Singulair and severe anxiety

My 6 y/o daughter has been taking Singular for approx. 2 years. She began to have regular stomach pains shortly there after. She was sent to Children's hospital where they put her on a laxitive which made things worse. Then we began testing for food allergies only to find out that she tested positive for a 3 page list of foods. We eliminated those food and had her tested again. She was subsequently allergic to the foods we eliminated. She was recently down to rice, a few meats and some vegetables. Guess what, she is now allergic to those foods.

All this time she has been complaining of severe leg pain, eye pain, throat pain, numbness and tingling in her hands a feet, all of which come an go. I have reported this to all the doctors and specialists we have seen. She had undergone countless blood tests to rule out autoimmune disorders and all come up negative.

She began to develop severe anxiety and just had the blues most of the time. She would be crying and saying off the wall things like, "I don't think my fish is happy". She couldn't stand to be away from me and would stress out about even weather or not she would sit by me at a restaurant. I mentioned this to all of the doctors. They said to not make too much of it. One suggested she see a psychologist. NOT ONE DOCTOR EVER LOOKED AT THE SINGULAR.

Finally about 4 weeks ago my neighbor who is a scientist at a pharmaceutical company called me and told me about the "black box" warning that had just come out on Singular. I took both of my children off of it immediately. My daughter went through about a 10 day period where her anxiety got worse and then it was just gone. We are adding foods back into her diet and at this point she has not had any severe allergic reactions.

The last 2 years have been a complete nightmare for her and for us. I am a medical professional and I have had doctors treat me like a hypocondriac, hypersensitive, attention seeking mother. I feel so justified and saddened by the recent findings all at the same time. Most of all I am so grateful that we figured this out before things go even worse.

Please let me know if anyone else is suffering food related reactions as a side effect.

my daughter was 2 yrs old when she first started taking this med...now she is 4 yrs old and it works great for her asthma BUT she has sever mood swings, violent out bursts, screaming fits that last anywhere from 5 to 45 min she throws things, at her daycare she has a pregnant teacher that she goes after because "she has a baby in her belly" my daughter used to be the sweetest little girl now she has everyone walking on eggshells because any little thing sets her off. any clue on what to do?

Please contact me if you would like to help by sharing your story with the media,I am looking for stories of recovery after stopping the medication.Please use my private email under kate2 or just reply under this posting.Kate M.

I have been reading the posts at this site for two weeks, ever since the day I went to my GP for a check on blood pressure and general well being. As I was getting ready to leave the examining room, he asked how I had been since my last visit, and I responded that I'd been OK, except of course that I wasn't sleeping well. I didn't tell him that I'd had obsessive thoughts of death and dying, severe anxiety, morbid depression, horrible mood swings, and compulsive thoughts and actions. Yes, I've been taking Singulair since it was approved for seasonal rhinitis. It seemed to work well with Allegra, although when my allergies were extra severe, I also had to resort to Benadryl or one of the other "drowsy" antihistamines. When I mentioned sleep, he said "You have heard about Singulair, haven't you?" Guess how shocked I was when he told me about the latest information on the medicine I was taking every night for the last 5 years? Unfortunately, I had been under severe stress because of professional and families issues during the same general time frame, so it would never, ever have occurred to me that a prescribed medication could make me so miserable. My psychiatrist had recommending doubling my dose of Cymbalta, but after some trials of that, I became convinced that when I did so, I felt worse. About 6 months ago, my emotional state went from bad to worse. I began to feel a sense of panic when called upon to make the most innocuous decisions, and was always aggravated and nasty to the people I loved most. With my doctor's mention of Singulair, I stopped taking it. I slept better from the second day of not taking it. In the last 2 weeks, my emotional roller coaster has smoothed out, not perfectly, but enough so that I'm much more like my old self. The stresses are similar, but my reactions are different. Zyrtec (1/2 tablet) works much better for itchy eyes and nose than Singulair did in the first place. My husband and son both have continued to take Singulair with no apparent problems. I think that if one has developed unusual or unexpected emotional symptoms it is definitely worth a trial off Singulair. I wish I had been aware of even the smallest possibility of a reaction such as mine when I started taking it.

My nephew is 7 and has been on Singulair for probably 4 years. His symptoms developed over time but recently have exploded. He has epilepsy so most of the things that he has experienced has been blamed on that. However, today his doctor took him off singulair and said he believes his symptoms are caused from the drug. He started having head drop seizures, fell out of his desk and cut his face one day. He has also been depressed, had severe anxiety attacks for the past 8 months. Several months ago, he started having such severe nightmares that it is almost impossible to get him to go to bed and go to sleep. Recently he began "seeing dead people" and "monsters" that we trying to kill him even when he was awake. He has also cried many nights with leg cramps and severe stomach pain. I will update this page in two - three weeks to let you know if these problems go away now that we have stopped the singulair.

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

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

My son is 8 and he has been on singulair for at least three years, maybe four. When I heard about the side effects a few weeks ago, I stopped his medication right away. I have since learned that it should be tapered off, but won't put him back on to do that. He had so many of the depression, I hate myself, everybody hates me, facial tic, stomach ache symptoms . . . Now he is almost two weeks off of singulair and he is throwing screaming fits, kicking, threatening, uncontrollable for up to two hours and more! Is this a side effect of coming off of the medication? Has anyone else had this experience? Please email me at amy-weaver4@sbcglobal.net - I'd really like to hear if anyone else has experienced these symptoms. Thank you! Amy

These stories sound all too familiar! What a nighmare this is for so many people. My son is 7 yrs. old and has been on Singulair for 5 YEARS! His dr. prescribed it for "cold induced asthma" which was a complication from RSV. Just about every time he got a cold he would develop pnemonia. The Singulair along with a nebulizer seemed to help his breathing. At first he was clingy. He wouldn't leave my side. We had to take him out of preschool because of it. Then, slowly his behaviors got really weird. He experienced severe anxiety, depression, self hatred, worried that me and his dad were going to die, sleeping problems, seperation anxiety, trouble focusing, stomach pain...etc. I too thought that I must be a horrible mother. My 9 yr. old isn't on any medication and he is a normal child. I thought I was doing something wrong with my youngest boy! My husband and I were seriously thinking about taking him for mental professional help. We have been to his dr. two seperate times to discuss his behavior problems and he basically blew us off! There are no side effects listed (from his prescription) that have anything to do with behavior problems. I always check the paper I get when I refill his prescription. I haven't given him this junk since March 28th as soon as I heard the news. Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle fit! I have seen improvement already! Last night he actually asked to go to bed. Before it was a terrible struggle to even suggest that he goes to bed. He did his homework tonight without any difficulty focusing!! That was awesome to watch! I hope he continues to get back to the sweet and happy boy he was a such a long time ago! He and his brother share a room and have bunk beds...right now I hear (for the first time in forever) him laughing with his big brother! Oh, what a beautiful sound!!!!!

Hi I'm 20 years old and i've been on Singulair for at least 6 years (seems like forever) since i was about 14/15 (around the time i started Singulair!!!!) i have been developing severe anxiety. social anxiety, and just random panic attacks. for the past 1 1/2 years i have had at least 1 panic attack a day. Most of my days i am in a complete fog and cannot focus on anything, and seeing that i have a one year old to take care of this is NOT good. i just stopped taking the Singulair completely the day i heard the news about its negative side effects- so now I'm clutching to my inhaler all day just in case until i can get to my PCM to get a safer medication!

i am really shocked to hear this news about Singulair, i never would have considered that this could be causing my daily anxiety. It could be completely unrelated but i really hope this is at least a large portion of my issue since no medication other than tranquilizers have ever helped me.

Be very wary of this drug! My son was on it for a year and a half ...the last six months were a veritable nightmare for him. Severe anxiety issues (had to be hospitalized at one point ) and depression. Doctors kept saying it was not the medication but when I googled the drug side effects and stumbled on a blog about singulair problems , I told my son and off the medication he went. Within a month he was back to his normal self .
Thank goodness he was old enough to tell me how he was feeling ( 17 years old at the time) but what about very young children on this drug...how can they voice their problems when they don't have the vocabulary or knowledge of what is "normal"?

My 12 year old soon has been on singulair for approx 5 years. He has had severe anxiety, mood swings, stomach problems, and feelings of sadness when he is left; does not leave mom or dad for long. I started checking into the side effects of singulair a couple of months ago and found out my son was on double the dose for an 11 year old. We dropped him to 5mg from 10 and the stomach problems have definitely eased up. This does not help the fact that he has missed 15 days of school this year for mostly stomach problems, test and doctor visits. My new pediatrician assured me his asthma was under control due to the use of this medication. THIS IS NOT MEDICATION I honestly am feeling like it is POISON. My son has been on this rx so long I don't know how he would act without it. My concern now is going into puberty with this medication. We will not attempt that....GOOD LUCK TO ALL

I'm not surprised at all to hear about Singulair being investigated for causing mood changes and suicide. My son was on singulair 6 years ago for a year when he was 5. He underwent very severe mood changes, including insomnia, rages, severe anxiety and panic attacks. We ended up seeing a psychologist about his violent moods, but it took us a year to connect it to Singulair. When his dosage was raised due to growth, he started experiencing disabling anxiety. He was terrified to leave me and had obsessive thoughts about me dying. Things culminated with him being terrified to swallow any food out of fear of choking and dying. When he stopped eating for three days, I began to search the Internet and found references to Singulair causing anxiety in children. He never took singulair again, and was able to resume eating within a few days. He was back to his normal self within a week. Hopefully, now doctors know about the incredible risks for kids with this medication and can warn parents to watch for side effects if they indeed do put their kids on this medication.

Hi again. I posted January, 25th, 2008, and am posting again to update anyone concerned.

MY EXPERIENCE SUMMARISED:
MY DAUGHTER TOOK 3 DAYS TO WITHDRAW FROM SINGULAIR AND AFTER THAT IS BACK TO NORMAL.

I took my 6 yo daughter off Singulair, and she experienced severe withdrawal symptoms for 3 days. Her anger and mood swings were worse than ever, although they did occur less often than when on the medication.

I was concerned that there may be long term effects, but on day 4 she awoke singing (something she hasn't done for ages). She came through to our room and her whole energy was different...we had our little angel back!

She gave me a cuddle and she sounded a little wheezy (for the first time in ages also). I never thought I'd be glad to hear her wheezy! I gave her an antihistamine (polaramine...this is the only one that doesn't affect her mood) and this cleared her "asthma" which is actually a symptom of allergy for her.

She instantly stopped shouting, screaming and growling. Her concentration is back to normal. She is happy and says she knows who she is again. Her star chart incentive system is working again. She has more energy, no complaints of tummy pain, no complaints of numbness and she is responsive and reasonable as she always was.

I am SO angry with the manufacturers of this drug, and I believe anger is often the driving force behind positive action.

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN PURSUING A CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MANUFACTURERS OF SINGULAIR, PLEASE EMAIL ME PRIVATELY.

I'm surprised to be doing this because I'm very against litigation generally. However, on this occasion, I not only feel strongly that it's necessary, I feel morally compelled to take action.

These people MUST be stopped. This medication must be either black-listed OR have it's potential side effects BOLDLY DISPLAYED on the packaging (just like cigarettes) because this medication can be a threat to people's lives (as we know if we read the testimonials on this site).

No more children should die, or suffer a severe and possibly permanent identity crisis in the name of MONEY. Not one more family should drown in misery at the hands of this medication without knowing why.

Imagine all the people who have put their poor children on psychiatric medication to counteract the side-effects of this drug unknowingly! If there are so many of us telling the same story on this site, imagine how many more are living the nightmare without a clue.

IF THERE ARE ENOUGH OF US INTERESTED IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE, I WILL TAKE THE ACTION NECESSARY TO RESEARCH A CLASS ACTION.

I've only taken it a couple times. It made me freak out emotionally. I am on edge, have severe anxiety, am sensitive to light and sound, and, overall, I just feel weird.

However, I can breathe through my noise. Is it worth it? No, not really.

This is all very interesting, but it's all anecdotal! Can you PROVE that Singulair is responsible for all this stuff?

What other meds are you all taking? In what doses? Under what conditions? Do you have a family history of ? Are you under stress? Or are at least SOME of you just hypochondriacs who, reading this stuff, say to yourself, "Say, I get headaches -- sure, it's gotta be the Singulair!" C'mon, now -- hair loss?!

I've been taking Singulair for over 10 months, and if I'd been as damaged as you all, I think I'd know it.

Without rigourous medical studies to show what is REALLY going on, you lot are just gossipping.

This site is obviously trolling for a class-action suit.

Please, please! Pay attention to the warnings in these postings regarding the potentially serious side effects of Singulair! After a routine review of possible side effects (there was never a mention of possible anxiety inducement), on our doctor's advice, we started our 12 year old son on Singulair. After about 2 weeks on the medication, he experienced a total melt down. Severe anxiety set in, and he developed school phobia. A normally bright, inquisitive, fun loving child was suddenly experiencing extreme anxiety, and was not able to pass through the doors of his school. Now, one week after being taken off of the medication, he is slowly making strides toward normalcy. While asthma and allergy can be debilitating, Singulair can be deadly. Please be on the alert to potential side effects!