Singulair and medication

It has been interesting for me to read this posts. I have been wondering about the long term side affects to singulair- mostly because my 11 year old has been on Singulair for several years now. We spent many of nights in the ER for asthma when he was little and no Dr. did testing. When he was 5 his pediatrician tested him for allergies and put him on Singulair. We have had a great experience with it. I find it interesting that many of the health issues on here- joint pains, bouts of depression, weight gain...I personally experience all of them and i am not on any medication. My 11 year old does not experience any of the mentioned side affects. I wanted to find out long term side affects for my own personal knowledge. Prior to Singulair, he was on Zyrtec which was not a good fit.

My 10 yr old son has been on this medication for 3 months - it helped his symptoms right away. Just in the past week we had a couple days without it when we ran out. He started back up again and has had bad nightmares twice this week and told me that he doesn't sleep well at night. My question is - are their other drugs out there that work as well as this one that do NOT have these side affects? Zyrtec just made him tired.

I recently stopped using singular as a medication. I experienced an extreme episode of depression. Has anyone else experienced this side effect and to what extreme?

My daughter was put on Singulair 2 weeks ago after discovering she is allergic to 4 kinds of trees that are pollinating in the fall and a certain mold that grows in corn and bean fields. Everything was going well until she got an ear infection and was put on the antibiotic amoxicillin which she has used off and on when she's had ear infections over the years. She then broke out in the hives. She has never had the hives before. I'm guessing it could be a combination of the two drugs. Why aren't doctors aware of this before prescribing this medication?

I am 44 years old and have been taking singulair for about 4 years. 3 months ago I started experiencing crushing chest pain, tingling in my lower limbs, and felt very stressed out. I went to the ER last Thursday and was checked out for angina - the ER doctor told me I was suffering from chronic severe anxiety. I took Ativan for 4 days and felt better, but now the drigs are gone and I again having constant chest pain. In doing some research I found that anxiety can be caused by imbalance in adrenaline, and so started looking online to see if any of the allergy/asthma meds I am taking (adviar, singulair, allegra) can affect adrenaline. That';s when I found this website. Although i find the testimony compelling, I wish more folks would have poted about how their symptoms improved (or didn't) AFTER discontinuing singulair. Also I've noticed many of the stories are about children not adults; many people are taking more than one med for asthma, and most people's symptoms seem to come on right away whereas I have been taking sinulair for years and only recently have anxiety. I will stop singulair tonight and see what happens, but am wondering if anyone has come across further research that correlates singiulair with anxiety? My job life is really peaceful, I am otherwise happy, work can get hectic but that's true of any job, and I am out of ideas as to why suddenly at age 44, when I eat right and exercise - why get anxiety? Thanks for the posts, I'll try to remember to follow up after I am off Singulair for a few weeks.

My nine year old started taking this horrible drug less than a month ago. Since then, he has has horrible mood swings, screaming fits, told us he hates us, emotional breakdowns and even threatened to kill himself. He is a bright, intelligent, active and usually a normal nine year old. Over the past month he has been in a physical fight at school where he punched a kid for telling him he was annoying. He has also been in a ton of trouble at school which is not like him. I was so worried until today. My Mom recommended that I check the side effects of his asthma medication. I am astounded and angry at what I am reading. His doctor is supposed to have his best interest in mind and we trusted her. She was the attending physician at a hospital where we live. My nine year old was hospitalized with asthma. Although his asthma needs to be controlled, not at his emotional expense. There has to be a better way...

Thank you everyone for your experiences w/ Singulair. I just took my son (11years) to the doctor today for his allergies and asked about a possible new medication because Zrytec has not been working all that great for him. Well, he gave me samples of Singulair and my son took his first and LAST dose today. He doesn't have asthma but suffers from airborne allergies which are a huge problem here in Texas. I am just going to give him Claritin or another over-the-counter allergy medication. Thank you so much everyone! Oh! With one pill, my son's stomach was really hurting him....never again Singulair!!

I have an 8 yr old son that has allergies and asthma. The allergist recently prescribed Singulair which my son had taken when he was 5. We took him off of it back then due to anger outbursts. By the way, the Dr. said that was not a side effect, but nonetheless the issues subsided. When it was recently added back to his medication list, within 3 days he had anaphylactic type episodes 2 days in a row. The attack started with stomach pains, chest pains and then he couldn't breath AT ALL and turned blue! There was no time to call 911 so I gave him an Epi Pen. The attacks are still occurring yet milder and all his Dr.'s swear by Singulair and think I am crazy. I took him off Singulair immediately and we are still waiting for it to leave his system. I think that is why the recent episodes have been milder. He has been tested for all sorts of allergens which he did not come in to contact with prior to the anaphylactic events. We still have no answers and if I hear one more Dr. talk about how great Singulair is, I am going to freak out!! To heck with these drug companies and doctor's who get perks for prescribing medications without informing us of side effects.

i am 41 and i had been taking Singulair off and on for a few years. i had noticed that something was different about me but never related it to the medication. i always had a sinus infection every year, i stated having headaches and really depressed and didn't understand why. i stopped taking the medication and went and got me some Zyrtec and i have been doing just fine.

Our son, who is now 6 was prescribed Singulair at the age of 3 due to asthma/allergies. He was prescribed this by an ENT/Allergist. I thought our sons mood swings were due to the fact that we were expecting another child. He was always so happy/loving and playful. When the baby arrived 2 months later, his behavior worsened. Again, I put it on the new baby sister in the house. His moods/anger/outbursts increased. He hit, threw things etc. I told the doc about this and he said it was due to his enlarged tonsils, and they were then removed. Well needless to say, his behavior did not change because he was still on the Singulair. I mentioned the possible side effects to his pediatrician and she said it was a possibility, but to keep him on it because he needed it. Well, 3 years later, in March of this year I took him to an allergist that I had seen years ago. He immediately took him off the singulair (and all inhalers). His moods seemed to brighten a bit, but not they are worsening again. Is it possible for the Singulair to have long term damaging effects. I understand kids have tantrums, etc. Kids are kids, I get that. But he punches, kicks, screams, cries etc. My husband are at a loss. We don't know what to do. Oh, and he is now on Veramyst as needed (march-june, Aug-Oct.). Has anyone else experienced long term effects due to Singulair?

Hi, my name is M. I just got up with my son Jo Jo as usual about 2:00 pm. Nightmares--severe. Leg and foot pain. In fact I thought he was having restless leg syndrome and the doctors had him tested for seizures. His moods are horrible. Tantrums have been out of this world. After two years of sleep deprivation for both of us, something said look at side effects of Singulair. Actually, I believe that something was God because as I massaged my son's legs I prayed. I came to the computer, found his website and saw my son's symptoms written out clear as day. We are done with Singulair. Forever. I just walked back to the room and apologized to my sleeping son. I can not tell how horrible I feel as a parent for my child to have suffered so. I also can not begin to describe the relief I feel right now. My son has enough problems without medication causing him to suffer. I have suffered as well. As a single parent I have to work but I am often sleepwalking through my days. Thank God for all of you who posted. You have saved my son's health and quality of life. And mine. Thank God!

My son was put onto 4mg Singulair when he was three years old. He is now six years old. For the past three years he has been a very quiet child, to the point that people commented on how shy and withdrawn he was. He never wanted to go anywhere or do anything. His favorite activity was lying on the couch watching tv. He was always thirsty, frequently went to the toilet,often complained of a sore stomach & had several bowel movements every day, did not sleep well at night, was often grumpy, could not concentrate for very long, was frequently ill with cold-like symptoms and did not really like you to touch/hug him. At the beginning of the year he was diagnosed by an occupational therapist as having low muscle tone. In March of this year, his pediatrician increased his singulair to 5mg. He began having terrible pains in his legs, to the point that he would cry and be unable to walk to the toilet at night. I took him to my GP who did every blood test under the sun and x rays of his pelvis and legs. He could find nothing wrong. The only thing that had changed was the increase in Singulair. I had a look on the internet and found this website. I immediately decreased his dose to 1/2 a tablet for a week and then 1/4 tablet for a week before taking him completely off it. Within a few days our whole family and his teacher and therapist noticed a huge change in his personality! He talks all the time now, he laughs a lot, he loves playing outside and has lots of energy. He teacher says he is much more receptive at school. His occupational therapist says his muscle tone has improved. He has not had one single leg pain since coming off the medication. He is sleeping well at night, his stomach is never sore and he has not been sick at all. Not even one little sniffle!! Best of all he is a normal, affectionate little boy. I feel very angry with the manufacturers of Singulair and with his pediatrician, it feels as though my son has lost three years of being a child. He felt terrible all the time and I had no idea! I have told everyone I know who has a child on singulair to look at the side effects.

Just finished reading the posts and I feel like it was written about my 8 year old. I never connected the two issues of anxiety, frustration doing schoolwork, quick to tears and leg pains. I kept telling them they were growing pains. Last night he called me from his father's and said he has suicidal thoughts... not that he wanted to kill himself, just couldn't stop thinking about it... good lord. After months of dealing with him not wanting to go to bed and not feeling safe we have an answer. I told my ex husband to stop the medication today, I will post back after a few weeks to update the progress. I usually never post randomly on the internet, but this site might have just saved my son from emotional turmoil!

My name is Katie, I am 31 years old. I have been suffering with what doctors call Chronic Idiopathic urticaria for 16 years now. I was prescribed Zyrtec 14 years ago and remained hive free until I had my first son. After a complicated pregnancy and emergency delivery the hives returned full force. The doctor prescribed Singulair in addition to the Zyrtec.

The hives went away; however, I have so many other problems now. I have been seeing a specialist thinking I have lupus or some other disorder, but all my tests are normal. It wasn't until I had my singulair refilled yesterday that I realized instead of symptoms, what I am experiencing may be side effects.

-- I have gained 60 lbs.
-- I have horrible headaches almost daily
-- I am so tired that when I am not working it is impossible to even make myself leave the house
-- I have taken myself to the hospital 3 times thinking I was having a heart attack and told I suffer from acid reflux
-- I have so much pain in my legs/feet/back that I can hardly walk
-- My hands and feet like to go numb for no apparent reason
-- I am always anxious & moody.
-- Can't sleep
-- Clearly I am not myself. Lately, I have felt the quality of life I am leading is horrible.

Wouldn't it be something that I have spent all this time & money trying to figure out what else is wrong with me when it is the medicine I thought was keeping me well really making me sick. Why do the finest doctors not realize when your symptoms are actually side effects?

I am pretty out raged at this point. I would take myself off this medication today if only I knew how to control the edema.

Our 11 yr. old daughter was prescribed with Singulair. She started taking it today with much hesitation from her parents. She was on this medication years ago for her mild asthma, but her mood swings/depression were terrible. We have a new ENT now and he promises that the mood swings/depressions are NONSENSE and that these rumors were put to rest years ago. We will be watching her side effects closely, but my question is if Singulair helps so much, what other medication can someone take that does not have these side effects? What is the alternative? She is also going to see a pediatric pulmonologist in August.

We put our 3 year old son on Singulair 2 weeks ago for allergies. It seemed to be helping him. He is a very mild mannered kid that has never been an aggressive child and never bites or hits. In the last 4 days his mood has changed, and he has bitten 2 kids at school, hit one kid, bit and hit his grandpa, has been waking up with nightmares and has been very clingy to me (his mom). After reading the side effects of Singulair last night we contacted the pharmacist and told him what has happened and he told us to take him off the Singulair immediately and contact our Pediatrician. I am waiting for a phone call back now. I am saddened that a medication for Allergies can cause such a personality change.

My eight year old son was diagnosed with mild asthma by our GP and was taking Ventolin for a persistent cough. When this didn't relieve the cough the doctor prescribed Singulair. He started the Singulair in March 2009 and within 2 months we realized that his personality had dramatically changed. It has taken us a while to figure out what was going on because eight year old boys are starting to assert themselves more and I think the side effects have been escalating over the last month. He was angry most of the time, very hateful towards his siblings, saying very dark, nasty, hurtful things. He argued every time we asked him to do something and would snap into a screaming inconsolable emotional wreck at the drop of a hat many times a day over trivial or imagined problems. He was having nightmares and bursts of hyperactivity that were overwhelming. He told us he felt frustrated all the time and hated everything. When we tried to calm him he was unreachable. Just yesterday he had his fist clenched and pulled back ready to punch me when I was trying to help him with a computer problem. He was shaking and his face was contorted with rage and he just wasn't my little boy anymore.
It has been devastating for our family and we were ready to take him to a psychologist. He is normally an incredibly considerate, perceptive, loving child, highly intelligent, helpful and fun loving with a great sense of humor.
He has also complained of leg pains and has been wetting the bed again. It was only yesterday that I began reading about other people's side effects and have taken him off Singulair as of last night. Whilst he has still been argumentative today already the aggressive intensity seems to be easing.
I am absolutely mortified that I allowed this to happen to my son and my family and I am so grateful to others for sharing their experiences.
We still need to address his asthma and will make an appointment with a specialist next week, but given his asthma is so mild he should not have ever had to suffer these side effects.
I only hope now that he has not sustained any long term effects and that his younger brother has not been scarred by the truly horrible things that my son has said to him.

I have no idea what most of you are saying. My son has cronic severe asthma and there have been times where he has been close to dying. He is 8 yrs old and been through a lot more than most people have been their entire lives. He has been on singulair for about 6 or 7 yrs now and he hasn't any problems with side effects that any of you are talking about. Before he was put on singulair controlling his asthma was almost impossible. For the parents who have not given ao have just stop giving their children their medication just like that. You should talk to you doctors because I know first hand how dangerous asthma can be. If any parent has ever had to rush their child to the ER and then you child was put into the icu for weeks at a time. You will think you lucky stars there is a medicine like singulair out there. Thank You for letting me share my story.

I am absolutely ecstatic to have found this webpage, although I feel like I have lost YEARS of my life to this drug. After reading the online article from The Plain Dealer (newspaper), my mom urged me to stop taking this medication.

I am 25 years old and have been on this medication since I was 12 years old. Over the years I have had NUMEROUS problems including migraines, chronic vertigo, anxiety, severe insomnia, irritability, urticaria, hives, eczema, and all sorts of GI issues ranging from GERD to diarrhea.

I have seen an allergist, a neurologist, a GI specialist, a family physician, a physical therapist (for the vertigo) and have had countless medical procedures ranging from MRI's to endoscopies.

I am horrified that ALL of these problems have stemmed from this one drug. I will NOT be taking my prescribed dosage before bed tonight and will be calling my allergist in the morning to inform them that I am going to quit taking Singular.

Thank you all for your support and for sharing your stories!

My daughter is a 4 year old child started on Singulair after she was unable to tolerate Zyrtec. For the first few days her allergies seemed better and we were encouraged by her improved allergy symptoms (allergies to poplar trees, grass, and lambs weed manifest as headaches, itching (usually of the extremities), and stomach aches). However, after 2 days her behavior became increasingly erratic. She was emotional, tantrum prone, irritable, anxious, and had difficulty sleeping although she appeared and said she was exhausted/tired. After several weeks on Singulair, we stopped the medication to determine if it was causing the behavioral and sleep problems. The symptoms stopped after discontinuing Singulair and she went back to her usual happy, well behaved self. After being off of it for several weeks we decided to try it again due to her allergies flaring up and wanting to be sure it was the Singulair causing the behavioral problems (because for all of its negatives, the greatest positive about Singulair is that it definitely helps her allergy symptoms). Unfortunately, the irritability, anxiousness, tiredness, tantrums and insomnia returned. We tried giving it to her at different times during the day but the symptoms were still present (although she slept a little better when we gave it to her in the morning). We also tried cutting the dose in half and giving it to her around noon. Decreasing the dose did help with the symptoms to some degree, but they were still bad enough to outweigh the benefits of taking the drug. As a nurse, I love Singulair for the relief it provides allergy sufferers...unfortunately for my daughter, the side effects outweigh the benefits. Given the rates of ADD, ADHD, and other behavioral problems diagnosed in children nowadays, I thought it pertinent to report these symptoms present in my daughter that are solely caused taking this medication.

My name is Eric, I am 16 years old, I have been taking singulair for about 8 years I think, I was never one for having bad dreams, but that all changed. (right now) I searched on google "Singuliar bad medicine" and I found this forum. I am very happy to know that Singulair could be the reason why I frequently have dreams of myself being killed or people I am close to dying.

When I grew older, I realized that the dreams I had did not match up with any thoughts I had the previous days, this is when I began experimenting with Singulair. I would take it as prescribed, then not take it for X amount of days and would see what happened. After not taking it for 2 days in a row, I slept soundly through the nights and had no dreams at all.

I tell you this now, in hopes that it's not too late.. If you or someone you know takes Singulair, GET RID OF IT. The bad dreams I had were so terrible that often times I would lay in bed and not fall asleep for many hours because I was so petrified of what I might dream about. The dreams I had would seem never ending, and anyone who knows what I am talking about understands that having a long dream can be very painful (I have felt the greatest of physical pain, this mental agony is far beyond anything I could have ever imagined). These dreams still haunt me today and not only that, but they have changed me as a person. I would wake up sometimes from a spaz attack, (arm thrust, kicking motion, because the dreams were so real). If you think mentally you are able to handle this, then continue taking singulair it works miracles, but I promise you the pain will only get worse and worse, thank you for your time, and please talk to me if you have questions, I would love to help.

I stopped taking singular, I never fall asleep in school anymore, my grades skyrocketed. I only have irritated eyes from not taking it, and sadly they hurt ALL THE TIME.

I am so glad to have found this site. We are taking my 2 1/2 year old son off Singulair immediately. He has been experiencing a rash on and around his ears, around his hairline, back of his neck and shoulders, down his arms to his wrists and on his face and below his chin - almost everywhere above the neckline. At first we thought it was a reaction Singulair and took him off the medication. When it didn't subside, we took him to his pediatrician's and they told us it was a heat rash due to a reaction to sunscreen and sweat. Since I have had that reaction myself, we agreed with the doctor's diagnosis. We restarted him on Singulair and the rash only got worse. We've taken him off the Singulair and will be contacting his allergy/asthma doctor immediately about this reaction. We are not sure if he has experienced other side effects - we have seen an increase in him crying when he goes down for bed and wanting to snuggle, as well as not wanting to be touched on the legs (not sure if that's due to his scraped knees or not). Unfortunately, it's difficult to get a 2 1/2 year old to tell you exactly where it hurts.
Thanks for the information - we now know that we were correct in the beginning and that our son does not have to go through this any longer and can enjoy his summer.

My husband has been on Singulair for ten years now. It was a miracle drug for us as his asthma and allergies were ruining his quality of life. Little did I know that the Singulair would have such drastic effects as well. He is a police officer who has been through some traumatic events in his career. I attributed his irritability, depression, anger, severe nightmares, heartburn, weight gain, and puffy swollen eyes to post traumatic stress disorder. He stopped taking the medication about two weeks ago after his prescription ran out and he saw the FDA report. He is once again the man I fell in love with. Now I know what has been causing all of the changes in him, and we have decided he will never take Singulair again.

My 13 year old daughter has been taking singulair for 8 months, and started suffering from severe depression 6 months ago. We intervened and prevented her from committing suicide, but barely. We never correlated it with the Singulair until a visit with her pediatrician today. I am so sad I want to cry. I am the one that suggested to her asthma specialist that she be put on Singulair. I am so fortunate her pediatrician caught this. We couldn't figure out why her personality suddenly changed.

I am so thankful that our MANY voices are finally being heard I am grateful that the FDA is finally forcing MERCK to add a warning to its label, but we must still keep fighting until there is a blackbox warning on this medication. My daughter committed suicide after three years of hell on this medication. The world has lost a beautiful, fun, and highly intelligent young woman because MERCK is so concerned about its billions of dollars in sales from Singulair.

If you have had any side effects PLEASE REPORT TO THE FDA! It is up to us to make them aware of how devastating this medication can be.

I am 40 years old and recently went to my medical facility as I have had a "viral" ear infection for almost a year now, and it is concerning me. I do not take medication typically. My new primary care provider recommended I try Singulair. So far I have taken three doses over three nights. The first night was horrifying, the dreams I had were so scary, and they were tied into reality which was even stranger as the drug also makes you wake up often, then when you fall back asleep your awake time ties into your dreams. I woke up in a numb state. Since then, I also have been extremely agitated, dizzy, mouth sores, acne, fuzzy thinking, light headed and severe fatigue and body aches. Thank goodness I checked out this webpage, as I too will stop taking this drug. I find it very disappointing, how are we suppose to be able to trust our medical professionals to help us with one of our most prized possessions, our bodies, when we are given something to clear up an ear infection only to have it affect numerous other aspects of our lives to such a serious degree with no mention from our medical professionals. This is ridiculous. I guess I'll live with the viral ear infection.......

Took it for a week. During the time I developed a sinus headache that would not go away. Sinus pressure, pain, congestion. Today had rapid heart palpitations and anxiety. I called my doctor and he said to stop taking it. I haven't felt like this since before I started taking Wellbutrin. I wonder if it interferes with it. I've read others who take Wellbutrin and after taking Singulair started having depression and anxiety. My boyfriend told me to stop taking it. I'm glad he did! He said when he took it, all his friends noticed major personality changes. It took it 2x/day for 3 months!

Doctors can be quacks and will throw any script your way. Be conscious of whats being given to you and if your Doctor really listened to your symptoms.

My son was on singular about 4 years ago and i thought i noticed irratability, lack of interest and depression, but he was only 4 1/2 at that time and i couldn't tell. It did relieve his allergy symptoms. We took him off at that time. Now, again put him back on it this past year (he is now 9 years old) and i see again a lack of interest, depression, mood swings, irritability and his teacher just told us that as this year has increased he has changed in his school work as well. As of last night we will be taking him off of this medication for good and will continue to manage his seasonal allergies with an emergency inhaler and zyrtec/claritin type meds. He is sluggish on the baseball field and not as alert (he unusually a natural athlete!) and he seems depressed and withdrawn - which is not his personality. I thought maybe because he was getting older he was changing but now I realize it is again the medication. It is okay for a week or two to get through a cold or high allergy week, but long term I will not have him on this any longer and wish that Merck would make the long term effects clearer to the doctors, patients and public in general. We are fortunate that his allergy symptoms are not as severe as other children and we can go lightly on medications.

My 4 year old Son has had diarrhea from about the last 4 weeks... we have started some tests for Celiac disease but today it only occurred to me today that he has been on Singulair for about that time frame... after all the worry and reading these other storied Im even more convinced that it maybe the Singulair..
Im just hoping that someone might read this sometime today or the next couple of days to tell me if when they come off the singulair how long did it take for the diarrhea to pass. My son had is last tablet 2 nights ago ( so he has only been off it so far for one night. But he still has the diarrhea.. should it have started to come out of his system already.

I am 39 years old and very active. I have been on Singulair for about 2 years now. I did not think I had any problems while on the medication because it did help my breathing. I am now on an antidepressant (Lexapro)which I began about a year after I began the singulair. My depression however started almost a year before I actually got on the Lexapro. I had alot going on in my life so I just equated my depression to that. However I am realizing now that maybe the singulair triggered my depression. I ran out of singulair two days ago and am experiencing withdrawal symptoms, extreme tiredness, stuffy head, and I had heart palpitations last night, which I have never had. The withdrawal symptoms are why I began researching the medication because I couldn't understand how being off of it for such a short time could cause such an effect. I was on Singulair once before about 6 years ago before I retired from the military while I was at Ft Hood before I deployed to Iraq. By the time I left Iraq I was on multiple medications, Singulair, Claritin, Advair, Emergency Inhaler, When I arrived in Iraq I became ill and listed my medications. They were in shock and took me off everything except Claritin and I was fine. It wasn't until I returned home I began the Singulair again. (Why? I guess I never equated it to causing my other issues until now), I am also taking Zyzal and Lexapro. I see now that every time I take the Singulair it leads to additional medications to other things. I am going to stay off of it and hopefully be able to wean myself off of the Lexapro as a result. Unfortunately I probably will still need to take an allergy medicine. Thanks everyone for posting this useful information. I have two kids 6yrs and 12yrs and I know now that they will never take this medication. They have allergies like me so it is very probable that eventually it would have been mentioned. The allergist/asthma doctor is adamant the 12 year old has asthma but I never gave him the advair that he wanted him to take because I did have side effects from that medication that I did recognize myself and my son is the fastest runner on his select soccer team and extremely athletic without it, no emergency inhaler needed or anything.

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

I took Singulair for about two years. I had developed these now known to be side effects but at the time nobody including the FDA was either aware or honest about the aggression, agitation and other side effects. I assumed this was all due to stress in my life and since it came on so gradually I did not put 2 and 2 together that it was the medication. I lived for two years being an irritable stressed out pain in the you know what struggling with these major aggressive compulsions. Then I saw a story on the news that the FDA was issuing this new warning on Singulair about the aggressive, anxiety and suicidal side effects of this drug. I stopped taking it that day. Luckily my asthma had been fairly well under control, I noticed no increase in asthma symptoms. What I did notice was I stopped being irritable and constantly annoyed and angry within a few days. I am back to being a mellow person, no problems since I quit this drug. I am horrified they are giving this to children. Both doctors and pharmacists should be warning people UP FRONT of this risk.

I've been on Singulair for a few weeks now and just put 2 and 2 together. Since starting this medication my nighttime asthma has improved but I have been very irritable. I have always been a stay at home mom and wouldn't have it any other way but lately I can't stand my children or my husband. They have been driving me crazy. Every little thing they do makes me want to scream. I just want to get out of the house. My husband also tells me I'm losing my mind. He says he has told me things and I have no recollection. I am currently breastfeeding my 10.5 month old who has also been very cranky lately. My 4 year old started Singulair around the same time as me and has been whinny all day and cries a lot. We are both stopping this medication today. I wish I had researched it before we started it.

I've been on Singulair 10mg tablets for only 4 days to alleviate seasonal allergies and have been suffering from very bad cramping in my feet, legs, hands, arms and upper body. Additionally I have experienced what feels like bloating and a hardening of the stomach area. On top of all this I've had the craziest dreams!

The upside is my allergies have been relieved somewhat, but these side effects are certainly not worth this additional pain and anxiety I've been suffering. Further reading on Singulair, including this forum, Wikipedia, and other places has left me convinced that this is not a safe medication to be taking (look up churg-strauss syndrome for example) and I will be discontinuing it immediately.

I'm quite angry that doctors are prescribing such a thing when a simple antihistamine would suffice. This also cost me €60 for a 28 day supply.

Consumer Medication Information (CMI) distributed by pharmacies with prescriptions is NOT regulated by the FDA and may not contain a complete list of side effects from the medication's FDA approved label.

CMI is usually stapled to the prescription bag or inside it and is often produced by private companies that provide this information to pharmacies. It is different than a medication guide or patient package insert, which are FDA approved, published by drug manufacturers, and and required to be distributed with certain medications.

You can get accurate medication side effect information from the United States National Library of Medicine's DailyMed website.

I have been taking Singulair since November 08. Over the six months I noticed that I was suffering from depression and increased anxiety, plus an irregular heart rhythm. I experienced nightmares on an almost nightly basis. I have since stopped the medication - the nightmares have gone, the depression and anxiety improve everyday. Hopefully, this will also resolve the heart irregularities.

Tremendous weight gain almost instantly from age 7 to now at age 8-1/2 . When my grandson started this medication we noticed the weight gain. The doctor assured us it had nothing to do with the Singular. We looked on line for information, but could find nothing about weight gain as a side effect. At last it has surfaced that children taking the Singular are also having a weight gain problem. We intend to stop this medication immediately. This is intended for the health and well being of children.

Wow. I am surprised to see how many children are being put on this medication! I am surprised because the label on my bottle says specifically for adults 15 YEARS of age and older... As for my experience with Singulair, I have been taking this medication off and on for about a year now. I was put on it for severe allergies as everything else I tried did not work for me. (Claritin, Allegra, Flonase, Veramyst, etc) The first month or so on Singular I noticed that I would get severe headaches in the afternoon about the same time everyday. I would have to take aspirin just to make it through the every workday. These headaches eventually tapered off even though I will occasionally get a headache. The Singulair definitely helped me with my allergy symptoms and when I would go off, I would usually end up with a cold or sinusitis.

Last Tuesday, my son was prescribed Singulair by our pediatrician. He was also prescribed Pulmicort by nebulizer at the same time. Within a couple of days, I was noticing a dramatic change in his personality. He's only 21 months old and normally a very happy, lovable, easygoing little boy. He did a complete 360. By Friday, I had to take a day off from work, as I was too scared to send him to daycare. He took his last Singulair chewable tablet on Friday night. Saturday was his worst day by far. I was in shock by his behavior. He was extremely aggressive, punching and slapping anyone who came near him, he was throwing things, throwing himself into walls, etc, just completely out of control. I contemplated even taking him to the hospital, but then started doing some research online. I had my mother contact a pharmacist whom we trust, who advised for us to stop the Singulair, as if he was having any side effect, it would more than likely be from that. On Sunday, I started to see some changes in him. Yesterday he was getting back to normal. Today, he's that much better. We actually went back to the pediatrician this morning and I'm actually thinking of filing a formal complaint against the dr. as he basically swore up and down that his side effects weren't from the Singulair. Well as a parent, does anyone really think I'd want to put my child thru this?? It may be different if he had behavioral issues prior to this, but this came completely from left field. I am beyond upset right now, pissed off that this drug can be on the market. How many children have to be affected??? This is very scary to me. My son was only on Singulair 4 days, and I feel guilty and angry that he had to go through even that short period of time on the drug. And then to have a pediatrician basically discount me and say that it has nothing to do with singulair is a complete slap in the face! I won't stop speaking out against this drug and hopefully it will inform other parents of these harmful consequences!!!!

Hi,
My 5 year old son has been having similar problems. He was on Singulair on and off since 2006, throughout winter for his asthma and sporadically in the summer. His new pediatrician finally said to keep him on it everyday the beginning of 2009. The only reason I am here today is because I just filled a new prescription of Singulair and low and behold it had a new warning label none of the other bottles had, "Call Dr. if you experience mood changes, sadness, depression or fear." I quickly went online to read some reviews, to my horror I see hundreds of posts from other parents detailing my sons exact aggression/fear issues.

I have been having so many many problems at his school. I had to take him out of first Kindergarten because he hit the teacher a few times. In the new school he was doing ok but then it got worse, then better, then worse, then better again and so on. Maybe it was the breaks of singulair he would get. I had him meet with THREE different therapists for ADHD and they refused to conduct any further evaluations on him because they couldn't find what the problem was. The school even ordered an educational evaluation for him to see if there was a learning disability.

The teacher is always complaining that he's too distracted, doesn't sit still and is so aggressive. He is meeting all his benchmarks and is very bright but his social behavior is causing mayhem. At home his fear of things got out of control. He was scared of his lamp and would wake up screaming at the top of his lungs full of panic and fear because of the stupid lamp. He won't go to the restroom by himself because he's scared a monster would attack him etc. Since I started giving him the medication consistently everyday everything just got worse. He flips out at home, pushes hits and is snotty as all hell.

It makes me sad because I swear he tells me the same thing, "But mom I was trying so hard to be good and I couldn't. I was telling my brain to stop but it wouldn't listen. I don't know what happened." He would come home so sad, frustrated and upset. He had a few bouts of crying in the classroom too, lots of problems with aggression.

I've done the same thing, time outs, reward system, even made up "Jacob days" which were days we did whatever he wanted at home if he had a good week at school. NOTHING works..... I was at a loss until I read these reviews.

I am taking him off tonight and hope this is the end of all the aggression or at least helps a bit. I'm not going to say my son is 100%angel but he used to be much sweeter, calmer understanding and so on. I would just be happy if it helped a little. It's a shame because this medicine was helping with his asthma but at what cost. I will post an update and let you all know how it's going.

Oh I forgot to mention he has been in and out of the school nurses office this past month for stomach aches... he had a lot of stomach problems at home too. So I will see if that clears up too.

My son and daughter have taken Singulair off and on several times now. My son is on it again because his allergies are acting up because of volcanic fog (vog). Neither of my children have experienced any noticeable side effects from this drug. My daughter, in fact, had no reaction since Singulair doesn't work on all people. I think the fact their pediatrician only placed them on this drug when they needed it and monitored it closely (1 month at a time) may be why they never had any side effects. My son has never been on it for longer than 3 months at a time. My son has done well on this drug and it has amazed me how well it works on his allergies and wheezing.

Just because some people have bad reactions doesn't mean the drug needs to be pulled from the market. I certainly don't doubt that people have had bad side effects from this medication though. I am very sensitive to all kinds of medications, even natural herbs and medications that have been around for longer than I have been alive. By just giving me a higher dose of something, I can get numerous side effects like dizziness, mood swings, nausea, stomach problems, and one drug, Ambien, even damaged my sense of smell. My doctors are always giving me the lowest possible doses of medications, and sometimes I am given half of the lowest possible dose. Why? Because I have a sensitive system, and this may be the case with your children or with your own experience. As with any medication, you have to weigh the risks and benefits. Singulair has made a positive difference in my son's life and as long as he is only on it for short periods of times (usually during allergy and/or cold season), I will continue to let him take it.

In March I started having a lot of facial pain. Thought my allergies were getting worse. I went to an ENT specialist, had the whole workup (which they cannot still figure out my pain). Anyway, wanted me to start on Singular. I took 1 pill before I went to bed this last weekend. I started feeling dizzy and having violent thoughts. Also I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I still felt "weird" the next day. At first I thought this was a fluke, now I am pretty sure it was the Singular. I don't want to chance taking it again. I am a very heavy sleeper and do not have any problems falling asleep. The anxious feeling and strange thoughts were scary. I am not going to take this medication again. I am going to file a report with the FDA for the side effects I experienced. I am convinced they would have gotten much worse like the other people have expressed if I had continued taking it.

I started taking Singulair 6 months ago. My allergies even with medication and immunotherapy were becoming unmanageable. My larynx would swell up and close my throat and make breathing difficult. I had trouble breathing at night laying down to sleep, my voice was hoarse most of the time. Within 2 days after starting Singulair, those symptoms totally disappeared. I thought it was the answer I had been looking for. I've had a lot real problems in the past few months with crying and sadness, but with my Mom in hospice with Alzheimer for 14 years, and my father breaking both hips last year, my mother-in-law with vascular dementia, and an insulin defendant diabetic, and losing my job due to outsourcing, and other stressors in my life, but II thought my sadness was all of this stress. Counseling wasn't really helping and I've got a new counselor now. In the past couple of months, my mental state has become more and more fragile; I have times that I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in a couple of months or just go somewhere and be left alone. I am angered easily; I have always been happy and easy-going. I cry daily and don't get out much, and I'm afraid of the unknown now. I feel like my self-esteem is in the toilet.

Tonight I have stopped the Singulair. I'm afraid because I know the allergy problems will return, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to manage them somehow. I have 'a lot on my plate' right now, but at least if I stop the Singulair and I feel better mentally I'll know it was the drug and not my life.

To All...

I am an anchor and the Medical Specialist for the CBS station in Louisville, KY. I have read these compelling and shocking accounts of the side affects with Singular. I have also been in contact with some pediatricians here in our area. I am doing a special report on this subject, the many accounts of side effects, and whats being done about it. I need your help. Are there any families who would be willing to tell their stories on camera? This is not to embarrass anyone, but to inform and raise important question for the public at large and the medical community. I am looking for families in the Greater Louisville,southern Indiana, central Indiana or even central Kentucky area. If you're nearby those areas, we are willing to travel to get your story. If you are interested, please contact me. My original post was deleted because I had my personal information on it. However, I will send more information in my reply to my own post. So again, if you are interested in telling your story, please look for that reply. I look forward to hearing from you.

I was given Singulair about three months ago. The first few months I hadn't noticed anything extreme as far as side affects. However gradually my moods began to change. I became sullen and agitated at first. I thought perhaps I was coming down with something. Then as time went on I began to hate life. Everything was irritating me. I had unusual outbursts. I began to feel as if I just didn't want to live anymore, but really didn't have any type of justified reason. I even had begun planning things, what I'd leave to my family, how I should go about it, etcetera. My husband even commented a few times that I just didn't seem like myself. I know he had no clue as to just how bad it had become. After an extreme outburst targeted toward my 6 year old grandson I knew something was NOT right. I took myself off the Singulair and am beginning to feel like my old self again. It may work fine for some, but for me, I'm afraid much longer and I may have truly ended my own life.


Good luck with your story.
Keep us posted!

i am really glad i found this site, and got to really understand what may be my problem. its the SINGULAIR, i really believe. i will share my story so no one has to go through what i have been going through. (i just stopped my medicine a day or two ago, so i will repost and see if i start seeing changes in my behavior) well first off i am 19, and i started taking singulair when i was a senior in high school, so about 2 years ago. i didn't see any noticeable changes for awhile, except for probably a year now, a little more or a little less. for this whole time, i have not been sleeping, i wake up 3-4 times a night, fully awake and can never fall back asleep for hours. its almost like my body tries shutting down, but my brain never does, i have the craziest dreams, most of them are me suffocating or not getting enough air, which are really scary. I have been having really bad anxiety, panic attacks, basically i have been just feeling like i am going to die every second of the day. the feeling of being trapt inside my own body. it seems like every month it just gets worse and worse. i cant focus, i don't go to school, i don't work, and i believe its from the side effects of this medicine. i also always feel so tired, and so weak, i cant even look through a clothes rack without my arm aching. i have been having a hard time breathing, which is odd seeing its supposed to help me breathe, i have been sick at least once a month, through this whole time i have been going to my Dr. at least twice a month or more, telling her my symptoms, i even went in their one day crying i was so scared. and she just kept telling me, its probably all in your head, this, that and the other. she even put me on probably 10 different medicines trying to see which one would help. and of course none of them helped anything. I started thinking, and feeling like i was going crazy, what was wrong with me? i wondered constantly. For a couple months now, i figured i had to take it into my own hands to figure out what was wrong, seeing this Dr. doesn't seem to understand me. I looked up every disease or problem imaginable, and had blood tests done, but every thing came back normal. i didn't understand what was going on, every month i just feel worse and worse, lately i have been telling my mom i just want to die, that i cant keep living my life this way, of course i would not do this for the fact that i couldn't do that to my mom or my little sister, or anyone, but it feels like it would be easier then dealing with everything i have been. along with everything else i was/am feeling, i also feel a lot of hate toward myself, i feel like i am not good at anything, and i feel very ugly, sometime i don't even want to leave my house, because i just feel disgusting. Finally, a couple days ago, my little sister which is 10 and really smart i may add, was watching TV and they happened to have a commercial for SINGULAIR. she told me that everything i have been saying that was wrong with me (she hears me complaining a lot about all my problems to my mom) were all the side effects from SINGULAIR. of course i wanted to know more about this even though i have taken this medicine for awhile without any of these problems, i started researching and realized that all of my symptoms happened to be the side effects from singulair. and then i started reading other peoples stories about it, and about linking it to suicides and everything. i told my mom and i told her i wanted to stop the medicine right away, at least just to see if this is what it was all along. i haven't taken it for 3 days now i believe, and i already see a difference, i actually get tired now instead of staying up reading till 5 in the morning, and i haven't been waking up at all during the night. i am pretty angry that my dr. couldn't figure this out, or at least maybe even think about it. for awhile i thought i was honestly going crazy, i lived in fear for so long that something was extremely wrong with me, that i haven't lived my life the way i should of, or wanted to. i never thought that it was just the EXTREME side effects of this medicine. i am so thankful for my little sister listening to all my complaints and all my anger toward myself, and actually putting it together that it would be my medicine that was supposed to make my asthma better. as i said its only been a couple days and i already feel better, i will repost to tell you if im back to my "normal" self after being off this medicine for a longer period of time. i feel so grateful for my little sister, who would have guessed she would tell me what a Dr. couldn't even think about. i really feel that if i get back to my normal self, i really have her to thank for saving my life. <3

My daughter has taking singular for about 3years. Her doctor put hersingular for allergies when she was five years old she is now 8 years old. There was no problem at firs.It took about 6 months before started seeing her change .She has a lot of hate toward her mother, sister, father.She has mood swings saying she hates us sometimes she wishes we were dead. She is all the time hitting her sister.We took her off of them for about a week and she changed toward everybody she was the best kid you could ask for, but her problems started with her allergies again so we had to put her back on them. We took her back to the doctor and they say there is no other allergy medicine that will work her. She has to be on something or she will run high fevers for weeks plus lots of nose problems and watery eyes. She has complains of a lot headaches more than any other kid would

I have been on Singulair longer than I can recall... at least 10 years, maybe longer. My 7 year old son has been on it since he was probably 12 months old. Neither one of us have had any problem reported here. No depression, no sleeplessness (until I weaned him from naps, he slept up to 13 hours a day), no leg cramps, nothing. We are two of the happiest, most well adjusted people you could know. And, best of all, we haven't had any asthma attacks. Bottom line, different drugs react differently in different people. Don't let the post here stop you from trying a medication that for some could mean the difference between life and death depending on how asthmatic they are. As with any drug recommended by your doctor, try it. If you experience adverse reactions, stop it ASAP. It's that simple.

My son used a nebulizer 2 to 4 times a day every day from the time he was one and a half years old. When he had just turned three his doctor prescribed Singulair. It was like a wonder drug for us! It took care of his asthma and we didn't have to use the nebulizer any more. He's been on it ever since -- he's 10 now -- he also takes zyrtec and has a rescue inhaler that he uses maybe once a week. About every other year he requires a course of steroids and a week of regular nebulizer use. Also, for the past year he has also required a daily inhaled steroid.
Now, about his mood issues. My son has always been sensitive and intense, moody. The first time I became alarmed was when he was 7, and he told me he wanted to burn his hands on the stove to punish himself for forgetting his homework. I consulted a psychologist who evaluated him and said he was not clinically depressed. Since then he has had periodic "dark" episodes -- especially in the winter. He has said he wants to die. He has had crying jags over things that are upsetting (loss of a pet was the worst) but it seems excessive for him to be saying he "just wants it all to end." He has told me that he is always unhappy and that he hates himself. He has also had problems with moody acting-out with friends. He will brood about hurt feelings until he loses his temper and screams at the friend. I have worked very hard with him on learning to manage his emotions. He hit a friend at school who was teasing him. He accepted his consequences willingly and willingly wrote letters of apology -- he told me he thinks he has anger problems and doesn't want to be this way. And his character is that he is a sweet, caring boy who can't stand to see anyone hurt, but also can't stand to be hurt.
A couple of years ago I asked his allergist if any of the meds he's on are linked with depression. He said no. We have a family history of depression, and I thought my son had gotten the worst combo of all the genes.
Recently, this all got to the point that I decided he needed to see a psychiatrist and quite possibly take medication for depression. Before I made the appointment he had a check-up with his allergist. Going down his list of meds the dr. said, recently Singulair has been linked with depression, have you noticed any moodiness or sadness? My first thought was that I have, but that he's always been like this. My 2nd thought was that he has been on Singulair for most of his life. I said yes and that I'd like to try him off of it.
My son resisted going off of it. He has had enough negative experiences with asthma that he didn't want to risk it, but I insisted. I didn't expect to see any change, but I thought it was important, as I was going to take him to a psychiatrist to consider depression meds, to see how he did off of it for a couple of months.
Less than a week later, he had been in a wonderful mood -- to the point of being silly and giddy all evening -- for 3 days in a row. The kind of mood that I don't see him in often, and when I do I think to myself, "he should be like this more often." One evening he even realized he had forgotten to bring home a homework assignment. I thought, "oh no, here we go, his evening is ruined." But he talked through his options with me, looked a little uncertain, and said, well, okay, I guess I'll have to tell my teacher I don't have it. I'll tell her I'll make it up at lunch if she wants me to. That was it! He didn't mention it again. I didn't say anything about his mood, because I really don't think I can know anything after just a few days -- it could be coincidental. The next day, he said to me that he thinks being off the Singulair is "working." He has now told me that a couple of more times.
I am tentative, but amazed. Even if my son does have a predisposition to be depressed, maybe the Singulair was making everything worse, and things really can improve for him. I am afraid to be to hopeful. At the same time, I feel guilty for giving this medicine to him for 7 years without a second thought.
As an aside, my son has periodically complained of leg pains, that I always told him were growing pains.
I would love any feedback that anyone can give me. So far (these two weeks), his asthma has been controlled with pulmacort, zyrtec and albuterol, so that aspect is okay.

I just came from my Dr. and he prescribed Singular for my allergies. He really convinced me to take it. So it's day 2 and I haven't taken it yet. I told my Dr. that the commercial on T.V. said a list of side effects that out weighed the symptoms of my allergies. This website has totally convinced me that I just threw away $135.00, cause I refuse to take a medication that has so many awful side effects. thanks for everyones input on this medication. and I hope for the best of luck with the people that are having such a difficult time with their medical problems.