Singulair and reply

Hey everyone ,The advocacy website is up and running for you to sign on. Please click on reply and you will see a link .Please take the time to view this site and sign the petition,this is how you can help and we appreciate all the help we can get. Kate Miller

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

POLL: If you or your child have been adversely affected by Singulair could you please reply to this and let me know what ethnicity you are and skin tone. (fair, med., dark, etc.) I'm interested in the demographics of this drugs effects.
Thank you!

Thanks for the update Kate,as we wait with interest in what Merck has to say,I hope it is not a repeat of the Lung Associations report.To review past clinical studies,i dont know feels crazy,to ignore post marketing reports,well ignorant.My fear is after making my report to the FDA,that was the end of it not one follow up for further information,not one question on how our recovery was continuing nothing.All my letters to my congressman not one reply,i did not ask for a reply,but if someone wrote to me as often as i write,i would at least want to rule out stalking.Clinical trials are what they are,they are for profit,and not the profit of the participant,but profit for the companies and clinics holding trials,this by itself is a conflict of interest.We must continue to demand change the very future of our children demands it.Those of us who have seen the ravages of this drug must still shout out till we are heard our experiences do count no matter what the out come of this investigation.Good luck to all keep fighting

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.

Hi to all,
I want to Thank all those who contacted me in regards to my request for help with the Media.I believe the reports are in now and the stories will be out soon.I am going to ask that if at all possible ,those that have contacted me wanting to come forward with your stories, let me keep your names for further reference if needed.If anyone does not want that, please reply and I will delete the information.I just cant thank all of you enough,you are helping many by coming forward with your stories.There is great power in numbers and every person counts that is willing to not lay down to this injustice done to our families.If you have a voice and use it, it is a tool to make a change.We all forget that years ago information was passed on by word of mouth,this maybe the only way this will get out until this investigation is over.Use every avenue possible and change will come.Thanks Again Kate and Dave M.

I have only been taking singulair for about a month. I have noticed that I have become more irritable, grouchy, hateful and just numb, not really wanting to be around anyone, not caring about anyone else's feelings much. I also noticed I have become extremely lethargic, to the point of falling asleep at work as well as heart palpitations and stomach pains. I just started new birth control pills so at first assumed they were causing these side effects, that is until I looked up the side effects of this drug! I have over half of the side effects so I stopped it immediately and can already tell a difference in my mood. I have to sons age 11 and 14, both who have asthma and allergies. The took this medication for a few years with no side effects but have not taken it for about a year now. My youngest son however, has been diagnosed with ADHA and ODD and possibly BiPolar disorder. As I read the other posts, I realize the description of how their children act while on this drug is exactly how my son acts. I wonder if there can be irreversible permanent damage from taking this medicine? He has been on a number of ADHD drugs, none have helped except to make him stop eating and lose weight and he is small for his age, so I have taken him off everything. Has anyone else out there experienced what could be permanent damage from this drug in their children? Even after being off the drug for a year or so? If it could make me miserable within a month, what can it do when one takes it for years? Its sometimes hard to tell the effects of medicine on small children. My son prob starting taking it around 4 yrs old and took it til he was about 8 or 9. Just wondering if anyone else out there has had this happen to them or their children.

I just started using Singulair a few days ago. I am 54 years old and just started coughing at night only. I would be fine during the day and then never failed, at night I started to cough keeping me awake. I was given antibiotics, narcotic cough syrups but it only helped temporarily and then I went back to coughing nights only again. So as I mentioned, I started taking Singulair a few days ago because my physician thinks I have developed allergies and Singulair is noted to help night coughs. It is helping my night coughs but I still cough a few times at night and now I cough quite a few times in the day when I never use to cough in the daytime. Wondering if Singulair is worth taking as the symptoms are becoming opposite? I hate taking drugs and don't know if I should find a safer alternative? Help, anyone? Thank you

Who administers this site? I posted a side effect last night after I registered and then this morning I got an email saying there was a reply to my posting and when I tried to log in, my account was inactive and my posting had been removed, as had the reply to my posting. I don't know if it is because I put a link the an online reporting tool where the FDA is compiling feedback from people/or their children who have experienced terrible side-effects. Here is the link again and I urge you all to report your cases: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/early_comm/montelukast.htm

My son is 3.5 and has been on Singular for 2 months and just like all of the other stories about the other young children posted here, he is a different kid after being on Singular. Last night was the first night I took him off of it. All of the side-effects that are mentioned here are the same ones my son is experiencing, nightmares (screaming in the night), hyper, aggressive, reliving injuries from days past, the day care telling me that they now have concerns about how different he has been lately and the even used the term "bad behavior". They said he is hyper, he screams, not listening, aggressive. He is a favorite at day care since he is so loving, polite and kind. I know all parents say that, but pretty much anyone who has met him compliments me on how well behaved he is. I am even nervous to have people over since he seems out of control and I have found myself ensuring people that he isn't normally like this. I have taken him off as of last night and I am hoping he will get back to his old happy-go-lucky self soon. Does anyone know how long it can take to get this poison out of their system? I pray that there are no permanent side-effects.

I am taking my son to our first face to face app tomorrow with the pulmo doctor,although this is our first app since the news broke,i have spoken to him on the phone a couple of times.Of course i am full of questions and fully intend to put him in the hot seat,It has been hard for me but i am sure now i can face him and not punch him in the nose.He is one of the top peds pulmo docs in the country So...........if you have any questions you want me to ask tomorrow just put in reply and i will ask.i will post his response.

Hi Everyone,
I just spoke to Sarah Sellers from the FDA ,she seems to be working hard on the review of Singulair.She has received a lot of good information from all who contacted her.She now needs reports on completed suicides or thoughts and attempts, to further her investigation.The email address is sarah.sellers@fda.hhs.gov Please if this drug has had these effects on you or a family member report this as promptly as possible.Thank You Kate Miller

I am posting an email address for people that have stopped dispensing this drug and see the symptoms of the side effects disappear.Please tell all who have seen a change in their child or loved one to email this woman.I met with Dr.Sarah Sellers and other members from the FDA in Washington DC she is in charge of Safety Review in the office of Surveillance and Epidemiology.This is critical in the investigation into SINGULAIR .Everyone wants to help and this is how to begin.The email is sarah.sellers@fda.hhs.gov Our Congresswoman has requested the TV advertisement for SINGULAIR to be changed,they are stating mild side effects and that is not known to be true at this time.I am reaching out to all of you who have posted and that know anyone who has ,to please do this along with filing on ******.We have to work within the guidelines of the system,this will certainly help the investigation to be more accurate.My husband and I are in this to help all the families that have suffered so greatly,take this opportunity to help also.Thank You in advance Kate and David M.

I just came back home from the dr. We made some tests and my 5 years old daughter is allergic to house dust mites and has beeing diagnosticated with athopic asthma. The dr. prescribed Singulair. Now, after reading all the posts, I freaked out and I have not idea what to do. I am really sorry I did't ask about side effect, but I considered, her beeing a dr, knows better than me. My thought now is: I'm not going to give my daughter Singulair.

I noticed a lot of postings about weight gain on Singulair, which is nowhere listed by Merck as a possible side effect. My 15 y.o. daughter experienced sudden weight gain at the age of 9 when she was actually underweight (BMI went from 17 to 21). To make a long story short, after being off Singulair for over a year, she is now over-weight, and diet/exercise have never made a big difference (gymnastics, swim team, figure skating, trampoline, etc.) Extensive labwork is always normal & there is no family history of obesity. It's a shame the quality of life of a child is RUINED by a drug that is deemed to have "no side effects", and the many drs. & specialists out there take it very lightly. We continually worry about our daughter's self-esteem, risk of diabetes, and other complications from weight gain which is not hereditary and goes on unexplained by the drug co. Reversing this weight gain has been nearly impossible. Everytime I hear a news report about our children being overweight and obese, it makes me angry because I think about the many kids that are taking this highly prescribed drug (for even the mildest allergy or asthma) and who knows how many parents don't make the connection!

Hi everyone. I have posted about my son's bad experience with Singulair. After reading about Dr. Bremner, on this web site I contacted him about how to report my son's symptoms. This was his reply:

I am interested in acquiring information about side effects of this drug. In addition to reporting to the FDA you can report your details to me and I can write about it in the medical literature since this is something that seems to be new. Others can send their information to me as well--you are welcome to post this message at medications.com or other web sites and give this email address and I can follow up with them.

Doug Bremner MD

His website address is : http://www.beforeyoutakethatpill.com
Sounds like someone is listening.

I would be interested to know how many of those who took Singulair needed to take antibiotics more frequently than they did before they took Singulair. I'll see the response then I will tell you why if it turns out that is a predictable side effect.

The link doesn't work for some reason from the main post but if you go to my reply on the original post for link it works there. Strange! If you would like an invite please email me at staceynlilphil@yahoo.com and just put singulair group in subject.

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!

Hi
I posted my story with my son on March 29th approx. at 11 something. My story is talking about my 15yr old son and his struggle with his emotions and drugs. Is there someone out there that may be going through the same thing? I am desperately struggling with this. I need to know if there is someone else that is going through this. If so, PLEASE email or reply to my story.
Thank you

just got off the phone with the pulmonary doctor,i told him of the progress we have made since stopping the singulair and that i wanted him to report this to the fda.I asked about withdraw and long term diagnoses he assured me there would be none. my reply was,DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE ANYTHING THEY SAY

My deepest, most heartfelt sympathy for all the horrific losses and suffering.
I wrote earlier, but I am so traumatized by all this... I can't write long now. Besides all the rest of the torture we've all endured, please let me know and do reply if tinnitus and/or hearing loss has been a major problem. Perfect a year and a half ago, I just had my hearing tested and have so hearing loss in my left ear only. Right ear is still perfect. Funny too... my newly developed tinnitus is also in my left ear only.
I am 50 with a bunch of problems from a head injury of 22 years ago and just within the last few year correctly diagnosed. My life is already destroyed, but about a year ago... it all started getting worse. Now, almost completely unable to function, I am trying to nail if the cause is the Singulair I stopped couple of nights ago and started maybe 2 years ago.
I need to determine (because they can find no cause) for the recent onset of the hearing loss and tinnitus... which someone described perfectly as a hissing sound, like someone is letting the air out of my head.
So please let me know if tinnitus and or a hearing loss seems a result of this miserable drug for you too... Thank you...
losthope18

I have been on Singulair for nine years and I thank Merck for discovering and manufacturing it. I also thank my doctor for prescribing it to me. I have my life back! I had asthma so bad I was on high dose inhaled steroids and Albuterol. I had a nebulizer on my kitchen table and a drawer full of Albuterol in my refrigerator. Like clock work I would wake up wheezing and gasping for air and have to administer myself a treatment at 4 am every morning. I would try to exercise and I would wheeze and cough. I then went on Singulair and my nebulizer has been in the basement for at least 9 years, I have the drawer back in my refrigerator too. I exercise now and even ran my first race last summer without needing an inhaler. Thank God for Singulair. I am not going to die from my asthma.

There are so few choices to treat asthma and allergies and all the medications have problems like an FDA black box warning for increased death on Salmeterol(I stopped taking that) which is in Advair and emotional disturbances with steroids and increased suicide risk with Zyrtec which is now over the counter.

I do feel sorry for Cody's parents. It must be tragic to lose a child. My heart does go out to them. However looking rationally at this story, there seems to be a whole side missing. The news story did not mention anything about Cody's past history on the news. Did he ever have signs of depression? Was there an interview with his doctor? Was he having problems with friends at school? Was he into any drugs or adolescent games? Teenage boys also have the highest rate of suicide, medicines aside.

With all due respect, I never saw any of Cody’s friends or teachers be interviewed. Maybe this did happen and I missed this but I watched the news cast videos. Could there be more to this story that is purposefully being edited out or just not asked?

I never believe the media fully. They are very irresponsible and inaccurate at times.
If you read the product information of any drug including aspirin you would never want to take it. The truth is that many times the benefits of drugs out weigh the risks. I know I will keep taking my Singulair because I do not want to die of asthma sucking on inhalers like my mother did.

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?

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.

when my son (now five) first started treatment for allergies at almost 3, he went on zyrtec and singulair. he was moody, grumy, and needy. i just assumed he was 3. after about 10 months the allergist switched him to pcm chewables with his singulair and he turned evil. for example, he wasn't quite 4 and attacked me one night because he didn't want a bath. it took several minutes to pry his hands of of my neck. it scared me to death. since he was already on singulair i assumed it was the pcm and finally found a pharmacist who said that it "might" can have those side effects. the allergist wouldn't accept that it could do that and wouldn't change his prescription. finally went to new allergist who changed him back to zyrtec but wanted to stay on singulair due to new asthma diagnosis. his behavior got better, but still very moody - many ppl said "spoil" because of huge meltdowns over nothing. he is now 5 and has been on allergy shots for a year. about 6 months ago the doctor said could take him off zyrtec but keep on singulair. i thought yay! mood will get better. it didn't. he was still getting notes from kindergarten teacher for talking too much, fighting, moodiness, meltdowns, etc. we took him off singulair to see how asthma would do since allergies doing better. he started getting greenlights! we still have some meltdowns and moodiness. but, it is slowly getting better. i wonder how long it takes to clear out of their system?
in the last six months we have periodilly put him back on zyrtec and singulair when allergies acting up. his teacher tends to send home notes that week asking if he is on medicine. it never occurred to me that it could be the singulair! what scares me is that 3 weeks ago he said he wanted to get a knife and cut his head off so he could "go to Jesus". i talked to him and finally decided he was just talking, don't think he truly meant it. but now, i look back and realize he was on singulair at the time!
the scary thing is that my one-year old is also on it for asthma. i got put on it recently for chronic sinus problems and my husband has been on it for years! i think I will not be giving it to any one until we talk to the doctor!

as a side note i have a friend with a 22 mo old that drs have tried to put on singulair off and on since she was 12 mo or so. every time it makes her unable to sleep. mother agreed to try it again recently because child's asthma was so bad and they ended up at the ER because the baby couldn't quit crying!

I've been blown away also. My son is 10 years old and was originally diagnosed with RAD (Reactive Airway Disease) when he was about 3 and has had allergy and mild asthma issues since. When he was 5 he was put on Singulair, Nasonex, and Zyrtec. My son has always been a beautifully happy child, but the last few years have been extremely emotional for him. He gets depressed, he's extremely hard on himself and is ultra-sensitive and scared about everything. He has never been frightened and was a baby that loved his room and always slept really well. Now I think that I understand why he’s been afraid to sleep in his room alone. Ever since he's been on Singulair he complains and complains of bad dreams. I can't believe that I'm hearing that he's been taking this medication like clock-work for 5 years and all of his problems may be related to this. His allergies are not severe and nor has his asthma ever been - but I was told constantly that he needs this medication. This is unbelievable - I've stopped giving Singulair to him and have made an appointment with a new allergist.

Could someone please tell me how long SINGULAIR takes to get out of a child's body. I stopped giving my 7 yr old son SINGULAIR 4 months ago and although he has improved, I think SINGULAIR has some lasting permanent side effects. I also heard that it could take a full year for all of it to be out of his system. He took SINGULAIR for 2 years,I feel so bad. So does anyone know for sure how long it takes?????

My son is 17years old and has been taking sigular for 5 years due to allergies and a minor asthma condition, I am also seeing many of the side effects. The major ones are explosive anger, easy frustrations, laziness/lack of motivation, leg pains and cramps in legs, and when he sleeps it is almost impossible to wake him up in the AM. He mumbles and says OK I will get up , then after 15-30 mins and he is still in bed and constant attention by me to wake him, he finally wakes up and says, why has no one tried to help get me up and he is very anger. He has raised in bed, screaming, and punched at me during these 15-30mins, to later say, NO way I didn't do that, I don't remember. He seems to be in a trance!. I have been struggling to figure this out for 2 years now,

I do agree that I saw an easy going kid turn into one filled with anger and frustrations for no real reasons.

Our daughter has been on Singulair for four years that we can recall and are in the process of obtaining medical records to find out for sure.

She was diagnosed with A.D.H.D. when she was first starting school and allergies in the first grade. She was on liquid Claritan-D up until she started Singulair (4 or 5 Yrs ago).

Since she began taking the Singulair along with her A.D.H.D. meds. she has become very depressed, anxious, and sometimes extremely angry for no apparent reason.

Her elementary school career thus far has pretty much been a total waste because she does not pay attention or is outright defiant. And She has started stealing from other students.

We elected to try natural treatment for the A.D.H.D. with limited success and now we know why! The Singulair is counteracting the treatment! I would bet my last dollar that she will improve without the continued use of Singulair!

Before she started taking the Singulair she was always an outgoing kid that loved life unconditionally and now she is always down in the dumps and struggles through the school day and it is putting pressure on us as parents because the school gives her detention for not completing work or acting out in class etc.

She frequently complains of tummy aches and headaches or joint pain.

I feel really horrified as a parent because I argued with her just this morning and made her take the Singulair before school!

Even if taking her off this med. changes her future it won't erase the memories of her childhood school years that should have been some of the happiest times in her life and are now just painful ones she will try to forget!

We all need to find other parents in our own towns and get together a group and contact a lawyers office and file class action suits against the monsters who created this mess!

I have a 12 year old son who has been on Singulair off and on since he was 10 years old. It wasn't until he started taking Singulair on a daily basis in 2007 that I saw a change in his personality. I thought it was due to him starting Junior High. He has always been a loving and mild manner kid.

He started having strong mood swings. Yelling, crying, back talking and being very rude and hateful. Then he would go through periods of depression. He wanted to sleep all the time. Wouldn't come out of his room for days.

He complained of Headaches and Stomachaches all the time. He said he had bad dreams and he couldn't sleep.

He even told his dad at Halloween he wish he could be like his costume (which was a skelton) DEAD!! Hearing those words come from my child's mouth broke my heart. Knowing that he could feel such sorrow and pain.

It wasn't until I read the Singulair article that things started making sense to me. I can't believe as a parent that I was giving my child a medication that could have caused him to take his own life. You could imagine how I feel right now. I stopped giving the Singulair. I'm hoping that he will go back to the loving and happy kid he was before this medication took over his body and mind.

And it's not only my son...My nephew who is 6 has been on Singulair for 2 years and he has become very emotional. He has outburst of anger and he is very short tempered. He has bad dreams and cries for no reason. I shared the information with my Sister-In-Law and she stopped the Singulair as well.

I hope my story helps all you parents that haven't heard the truth about Singulair yet. Be Safe!

I am 33 years old and have been taking Singulair for 4 years. I have severe seasonal allergies and Singulair was the only RX that would work without knocking me out. I was prescribed to take one a day/everyday. These past two years I have suffered from depression and have had anxiety attacks that make me think I am loosing my mind. Never did my doctor ever tell me it could be caused by my allergy medicine. My marriage has suffered and my kids have to. I had stopped taking it these couple months in the winter and I have been fine. After I saw the news this morning, I was shocked. I had just begun taking Singulair again this month. Just this week, I was already having trouble sleeping.

My prayers go out to the parents and family of the young boy.

I only had to read a few to see the description of my 4 year old daughter, who has been on this med for about a year. My husband and I just had a talk last week about her bx and how that she cried off and on all day one day, and has high anxiety. She is very emotional but not constant and sometimes does not seem to have control of herself. I was considering taking her in to the doctor. Now I am going to try taking her off of this med. When we started her on it she had missed weeks of pre school for asthma/coughing symptoms. She is on it and pulmicort and zyrtec. She is doing well health wise, but her bx is getting increasingly worse. We will be stopping the singular tonight. It is scary to read all of the other notes from parents, and realize that this med may have caused her recent bx. I hope that we have not caused permanent side effects.

My almost 7 year old son was prescribed Singulair 3 years ago for severe asthma and allergies. It worked great--for a while. No hospitalizations, incidences of bi-lateral mucous plugs and pneumonia decreased, etc. I thought it was a miracle drug for him. This past summer/fall however, the nightmares, sleepless nights, multiple sinus infections, moodiness and mild anxiety, extreme hunger (he can now eat my 6'7" 260 lb. husband under the table and my son only weighs 52 lbs.), thirst, leg pains, reflux and very frequent complaints of stomach aches and nausea, etc. began. He was even admitted to our local Children's hospital in November for a severe upper respiratory infection that affected his asthma and blood oxygen levels and for the first time ever, did not respond to therapy. He was on oxygen for 3 days. Not realizing all this was likely due to Singulair, I took him to his ped. pulmonologist, pediatrician, ped. allergist, a ped. gasteroenterologist, and an ENT. None of our doctors suspected the Singulair--and I still have confidence that they are all good doctors. In December, he had surgery to cauterize the inferior turbinates in his nose and remove his adenoids to try to alleviate the sinus infections. At the same time, we had an upper G.I. series done to see if we could find what was causing all the stomach aches and reflux. The GI doctor found nothing. I am just sick to think that Singulair did all this to him, that we put him through surgery to try and "fix" the symptoms, and doctors and parents didn't know enough about the side effects of this drug to suspect it as a possible culprit!! I called our pulmonologist and pediatrician this morning to report my suspicions and took him off it. I sure hope his symptoms will improve.

My son will be turning 10 years old in April, and he's been on Singulair over a year. He has been having some behavioral issues at home, but they are now happening at school AND youth group activities at church. This is way out of his normal character. After I read about the FDA's move to investigate the drug's side effects more closely, I stumbled across other web sites similar to this one. I read a posting where someone was complaining about nightmares. Without leading him on, I asked him if he has been having nightmares lately. He responded 'yes' - things like waking up and thinking someone is pointing a gun to his face or someone with a dagger has him cornered. I asked him why he didn't tell me or his mom about his nightmares - his response was that he thought this was normal. The frequency of the nightmares is about one every other night. We have taken him off of the drug as of this morning - I will add an update (via a reply) to this note in a few weeks describing any changes in his behavior and nightmares.

I have a 10 year old daughter who over the past 3 months has had horrible thoughts of killing herself or injuring herself. She is experiencing anxiety attacks weekly. I couldn't put my finger on the source but I am flushing her Singulair down the toilet!!!!

Hi. My eight year old daughter has been on singular for 6 months. She has had chronic stomach pains that she says feel like pressure. Her appetite is terrible. She always says she isn't hungry. I have to search for anything I think she will eat. She is very tall and very thin for her age. She grew an inch in the last year but gained no weight. First time her growth just stopped. No surprise as she doesn't want to eat. I took her to the doc several times and they think she has acid reflux and have given her 2 different acid eliminators ( which freak me out as well) Said she should see a gastroenterologist. We have appointment in March . I started reading this site and thought well maybe it's the singular. So I called her allergist and told them I was taking her off to see if that's why she has the stomach problems. They said I could since it wasn't a big trigger time(seasonal) and she wasn't sick with any cold or flu) She gets mild asthma when sick. Her allergist asthma doc thinks her stomach aches are related to the mucus dripping into her stomach. I have taken her off all meds to try to see if it could be the Singular. She also has been very tired and can't keep up in her dance classes. Her school teacher had to put her in the front of the class because she said she wasn't paying attention. She seems to lose it over anything that requires focus or attention.She also seems kind of depressed. She is worried that something is really wrong with her. This child used to eat normally and is gifted academically .Her tests results(taken while on the Singulair) went way down from last year. She was put in gifted pull out program from last year results but would have barley made it in this year based on her much lower scores. That does not make sense to me. Never has had attention or focus problems before. I will keep everyone posted. Does anyone know how long it might take to get this drug out of her system? Has anyone else had this kind of reaction to this drug? I also wonder whether she had reflux before but this made it worse? I had her blood tested for Celiac and general stuff and nothing showed up.I wanted to get the Singular out of her system before we see the G.I. doctor. anyway thanks, Elizabeth

I have six year old twins who have been on Singulair since August. Things have been so bad I have considered putting them in counseling. The physical symptoms they have is dry, red eyes, stomach aches, stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, night sweats, body aches, itchy skin, cherry red cheeks and ears, and excessive weight gain. The other symptoms they suffer from are night terrors, sleep walking and reaching for things that are not there. Also anger, depression, very, very irritable they will cry over the least little things. They are doing well in school, but are crying every day they hate school and they basically hate everything. The teacher also tells me they can't pay attention. They have become very aggressive hitting each other and there brother and sister. Screaming and crying for long periods of time. I really started to worry when one of them said he wished he were dead. That is something a six year old should not even think of. I have four kids and I just thought it was family stress and it was because I couldn't devote enough attention to them. I had begun to think that I was the worst mother on the planet. With all these crazy things going on I never dreamed that they were connected. I really don't know why I goggled Singulair side effects, but I am so glad I did. It cannot be a coincidence that so many children and adults have the same symptoms and they all take Singulair. My children have taken their last dose tonight and I pray they will start feeling better. It is such a relief to know that there is a reason for their behavior it was so out of character for them. I usually do not reply to any posts but I feel it is important to let everyone know about this. I will also let my pediatrician know.

I was on Singulair for about 5-6 years and I rarely had an asthma attack. I had the vivid dreams that are common with Singulair, but that didn't bother me. I also had the occasional earache, but it was tolerable. My last 3 months of taking this drug, I started "seeing things." I would see shadows darting out of the corner of my eye. At the time I was waitressing and I went out to wait on a table that I thought was there. When I looked up to take their order, there was no one there. One night I almost got into an accident because I thought a car was behind me that was tailing me when there wasn't one. It was at that point that I really started to freak out. I thought I was going insane, possibly schizophrenia. One day I was flipping through a magazine and happened to see an ad for Singulair. I read through all the fine print and saw that a rare side effect was hallucinations! It all made sense at that point and I knew I wasn't going crazy!

I stopped taking Singulair and then started to have breathing problems (I wasn't taking anything for my asthma at that point). I went to the doctor and he laughed when I told him about the hallucinations being from Singulair. He told me to go back on it and see if it happened again. The second or third day I started to see shadows again. I lasted about a week and then just stopped and went to Advair. It doesn't help much.

It makes me really sad that Singulair did this to me. It was the only time in my life where I didn't have to worry about breathing. Now I have to take prednisone about twice a year, which I never had to do on Singulair. I just wanted to write this in case anyone else was experiencing anything similar.

I can't believe what I'm reading tonight on this page, I decided that today was the day I needed to check up on side effects of singulair, since my 5yro, needs his 3rd refill. Three weeks ago I took my boy to the doctor, because of severe weeknes,fatigue. irritability,lose of interest in studying, in sports, in home works, and lose of appetite one of my main concern, I ask his ped if maybe these could be side effects from his singulair, She said no way she hasn't heard of such effects from this drug, and that the side effects form singulair was realy mild, I took her word on it and continue my poor lillte boy in the hell he is living in, oh. she send him to the lab and draw blod for a series of exams, but find nothing so I continue my days wondering and suffering for my child, My mother-in-law even recomended counseling for my boy since we have a new baby at home, tonight I decided before getting his reffill why not do some research and find out what other people are saying? this is the first page i ran in to and I know that I dont need to read much more to take my boy off of this singulair.
ps. we can not rely on our doctors to talk bad of any drug.

In late March I went to my Doctor for allergy Meds. He prescribed Singlair. Within two weeks I began feeling as though I had an upper Resp infection (I did have one). My Doctor put me on Levaquin an antibiotic. Then I began feeling as though something was crawling all over my face,& my face began to burn. I went to the ER one week later & was informed that I had Pneumonia. Along with the antibiotics I was still taking Singulair & albuterol inhaler & Allegra D & Histanex cough medicine. I have had Pneumonia 2x before but this time was 2x as bad. It lingered on for over a month. Then I started to smell really bad odors kinda of like a sweaty locker room. I called my Dr's office his nurse thought it was weird & never heard of it before. Then I lost my sense of taste & smell. Finally I went to my Dr on 5/17/07 he informed me that if my sense's doesn't return in 3 weeks to notify him & he would order a CT scan. The scan was ordered & was negative. I still have no sense of smell or taste. Dr's nurse thinks it is psychological. I went to ENT Dr was given a steroid which didn't work. My Dr also asked me to try nasonex nasal spray but that doesn't work for me. Now it is August 1st & my senses have yet to re-surface. Although I can taste sweet, bitter & sour but couldn't tell you what it is I am eating. I also suffered pains in my legs & feet, was really exhausted & had bad dreams.
Please reply if anyone else is or has suffered the way I have & continue to suffer.

I think I maybe just figured out the answer to these symptoms you guys are describing, with mood changes and nightmares?

From Merck Frosst website:
The team finally chose quinolein as the basis for their compound, because it has affinities with the LTD4 (leukotriene) region.

Quinolein - elsewhere it has been listed as a seratonin inhibitor...

Also, is Quinolein related to Quinine (a malarial treatment that causes nightmares and psychotic symptoms?)

What do you all think?

i think it is time for a public awareness effort about this drug. if you agree, please send your name, address and a summary of your experience to my email. i will organize a joint petition and send it to merck and the fda. many children are being harmed by this drug and parents are not aware.

if we can get an organized effort together, perhaps we can at least get the fda to begin an investigati

boys boobs a side effect from singulair? my 12 yr old is getting weight and I see that his breasts are large for his body, he is getting weight but not that much, his pediatrician noticed that, I read that the condition is called gynecomastia and is many times cause for some drugs or medications, my son is "only on singulair" for about 4 yrs, it works wonderful for his asthma but now that I read some of the side effects such leg cramps, stomach irritation, moodiness, stc, c'mon he is a child, he is healthy (to a degree) because all this symptoms can not be just a coinsidence, is like before singulair no leg cramps, moodiness, tireness, he was sooo slim and now all these side effects?.. does somebody else has this side effect with the boys breasts? please reply

I'm 45 (male) and never had asthma until a year ago-- it came on after a severe bout with bronchitis. The doc gave me Prednisone for a week, I also took Advair, Flonase, Aciphex (a stomach pill), and Singulair. After a few months, the asthma seemed to be gone, but the doc had me stay on Singulair (one per day, at night before bedtime) to be sure it didn't return.

Before the asthma and Singulair, I had stomach problems (diagnosed as gastritis) and some stiffness in my lower back. But for the past year, my stomach has been AWFUL-- even the meds don't help. And the stiffness has been really bad: I would have to stretch my hips, legs and feet, and stay in the hot shower as long as possible. I even had frequent bouts of diarrhea, which I attributed to the Aciphex-- but now I'm thinking it might have been the Singulair.

I discovered this site a few days ago and stopped the Singulair. I THINK my stomach is getting a little better, and some flexibility has returned. Of course, my nose has started running and my breathing isn't the greatest--but I'd be willing to deal with it if my stomach and muscles feel better.

IS IT POSSIBLE MY STOMACH PROBLEMS AND STIFF MUSCLES/JOINTS HAVE BEEN EXACERBATED BY SINGULAIR? If you've had this problem, please post a reply. How long will it take for the side effects to disappear?

My side effects have been headache, and weight gain. If anyone has had weight gain as a side effect, please reply, because we may need to consult my doctor to change medicines.