Singulair and sinus infection

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.

May 16 y.o. daughter has chronic sinus infections and sever headaches. They said it was allergies and put her in Allegra D and Singulair. Headaches seemed better with slightly fewer sinus infections. Once I heard about the mood swings and Singulair I took her off. Then the Allegra did not seem to be able to keep up with keeping the sinus infections at bay. We finally figured out that she has a deviated septum and will need surgery. Anyway, we put her back on Singulair so we can get though the season with as few sinus infection until we can schedule surgery around high school and sports. Then we were noticing how her hair has become so thin. She used to have really thick hair and now her pony tail is to thin and small. After doing internet searching, we found out that other people are having this problem with Singulair. I took her off of it 4 days ago and already the shower has less hair in it. You can't tell a teenager that she needs to stay on a medication and lose a ton of hair. I am hoping that her hair will grow back quickly.

Hi, All

I normally do not post on websites, however, the issues that I read about in other toddler has me concerned for my grandson as well..

He started to live with us in Georgia three months ago. He was 20 months old. Over Labor Day weekend he developed a severe sinus infection and virus with a fever. Against our better judgment then, we allowed his doctor to prescribe an antibiotic which seem to help him for about two weeks, but her began having excessive mucus and coughing constantly. He had no fever. When we returned to the doctor, they suggested that he use Claritin because he had no infections, but a lot of mucus and drainage. Claritin worked, however, the side effects were he was a little sluggish. The doctor recommended trying Singular. We tried it for three weeks. Over that three weeks, we noticed that his appetite decreased and his aggression level increased where he started a fight with another toddler. He is normally an easy going little boy. He has been very aggressive lately, plus he has had dry coughing and gagging worse than when he was on Claritin. When I read the literature that says this medication causes sinusitis, I immediately decided to discontinue it. He will not be using this medicine again. It may be great for some children, but they really ought to make parents aware of the side effects. They are awful.

After reading all the horror stories on here, me and my husband soon began to realize that we were having a lot of the side effects listed here and not listed on my son's actual Singulair prescription. The side effects my son had were behavioral changes, irrational behavior, inattentiveness, not able to stay on task or stay still -- in fact he broke his arm twice being so hyper, yelling, screaming and just plain mean.

We took our son off of Singulair as a trial for a few days. Immediately we began to notice differences in his behavior. He wasn't as agitated and quick to yell or get angry. (He's only 5 years old). He actually would be listening when we would speak to him. He would sit calmy and read books and the one huge thing he would do was look at us and smile. He even said to my husband once, "I love you Daddy," which just brought tears to our eyes. I never realized what a Singulair fog he was in and what it did to him. Here we were pretty close to getting him evaluated for ADHD or even Aspergers. So now we're in the same boat as others that are searching for other asthma meds to give my son. Right now we have gone back to Pulmicort, Xopenex, Nasonex and Allegra. I'm so glad I read this forum because I was desperately searching for answers for my sons behavioral issues. Oh, by the way he was on Singulair for 1-1/2 years.

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 baby is 3. She had strep throat from Jan to April. I'm talking off the antibotic for max 4 days and the fever would return along with swollen glands, difficulty swallowing and just plain miserable. Took me 2 ENT referrals for someone to finally agree with me that this is not normal and something needs to be done. We scheduled a T & A for April 18th. The surgeon told me that she had a severe sinus infection as well (surgery day). He recommended that we start Singulair 4mg at night along with Nasonex to possibly help with her constant sinus congestion. I gave it to her and noticed nearly an immediate a change in her disposition.(looking back now) At the time I simply chalked it up to having her tonsils out. She was on the medication until Friday May 9th. Her babysitter said that she was seeing what I was at home...only I hadn't shared my dgtrs behavior at home with her...call it guilt for being a single mom who works...I just thought she was having trouble adjusting from a week at home with mom from the surgery recovery to getting back into the "norm" routine. At home she would cry at the drop of a hat. Not just wimper or whine....but tears and screams for nearly an hour. I would ask her why she was crying and she'd simply reply "I don't know Mommy." One minute we'd be playing and she's be laughing and the next she was angry and anxious. She would complain of "tingles in her feet"...I thought she had just been sitting on her legs and her foot had fallen asleep. She would deliberately instigate her older sister...totally not her. She became fearful of her room at nighttime...and took for ever to get to sleep. A co worker had mentioned that a little boy she worked with had his medicine changed b/c the dr said one of his meds may contribute to his behavior issues. Being a nurse I asked what med...SINGULAIR. I immediately went to the web and googled singulair. I found this site...and began to read parents horror stories of their experiences. She has not had another singulair nor will any of my children - EVER. I feel guilty that I didn't take the time to research it before I put her on it. I feel blessed that I was in the right place at the right time to find out about this site. I thought that my kind and sweet little girl had turned into. I know it's only 5 days off the med but she's back to her sweet self about 75%. I am blessed that my experience was not even a month long...but losing your child to a medication that no one warns you about even for a day is WRONG. I think I would be more "forgiving" if anyone along the line of me picking up the med had said ANYTHING...but no one said a thing. My prayers are with those who were not as lucky as I was to stop this med so quickly. I hope your children return to their pre singluair selfs quickly and permanently.

I am a 57 year old man, who has been suffering from asthma several years. This spring my doctor put me on Singulair as an additional medicine to my cortisone-inhalator. after one month I feel symptoms of depression an mood-changing, severe ups and downs.
AND - as an additional symptom i have partially lost my feeling in some fingertips, and now parts of my left thumb and even a feeling of "cold2, mostly in my left hand.
anyone who share that symptom?
M.

Singulair does interact with the astrocyte in the brain.

The role of the cysLT1 receptor (Singulair blocks this receptor) and the astrocyte in the brain has been studied. For anyone from Merck to say that there are no mechanisms by which Singulair can affect the
brain is ludicrous. If the Chinese researchers are correct, then Singulair very clearly affects the brain. Certainly, we don't know exactly how or when the effect would be good or bad. Under what circumstances would it be beneficial and under what circumstances would it be harmful.

For quite a while, researchers have been hypothesizing about the role of the astrocyte in brain function. If we go to look for theories, we will find them. Here is the theory of Dr. Dale Antanitus. I am no here to promote anyone's theory in particular but just to point out that they exist.

http://www.antanitus.com/hypothesis

We can see that the Chinese researchers have gone forward to look at potential links between the cysLT1 receptor (Singulair receptor) and inflammatory response in the brain. The 2008 study showed a link between the astrocyte and the cysLT1 receptor (Singulair receptor)

1: Glia. 2008 Jan 1;56(1):27-37. Links
Activation of CysLT receptors induces astrocyte proliferation and death after oxygen-glucose deprivation.

Huang XJ, Zhang WP, Li CT, Shi WZ, Fang SH, Lu YB, Chen Z, Wei EQ.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China.

We recently found that 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) is activated to produce cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs), and CysLTs may cause neuronal injury and astrocytosis through activation of CysLT(1) and CysLT(2) receptors in the brain after focal cerebral ischemia. However, the property of astrocyte responses to in vitro ischemic injury is not clear; whether 5-LOX, CysLTs, and their receptors are also involved in the responses of ischemic astrocytes remains unknown. In the present study, we performed oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by recovery to induce ischemic-like injury in the cultured rat astrocytes. We found that 1-h OGD did not injure astrocytes (sub-lethal OGD) but induced astrocyte proliferation 48 and 72 h after recovery; whereas 4-h OGD moderately injured the cells (moderate OGD) and led to death 24-72 h after recovery. Inhibition of phospholipase A(2) and 5-LOX attenuated both the proliferation and death. Sub-lethal and moderate OGD enhanced the production of CysLTs that was inhibited by 5-LOX inhibitors. Sub-lethal OGD increased the expressions of CysLT(1) receptor mRNA and protein, while moderate OGD induced the expression of CysLT(2) receptor mRNA. Exogenously applied leukotriene D(4) (LTD(4)) induced astrocyte proliferation at 1-10 nM and astrocyte death at 100-1,000 nM. The CysLT(1) receptor antagonist montelukast attenuated astrocyte proliferation, the CysLT(2) receptor antagonist BAY cysLT2 reversed astrocyte death, and the dual CysLT receptor antagonist BAY u9773 exhibited both effects. In addition, LTD(4) (100 nM) increased the expression of CysLT(2) receptor mRNA. Thus, in vitro ischemia activates astrocyte 5-LOX to produce CysLTs, and CysLTs result in CysLT(1) receptor-mediated proliferation and CysLT(2) receptor-mediated death. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 17910051

The astrocyte has been studied to see how it functions in the brain. The astrocyte:

1. may perform a role in the physical structuring of the brain
2. may perform a role in providing neurons with nutrients
3. may perform a minor role in the maintenance of the blood brain barrier
4. may perform a role in neurotransmitters
5. may perform a role in the regulation of ion concentration in the extracellular spaces
6. may perform a role in neuronal regulation of blood flood
7. may perform a role in the protection and repair of neurons

TO LIE TO PEOPLE REGARDING THEIR HEALTH IS CRIMINAL AND SHOULD BE PROSECUTED. PEOPLE OUT THERE ARE GETTING SICKER IF THEY ARE EXPERIENCING SIDE EFFECTS BECAUSE MERCK IS LYING. SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT EXPERIENCE SIDE EFFECTS BUT WHY NOT TELL THE TRUTH AND SAY THAT THERE COULD BE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE PSYCHIATRIC SIDE EFFECTS BECAUSE THERE IS A PATHWAY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.

has anyone took their child off of singular for more than 2 weeks and has the child had any breathing issues since being off?

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.

My name is Candyce Donovan and I am a healthy 38 year old ---healthy except for an occasional cold or sinus infection. A few years ago I was put on the drug Singulair to help cure an allergy type infection. I was only on it for a few weeks and discontinued it myself because it was making me worse. Earlier last year, I went to a different doctor for the same type of thing and was put on the drug again. At time while on the drug I had a few "episodes" where my body was shaking while I was sleeping and I thought I was just having a bad dream. Then in August of 2007, I experienced 2 grand mal seizures while sleeping each one lasting about an hour from the time I had the seizure til the time I came out of it... and was in the hopsital for 2 days. I had numerous tests done and things like a brain tumor etc were ruled out, and it was the conclusion of the ER doctors that my seizures were brought on by a very bad case of sinusitis as that was the only thing that showed up on my tests. At that time my sister brought in the medication that I was on at the time...the Singulair...and the doctors said that that would not cause seizures. The Neurologist that I went to disagreed with them and said that we would never find a cause. I continued on the drug until early December , having another seizure in November. I have now since November, moved in with my sister for the 6 months or more that I have been with out my license as in NY state one cannot drive for 6 months after having a seizure....you have to be totally seizure free for those 6 months, and it was the advice of the doctors to not stay alone. I went to see another Neurologist who again said that there would never be a known cause for the seizures, and in fact he diagnosed me with having epilespy/seizrue disorder....up until August I had never had a seizure. An uncle of mine had seizures when he was a baby that lasted until his teens but the Neurologist stated that he didnt think that was passed on to me. With the recent findings with the Singulair drug that are on the website now...I am finding that I have had many of the side effects and I believe this was the cause of my seizures as my seizures co-incided with the frame time I was on the drug.

As a pediatrician I write for singulair every day.
The medication is for allergies.
Allergies cause adenoidal swelling, which cause sleep disturbances which makes the child tired the next day with makes him over weight, less attentive, hyper and eventually act out.
This in turn makes the child experience parental, peers and teachers criticism/ abuse, with leads to the child feel inadequate, embarrassed, frustrated and eventually depressed and suicidal.

Yes, singulair does cause behavioral change but they appear within the first couple of peels, the rest is due to allergies, lack of medical care, i.e. sleep, singulair, and zyrtec deficiency.
Allergy shots cause 4 times the incidence of suicidally than singulair, and Ritalin 10 times more.
They say in hebrew "once a stone is thrown into a well, thousands of smart people won't find it".
Check it, it's true.

MY finance is 34 years old and has been on singular for several years. At first we thought she was going through PMS. However there was no relation to her cycle and her severe mood swings. She has had sinus infection after sinus infection and her leg pain is so bad she can't walk at times. All over joint pain she doesn't have arthritis, headaches and severe stomach problems. In her case the cure is worse than the asthma.

I also just heard about the Singulair side effects. I am a 58-year-old female with recurrent sinus infection and general allergic reactions. I had testing at my ENT's last spring--I was allergic to nothing specific. It was thought that I am generally sensitive to lots of different things. Well, the ENT put me on Singulair and I never put two and two together until now--- I became extremely anxious and depressed, couldn't sleep, my legs were so restless at night that it was unreal. I also had frequent urination and bladder spasms, low pelvic pain, etc. Over the winter, I stopped taking the Singulair and gradually was able to get off Lunesta and an anti-depressant. These were the worst months of my life---I went through all kinds of urinary and gyne testing to no avail. The urologist couldn't give me any answer---just that he though it might be a neurological issue so I also spent a lot of time and $ getting CT scans and MRI's to no avail. I really thought I was losing my mind---it was half a year during which I was definitely not my usual healthy, upbeat self. I will never touch Singular again!

I went to the dermatologist and was diagnosed with a severe case of hives/rash. Has anyone ever been prescribed Singulair in combination with Xyzal for hives? He also prescribed Tagamet for the stomach problems apparently these two drugs can cause. I am very afraid to take this but talked to two different doctors that are telling me to take my medicine and are getting angry at me for not wanting to take it an are getting impatient with me for being scared about it and asking questions. I was also prescribed a Lidex cream that has steroids in it even after telling the doctor that I just got off Prednisone for a sinus infection last month and had a really bad reaction to the Prednisone (steroid). He still gave me the steroid cream and said "this is a topical you won't have any side effects with this and your reaction couldn't possibly have been from the Prednisone, it had to be from the antibiotic" If anyone has heard of or taken the combination of Xyzal and Singulair for hives or skin problems please post me a response before I go get these prescriptions filled. All four of these will cost me almost $100 because the Xyzal is $40 and the Singulair is $25, they do not offer a generic for these two money makers. I have insurance and still will cost me a hundred for all four (steroid cream and Tagamet as well). Please someone let me know about this combo and if you have been given for hives as well. I don't know why I am given the Singulair at all. It causes hives in some people from what I have been reading. I can see the Xyzal because it is an antihistamine, that's fine but the Singulair seems to be a cause of hives. Doctor mentioned something about H1 and H2 inhibitors or something but said it so fast and speaks with such an accent I couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me. Please help before I get really bad reaction and have to go to ER like last month with the Prednisone. Thank you and God Bless.

I am 45 years old, just started to take Singulair, seems to be working OK, but I get a constant dull ringing in my ears...Starts to go away by the time I need to take the dosage again....but comes back an hour later after taking dosage.

My 5 year old son was put on for very mild asthma before xmas. After he returned to school, the teacher noticed he was not listening, difficulty attending, talking nonstop ( normally quiet), and repeating the same questions. At home, we noticed complaints of tummy aches, after 2 weeks very loose stools, irritability, extreme difficulty attending to any task, disorientation, rolling around on the floor, tic disorder; he started flipping his head side to side as if he's checking for something, and poor sleep (3-4 times awakening) esp. w. vivid nightmares, eg. crying because his snowman was melting and dying and dry nasal passages w/ bleeding sometimes. I notified the asthma/allergy doc. that we were going to discontinue. It has been a week now and his stools have formed better, not complaining of tummy aches, but attention/concentration still an issue as are tic movements; also came down w/ sinus infection so perhaps being sick is attenuating these symptoms. I hope he can get back into his zone. We are worried.

Daughter was sick for 6 weeks with what started as a virus . Dr.'s said virus needed to run it's course and allergies were also bad so they put her on Singulair. When she wasn't improving they said she had mono. No improvement, still mono. Still not improving, more specific test, not mono. Dr's chalked it up as she had a virus and was now just depressed from being down for so long. Well when you have mono u r told not do anything and only rest. After weeks of doing this she was depressed and weak. Then we were told that the diagnosis was wrong and we were had been trying to nurse the wrong sickness. Dr's said to send her back to school. By that time our daughter was so far gone it wasn't possible. Every time we left the house she would scream and panic. Experiencing exhaustion and not her self (She loves school & was always a very happy child) I knew there had to be something wrong with her. They sent her to the hospital lab twice and found nothing. Still trying to say she is only depressed but now being rude about by saying that we were just giving her, her way. My husband & I decided that the Dr.'s were not doing there part and trying to get to the bottom of her illness. So we began looking at what had been different in her life over this period of time (5 weeks).The only thing that had changed in her life other than her catching a virus was that she was put on Singulair. We had enough common sense to know that some people may have a reaction to some medicines that others won't. And just because not every Dr. has experienced this doesn't mean it can't happen.We read the pamphlet and all of the side effects. Even the rare ones she was experiencing. Shaking that looked like seizures, body aches, numbness in fingers and toes, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, irrational behavior, anxiety, paranoia, coughing, depressed, swelling of the lips, hallucinations, blurred vision,screaming every time she left the house, and complaining of constant pain. We felt like that had to be what it was. So we researched it and found on medications.com story after story of children who had gone through the same thing that she was experiencing. Dr was very rude and said she had never heard of that before and just send her back to school. So my husband ad I made the decision to take her off the med. The day before we rushed her to the hospital was her last day on the Singulair. That turning point was the seizure like shaking,hallucinations, saying that she couldn't hardly see us.That night in the ER they ran a CT Scan and found nothing. They admitted her in the pediatrics unit and we began a week that felt much like a month. They started her on an IV. They called in different Dr's...resident Dr's, pediatricians, etc. Everyone said our theory on the Singulair was possible but since they had never personally experienced a case of that they just weren't sure.When no one could figure out what was wrong they then called in a neurologist. He was very concerned and immediately started assessing her and ordering blood work and tests. She had an MRI and an EEG. All came back normal. He listened to our theory and said it was possible but to be sure he wanted to test for for everything else to make sure nothing was being missed. She had lost 5 lbs before her hospital stay and not sure how much more after that but while in the hospital when I bathed her, it was so sad to see her stomach all shrunken in. They put her on 5 different medicines while in the hospital that we were so upset and torn because then we felt like she was being drugged. They had her on an IV the whole week she was there and hooked up to monitors.She had a couple of really bad episodes while she was there where she felt like she couldn't breath, couldn't stop shaking and then she lost her speech which scared us to death. They ended up sedating her to calm her down. That one episode was on a Wednesday and then Thursday they gave her another medicine and it looked like she was having a bad reaction to it....her eyes were open but she couldn't move her body. We were freaking out thinking something was wrong. I ended up crashing and had to be carried away. All the result of everything going on of course.Everyone on the staff was very frustrated at not being able to help her. We felt like we were loosing our baby.We continued slowly getting through the end of the week and weekend dealing with all the symptoms still. Dr came to the conclusion that he felt she had got a bad virus. Although, he never dismissed the fact that it could be the Singulair but said unfortunately there was no test to look for that. He said parents usually know their kids better than anyone though.Dr. said when she was released she would have to go to inpatient rehab because of the anxiety issues and because she had not walked for so long (4-5 weeks).Dr came in Monday morning and said if she did not start drinking more she was about 2 days away from a feeding tube. During the day she started drinking more and when he came back in that night he said she had drank enough and he took her off the IV and said she could go home and we could do outpatient rehab. We were so happy to take her home even though we knew it would be hard. So the next day, Tuesday, was very hard and we had very serious episodes with not talking, loss of hearing, shaking, still not walking and passing out. We called the Dr. at the hospital and they said it was all due to the anxiety. We were praying over her so hard. Well Wednesday she woke up and said she had no more pain, she was hungry, and she started walking again. We got our baby back! And there is no doubt in our mind that it was that Singulair. We know that it was. From the time we took her off of Singular to the time she was totally restored was 9 days. It happened just like the all the other parents had described. As soon as it was out of her system she all of a sudden came back to us. We decided to not take her back to those pediatricians. I recently took her for a follow up with her Allergist,who was not aware of what had happened and after hearing the story said that he had experienced two of his patients being allergic to Singulair and they had hallucinations. They were pulled off the medicine immediately so their cases were not as extreme as hers. Please be cautious! This was a devastating experience! Please feel free to email us. I have documented our whole story if you would like it emailed to you.

Oh MY LORD! I can NOT believe what I am reading. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I have been taking Singulair for approximately 3 months. I went to a local doctor concerning yet another sinus infection when my doctor was out of town - she prescribed Singular for my allergies and I have been praising her ever since... until this past week. My allergies were non-existent and, until recently, I hadn't noticed any side effects.

I did not get my refill on time and went a couple of days without my Singulair, when I refilled it and started up again the INSANE side effects began. It wasn't until this morning that it occurred to me that these two things coincided and I should check the side effects online. Thank you ALL for writing here!

I have been EXTREMELY depressed, anxious and having terrible nightmares. I nearly had what I can best describe as a panic attack on the way to work this morning, for NO REASON. I actually began talking to my family about seeking therapy because I could see no reason for feeling the way that I did! It has been about a week of this and I was really becoming frightened. It was really only the suddenness of all of these symptoms that helped me make the connection.

I also haven't been wearing my contact lenses because my eyes have been so itchy! My goodness! Is this all from this drug?? I have not taken anything else. I am 31 years old and otherwise healthy - I can't believe I am going through all of this to avoid a sinus infection!

Goodbye, Singulair! Sweet dreams and happy wakings to me!!

Thank you again to all that wrote here - and for any readers - BE AWARE - all that glitters is NOT gold. While this may seem like the GREATEST thing ever for allergies, please take note of your other behaviors. When Singulair turns on you it takes no prisoners!

My 6-year-old was put on Singulair by an allergist after he had allergy testing in October. He first came down with a sinus infection in June and was treated with an antibiotic by our family physician, but the miserable clear snotty nose continued all summer long into September. I had to help him blow it just about every time. I presume it was mold since the mold counts were extremely high here in Virginia this summer. After two months of waiting for an appointment, we finally got in to have allergy testing performed. A week before seeing the allergist, I got frustrated with the whole mess and him missing school so I took him back to the family doctor and she prescribed Allegra suspension (new for kids) and it actually seemed to help a lot!

Well, his allergy testing proved he was allergic to all kinds of molds, cats, dust mites, pine and sweet gum trees, and ragweed. The allergy doctor for sure wanted to blame it on our German shepherds, so he did the intradermal test to double check but the dogs allergy was negative twice.
So, the Dr. decided to try some Singulair 5 mg at bedtime along with the Allegra and told us to mite-proof all his bedding, etc.

I kept my son on the Singulair for about 3 weeks of hell until I put 2 and 2 together. Every morning he was complaining of stomach aches, headaches, leg aches, not wanting to go to school, doing very poorly in school, lethargic, not participating, not concentrating, pulling answers out of his head instead of working out the problems (teacher told me he was lazy...big mistake...that really ticked me off.) I know my child! P.S. She is being observed very carefully by my husband and me as well as the principal and school resource teacher. I attribute this attitude to her youth and having no kids of her own.

Sorry for the long story, but after finding this website while searching for symptoms I had with another snake oil (lisinopril), I decided to research the Singulair side effects everyone has written about and everything just clicked with me. I took him off the Singulair about two weeks ago, and no more complaints of stomach aches, not wanting to go to school, etc.
I asked the teacher during the teacher conference how he behaved last week at school and she said he did wonderfully and participated in class and wasn't lethargic. His grades were even better. I still give him Allegra and that alone seems to do the trick. He is still a little moody though. I sure hope it's not the Allegra doing that to him.

We go back to the allergist at the end of November for follow up and he is going to get an earful! Hopefully with the seasons changing, my little boy's allergies will be better. The snotty noses have almost dried up completely on the Allegra alone. I don't think Singulair should ever have been approved for use in children!!!!

Went to my Dr for a sinus infection. I Came out with some Singulair and nose spray. Before the visit it was just a major case of Sinusitis. After the visit I thought I was going crazy. I have never experienced anxiety before. I am worried all the time, I thought I might be going crazy. I NEVER cry. I've cried about 4 or 5 different times. I feel like my arms and legs are restless, yet weak. I feel like I'm falling apart. I was in a constant state of worry, panic, anxiety and panic. I couldn't function, and when I could it was only barely.

I ended up going to the emergency room for the Sinusitis because the pressure was so intense. I was given more meds and told to stay on the Singulair. I realized upon taking it the next morning that I didn't know anything about this medicine because I was given samples with no insert info. I looked on line...I found this site. Thank you for posting your side effects. I'm not going crazy. I'm getting off Singulair. By the way did anyone else have these side effects?

I am 34, female, and started taking Singulair since three week ago due to allergies. Since last weekend I have been feeling terrible, with dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. I thought that maybe my sinus infection was not totally gone, but today my husband told me that maybe some of the medication I am taking is making me have those symptoms. He started doing some research online and found lots of information about Singulair side effects.

Now I can see that many people have been having different side effects.
I wish Doctors would be a little bit more informative about side effects symptoms. I won't take any more singulair and hopefully I will start feeling GOOD AGAIN! :o). I wish we wouldn't have to be trying SO MANY TYPES OF DRUGS!

Shekinnah

My daughter is 5 years old and has been on singulair for 1 week. i have already noticed a dramatic change in her behavior. she has become irritable, mean, nasty, and emotional. she has had me in tears on a daily basis. she has turned into a monster. we will be calling the doctor in the morning!

I have been on Singulair for 5 weeks. I moved from Orlando to Charlotte and got a sinus infection and noticed I had used my albuterol inhaler about once a day since being in Charlotte. So I went to the DR here and she said oh the allergy season has just started so we need to get you on Sigulair. I told her we had just moved and I was in the process of unpacking boxes, stress ect and really didn't think my asthma was that bad, it has always been very mild and contolled with predisone for a few days maybe once a year. She said Singulair would be great and I should start it right away, lets see how it will help. When I filled the prescription I noticed 12 refills, I was suspicious but decided to try it for a few days/weeks while we continued to get settled in. After about 3 days I did notice a slight improvem,ent in my allergies was it the medicine or maybe just getting the boxes out of the house. A few more days went by I was having a terrible time getting to sleep, staying alseep and when I did I was having horrible dreams. The kind that when I did wake up I was unsure what was real and what was a dream. My appetite was strange I just wanted alot of salty things and ate erratic. My moods have gottten increasingly worse and I have started kicking things that are in my way, I have NO patience for anything and really can't stand to be near me and it is hard to get away from me. I also have worked very hard to lose weight and had done well, in the past 5 weeks I have gained 7 pounds, this is not acceptable. My memory has gotten so bad that I will walk into one room and have to stand there for a minute to remember why I was heading that way. I ache and have muscle pain that is not explainable and if I do anything like take a walk or even clean the bathroom I feel like I have run a marathon. So I am not taking it anymore, I am hoping that nothing horrible will happen I think I will feel better, these side effects are wacky and can't be good for my body as a whole. I am 46 years old never been hospitalized for asthma. I am going to find a better way to handle any allergies or asthma that may come up. I am in winderment as to why this drug is touted a "miricle" drug and says by taking it one will have a normal life. I also wonder how many doctors actually take it themselves, I wish they would respond to this site and to our concerns.
Best to all and Thanks for sharing, it has helped me get off of this drug and know that I am not losing it.

I began taking singulair on Monday, March 26th for a severe allergy/sinus condition with a chronic chough. My family Dr. prescribed a combination of Singular, Claritin and Flonase to combat my allergies or at least to make them less harsh.

Prior to beginning the regiment, I was given a Z-pac to clear up sinus infection. This was one week earlier.

I took the singular at night as instructed by my doctor. I took the Claritin and Flonase in the morning.

I was hoping that the Singular would be the one drug to help stop the annoying cough. On day 6 of the Singular I noticed my cough becomming deeper in my chest. My doctor told me that it takes about 10 days for Singular start working. By day 7 it was difficult to get a good breath between coughing episodes. I am making an appointment with my doctor to see if i should continue on this med. I also experienced some dizzyness. I will probably stop taking this due to this horrible deep cough and thickening of the mucas that is occuring.

I began taking singulair on Thursday, March 28th for a severe allergy/sinus condition. My family Dr. prescribed a combination of Singular, Astelin and Flonase to combat my allergies or at least to make them less harsh.

Prior to beginning the regiment, I was given amoxicyllin and Guaifex to clear up a sinus infection, which I concluded the previous Sunday.

I took the singular only on Thursday morning (I did not take the flonase or astelin).

I will never take it again!! It was absolutely horrible. I woke up for work @ 6 am, took the 10mg pill @ 6:30 am and 2 hours later became lethargic with body aches and severe indigestion. I also came down with what felt like a migrane headache.

I dozed off @ my desk throughout the day and just wanted to go back to sleep. It was terrible and my head pounded like I was hit with an anvil.

I threw out the remainder of the pills ($48 dollars later!!!). I have never had such an adverse reaction to anything and I have no other explanation as to why this occured other than the Singulair.

I am now just beginning to feel better (It is now Sunday 03/04/07).

I have the following situation.
I got abad sinus infection and my doc also suspected that I might have asthma because I was wheezing alot.
So he put me on 10 days of Amoxicillin to kill the infection, gave a steroid nasal spray and also put me on Singulair.

I have the following symptoms.

1. I have a horrible aftertaste in my mouth especially when I cough..it takes like metal or blood.
2. My breathing becomes really horrible in the evenings (right before bed). I wheeze a lot and loud. Lots worse than it was when I first went to the doc. I do not know if there is a connection, but I wonder if what causes the breathing wheezing problem might be either Singulair or the nasal spray. Any ideas? has anybody experienced the same?
I stopeed amoxicillin today. So I can narrow it down to either spray or Singulair that is causeing this.
Please let me know if somebody experienced the same problems, or know what is going on.

P.S. I have been on all this meds 10 days only so far.

Thanks

I have been on Singulair for about a month. I have always had asthma/allergies.When I was first prescribed it I was very ill Sinus infection and phenomena. So my nose was stuffy and I could not smell or taste (from being sick. so as the weeks passed and I did not get my taste or smell back I was concerned. Singulair is the only new thing in my life so I have to point to it. I also have been having Very bad noose bleeds a few times aday. My sinuses and back of throat feel numb. I have been very angry/irratable( I just thought PMS or something) now seeing other peoples claims I realize that too is from Singulaie. My stomach has been very upset too. Constant bathroom visits. I could see how a child could have an accident. I have a very very hard time waking up in th emornings. No one can wake me. I feel druged. So I will discontinue

I have been on Singulair for about a month. When I was first prescribed it I was very ill Sinus infection and phenomena. So my nose was stuffy and I could not smell or taste (from being sick). So as the weeks passed and I did not get my taste or smell back I was concerned. Singulair is the only new thing in my life so I have to point to it. I also have been having Very bad noose bleeds a few times aday. My sinuses and back of throat feel numb. I have been very angry/irratable( I just thought PMS or something) now seeing other peoples claims I realize that too is from Singulaie. My stomach has been very upset too. Constant bathroom visits. I could see how a child could have an accident. So I will discontinue

I think Singulair is a great medication. I had a chronic cough for many years and Singulair is the ONLY medication I have found that has given me relief. I take it daily and year round. When I stop taking the medication for even a few days I always suffer again from my cough and usually get some form of a sinus infection. I also work in the medical field and recommend and prescribe Singulair to my patients all the time - I have had no complaints about SEs from my patients and most report that it reduces their asthma and/or allergy sxs.

I'm 56 years old and was recently diagnosed with adult onset asthma and started on Singulair. I'm not a smoker, and never have been, but I've had a cough and other respiratory problems for the past couple of years. At first, the Singulair seemed to help with the cough, although I've had problems sleeping from when I began taking it. Also, in the past couple of weeks I've developed flu-like symptoms (I don't have the flu), and a severe sinus infection. I didn't realize these could be side effects of Singulair until I began to do some reading. I'm discontinuing the Singulair tonight, and hopefully these symptoms will disappear.

I am 14 years old and have been on singulair for 4 months at first i though it was helping but it was actully making it harder for me to do sports i have in the past 4 months had the flu, sinus infection, numbness in my arms and legs,throat and respitory infection and trouble sleeping at night. it doesn't help my swimming. I have competitions every 3 weeks and it is brining my mood down and most of the competitions I end up being sick. It is getting so bad that I cant go for more than 2 mineuts without coughing violently and I am constantly throwing up because it is so bad.

Hi, my 6 yo son started on the 4 mg singulair about three months ago after being hospitalized for three days due to a seizure. After many tests and massive iv antibiotics it was determined that his sinus infection (for which he was taking an antibiotic at the time) had irritated his brain and caused the seizure. He has struggled with sinus infections ever since age 1 and taken way too many antibiotics. After starting the singulair we noticed that the next time he got a cold his nasal passages stayed open and after blowing green mucus for about three weeks he was better without an antibiotic. We thought singulair was a God send. But out of the last nine weeks, he has had green snot coming out of his nose for six of them. He also frequently complains about mucus in his throat. But the thing that sent me searching on the internet was that now he is complaining of stomach pain. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. He can't handle any more antibiotics, but I don't like what the singulair is doing to him either. I welcome any thoughts. BTW, we did have him allergy tested recently and he his highly allergic to dust, but nothing else.

Julie

Wow. I'm going back to the pediatrician today. My 3 year old son was put on singulair 2 1/2 weeks ago. Within 2 days he became a holy terror. He's been throwing tantrums and generally in "overload" all the time. Also, he's been on antibiotics for a sinus infection already.

Thanks so much for sharing your stories. I thought I was crazy since the doctor said there was "no way" it could be the medication.

I have been on this medication for about 8 weeks. The first 6 weeks (I initially thought, but now seriously wonder) were like amazing, I felt my asthma was better, no allergies going on, I even stopped my Allegra, which I used to live on for my allergies. Two weeks ago, I thought an enviromental problem caused me to agitate my sinuses/allergies, get worse and develop into a sinus infection (dryer vent tubing came off, lint floated around house for a week before finding).

I went to see my GP, he treated me as sinus infection and gave me Nexium because I was experiencing bad stomach and chest burning. I never had that before in my adult years, I am 38. So, I was taking Singulair, Nexium, amoxicillin, Nasonex and Allegra. By the next evening, I was so sick, stomach burning, vomited, rash/hives, difficult breathing, I went to the ER. They sort of treated me like 'what are you doing here?' but I felt like I was dying. I was scared.

I had the asthma breathing treatment, Mylanta, Prednisone and Benadryl. I asked about the Singulair, they said no problem, take it too. It was after midnight and I actually slept until 6 am, first time in a long time. By 1 pm the next day, the stomach pain came back, the hives and itching, the wheezing.

24+ hours later, I am on the phone with my GP and tell him about the rash/hives, difficulty breathing and he blames it on the amoxicillin. I quit taking the amoxicillin 12 hours ago and am still having the hives/severe itching. Even my genital area is itching.

Through this time, I started researching the side effects online for Singulair. I asked my pharmacist, two doctors and the ER staff and ALL of them SAID NO, IT CAN'T BE THE SINGULAIR. Yeah right. I started doing an inventory and my husband (bless his heart) confirmed that I have been much more agitated the past 8 weeks, I definitely have been having nightmares (didn't really pay attention to the connection until I started reading up on the side effects) which I rarely ever do, usually I can barely remember what I dream about.

I have had malaise, lack of interest in doing what I normally do, find myself forcing myself to get out of the house. I guess maybe I could say a sort of depression since I started this drug.

Here is my list of symptoms I attribute to Singulair and I am stopping cold turkey as of tonight and going back to Flovent.

These side effects started after 6 weeks of use:
sinus infection, swollen-hurting tongue, sore throat, increase of asthma/wheezing/cough, rash, hives, entire body itching including genital area, rash with no itching on stomach, burning in stomach and upper chest, vomiting. I think that covers it. And I once claimed this to be a miracle drug for me. Yeah right.

Good luck to everyone and I am sorry for the loss of life due to this drug. I honestly felt like I was dying and I am still afraid of what may happen to my asthma once I quit taking it tonight.
Michelle

my 10 year old daughter was put on singulair by an infectious disease doctor that had seen some improvements in kids taking this who have chronic sinus infections and swelling of sinus tissues...my daughter showed an improvement in sinus problems but noticed a 20 pound weight gain from 62 to 82 pounds in a few months..owed this to better health from pill and tonsil/sinus surgery...went off singulaire that summer...at Christmas my daughter caught a bad cold which turned into a potentially fatal frontal sinus infection from infected swelling frontal sinus (called Pott's Puffy Tumor)...she was put on IV antibiotics and singulair..she takes nasonex and sudafed regularly and does daily sinus rinsing...since starting the singulair again she is increasingly hungry and she is gaining weight again...slightly moody, never feels full...but the new symptom is pain in her side at the lower rib cage..this started after singulair for 2 months...the pain wraps around her side and reaches to her navel area...last night she woke up with severe cramping in her stomach every 10 minutes like labor contractions....after an hour she developed all over hives and was having hot flashes during the cramping...she had just taken her second dose of Entex which is an expectorant to thin her sinus mucous...at the time of these symptoms she has been off her IV drugs for 3 weeks...so these other posts really make me suspect singulair for weight gain and abdominal/rib pain and cramping..anyone with similar symptoms?..

I began taking singular for a sinus infection last year. I have been taking it off and on but my ears have been popping since the infection. Reading the patient information listed as a side effect is ear infections, yet the doctor continues to treat me with it. I have also noticed that i have been very hungry when taking it.

After five weeks of taking singulair-sinus infections after sinus infection, ear aches, bad sore throat, upper respiratory infection, shortness of breath,hard time sleepn... I am at college and I am sick of being sick. I am going to tell my doctor that I do not have time for this! I questioned whether or not to go home to see if i just need good rest and time off. I thought i might have monno because i am feeling extremely fatigue and have swollen glands. I actually still have all these symptoms. Now that I have knowledge of what all of my sickness is most likely from, I think I will try stop taking this GREAT pill called singulair!!!! ....I want to tell everyone to not trust doctores when they tell you how great this drug is your going to take

flue like symptoms fever sneezing,bronchitis and recurrence of sinus infection it was suppose to be treating. was being treated for sinus infection with this and now the side effects are more serious than the infection which was slowly improving with older generic antibiotics. it is bad enough to pay over a hundred dollars per bottle for a drug that does not work but one that makes you extremely ill is a crime. dr. is washing hands of this matter when confronted with side effects and said he had never heard of this but it is in the drug encloseure literature which i showed him but am now on my own to deal with this. he wants me to go for a round of tests for something that seems to be a well known series of side effects caused by the drug. am now worried about gettin g pheumonia....am going back to my generic antiobiotics,slower but truer.