if I got up and had coffee. After 4 days I started to get worried and stopped Singulair after 5th 10mg dose, and now two days later headache, jaw pain, pain in upper shoulder muscles and at C-7 spinal vertabrae are all gone and I'm not so over whelmed or dizzy.
What was good? I did not have to use my inhaler for those days, but this certainly is not a 'magic bullet' if you suffer with symptoms that are so dramatic and scary!
Do they prescribe too high a dose?, should it be every other day or once a week? Are they really certain about interaction with other medications and vitamins etc?
I do not think I will try it again, I felt like my headache was on the verge of a CVA!
From a Canadian who was given a prescription i now cannot use.......