Singulair and hormones

My son is 12 and has been taking Singulair for the last ten months...he has been getting moody and upset for no good reason over the last 3 months and I put it down to "hormones" starting to kick in. He has now gone to feeling very sad and has even told me last night that he has thought about killing himself several times and feels he can't go on, or cope and feels lost and lonely or unwanted and in the way. He is confused and does not understand what is happening to him. I have just realized it may be the Singulair and will be taking him off it immediately. I'm hoping it is this as if it isn't I feel totally helpless as to how to help my child. Please say a prayer for him. He used to be happy go lucky.

Why does Singulair cause these symptoms? I am going to give my explanation which is only a HYPOTHESIS. This should not be categorized as any thing but an educated guess. This is not backed by scientific research because nobody will do any research that would appear to anger
Merck even if people are suffering in the thousands.

1. The original research that preceded the development of Singulair (montelukast) seemed to focus on the theory that asthma was caused by an unusual immune response to certain pathological stimulus. There are many references to the observation that a high percentage of asthma sufferers are people whose asthma is caused by fungus. Many people suffer from asthma and are told that they are allergic to dust mites. Dust mites can live only because the fungus aspergillus pre-digests the
food source that dust mites can then absorb. Other sources of fungus occur in the home due to dampness or problems with wood rot.

2. The body's immune system fights certain categories of pathogens such as bacteria and fungus by creating nitric oxide which kills them at the site where they try to enter the body. The mast cell is the immune cell that is responsible for the production of nitric oxide. Mast cells are found in the skin, airways, intestines etc. The mast cell is capable of many different types of biochemical functions that are designed to signal other cells or other chemical responses. When the mast cell knows that pathogens
are present and nitric oxide is NOT produced, then it signals other immune cells to be sent to the site of the infection. Thus in the case of asthma, it is known that excessive numbers of eosinophils appear in the airways and these cells create inflammation.

3. Singulair was developed for asthma and later allowed to be prescribed for other reasons. I believe that montelukast probably creates a source of nitric oxide that prevents the mast cell from signalling for other immune cells to arrive at the source of infection. I arrived at that conclusion from studying the chemical structure of montelukast, the chemical structure of the gene cysLT1 receptor, and the chemical structure of the cell wall of fungus which would be what the mast cell uses to determine "what to do in order to kill the fungus."

The researchers who invented montelukast first had to clone the gene-cysLT1 receptor meaning that they had to be able to identify the gene and replicate it. Then by trial and error they had a find a "chemical"
that would bind (connect chemically) to the cysLT1 receptor. The theory would be that montelukast would take the place of the fungus or other pathogen and thus prevent the gene from reacting to produce the
responses that the sick patient with asthma produced. Merck says in the literature that montelukast binds with the cysLT1 receptor in order to prevent the mast cell from signalling the eosinophils to arrive in excessive
numbers that cause inflammation. I believe that montelukast is also causing the production of an amount of nitric oxide that is actually killing the pathogens that are present. For one thing, I would think that it
would be dangerous to incapacitate the immune system in that way without providing a way to kill the pathogens. I don't believe that the asthma response is just allergies to something like dust. Pollen from trees and flowers is loaded with fungus spores.

4. IF, IF, IF, montelukast does actually produce nitric oxide, then it does so by binding with the gene. Any place in the body where a molecule of montelukast encounters the cysLT1 receptor (a gene) then the corresponding molecules of nitric oxide are produced before the liver enzymes break the montelukast molecules up. Nitric oxide is TOXIC and
INFLAMMATORY. So let's look at the symptoms in regard to the location of the cysLT1 receptors. The location of these symptoms would not be places in the body where the mast cells normally encounter fungus or bacteria. The cysLT1 also has other functions in that it communicates with the cysLT2 receptors. Obviously, nitric oxide
should not be produced in these locations because of the signalling effect of nitric oxide on other physiological functions.

a. intestinal pain - the cysLT1 receptors are located in the small intestines
b. leg pain actually caused by vasculitis - cysLT1 receptors are found inside blood vessels- consistent with the fact that montelukast causes
Churg-Strauss
c. some people who didn't have asthma develop asthma - the cysLT1 receptors are in the airways
d. nightmares, depression, neurological damage - when montelukast penetrates the blood brain barrier probably due to unusual conditions of blood pH or electrolyte imbalance then nitric oxide in the brain causes neuron damage and excitoxicity

5. Why do some patients not experience side effects? Probably because genetically they are completely compatible with the model that researchers created when they cloned the cysLT1 receptor gene. I didn't not find any information about whether researchers knew that there are many different variations of this gene.

6. IF, my theory is even close to being correct, then why doesn't Merck do anything about researching these side effects. Maybe because nobody in the company knows how this drug works but the researchers who created it. All of the Merck literature is very vague about any biochemical information.

Again, this is just speculation and hypothesis. I have made an attempt to put this in simplistic language and therefore sacrifice scientific accuracy. But, I think that you will get the point.

SINGULAIR IS VERY DANGEROUS TO PATIENTS WHO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS. DOCTORS SHOULD JUST REALIZE THAT
THOSE PATIENTS ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE MODEL FOR THE DRUG.

This past winter we found out that my son had developed asthma. His allergist /asthma doctor put him on Singulair as his preventative. Not two days later a report came across the news that Singulair has depression as a side effect. I immediately called my son's allergist / asthma doctors and was told that these symptoms have been found ONLY in children in their teens. That they are linking something in the med with hormones and it spawns depression.
Even though this is terrible for the parents of teenagers, my son is 6 years old... the chance of this happening to us was slim. Or so I thought.
One morning, to my horror, two weeks later my 6 year old son whom never really watched anything on television without his parents (with the exception of Noggin programs) is talking about how he wished he was never born. That no one would care if he was to die or disappear. That maybe he should just go to sleep one night an just die..... he was getting so angry for no apparent reason, throwing things and yelling all the time... telling me, his mother (we have always been so close) that he wished I were dead and that he hated me...
Needless to say I immediately called his doctors and they told me to stop the Singulair right away. The doctors were shocked that this has happened to a 6 year old and had filled out reports for the FDA that I had to give detailed descriptions of what happened to my son so they could start warning other parents.
Now, four months later and we have our happy go luck son back. No preventative, but the inhaler is doing the job.
Good luck out there if you agree to put your child on this medication. I understand it does not happen to everyone, I just cannot tell or describe to you how horrifying and traumatizing it was to go through seeing my happy go lucky son become this extremely depressed angry aggressive child within two weeks. We are still battling the aggressive behavior, but hey, he is 6 and that could be normal... right?

My eight year old daughter was recently diagnosed with precocious puberty. This is devastating to my family...She was on singulair fo asthma for almost 4 years...Noone in the med profession will comment on how this happened but the internet is filled with other parents dealing with the ame dilemma. I am so furious right now.

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.

My son began taking singulair when he was 6. About that time we were hading into the school years. He was labeled as a "special" child from that time on. Impulsive, aggressive, angry, anti-social, etc. He had a hard time focusing at school and every day was a battle. About 5th grade, after 3 schools, he was diagnosed with ADHD. I never, ever thought that it could be this medication. He was on it for about 4 years off and on during allergy season. I transferred him to a private school for children with behavioral issues and as time went on through therapy and special schooling it seemed to get better. I look back now and see that our "good" times were when he finally went off it for good. The beginning of his Freshman year was great! He had a 3.58 GPA, making friends and finally happy. The unfortunate thing is now that puberty has really kicked in, we are back to the old behaviors but much worse. Impulsive, angry, anxious, afraid of the dark, afraid of death. Violent thoughts, impulsive and very unhappy. I can see now that my son never had ADHD. He was misdiagnosed because thier were no warnings at that time. I don't think it ever "goes away". Even after years of being off of it. Something with the puberty hormones is re-triggering this behavior. IT IS LONG TERM!!!!! Even after discontinued use. Please, please keep an eye on your children. I AM SO ANGRY FOR HIM!! Also, for me. Special school $400 month, psychologist appointments, $300 month, my poor Son in a dark place I can't get him out, PRICELESS. . .I want my Son just to be happy. Thank you all for sharing your stories, it gives me strength that I need for him.

Hi,
I wanted to post this link just to give some small consolation to our concerns about the lack of awareness THAT DOCTORS HAVE ABOUT SINGULAIR.This is a voluntary online informational site,that doctor's can join. It provides updated information on serious label changes and safety concerns on drugs.Most doctors at this point still get snail mail updates,in the paper shuffle a lot of information gets misplaced.The AMA would like to have all information come in online,eventually.The link is ******
read it and tell me if you think more can be done By the way my pediatricians office does not have online communication.Our life is forever changed because of that ! Information is playing a vital role in this drugs destructive path ,or the lack there of information.Again this is voluntary for the Doctors to sign up .In this modern day of communication how does important information not get where it is the most useful, I ask you?When drugs are making multi billion dollar profits,that would be an educated guess.I am doing another interview with CBS affiliate out of Boston on the 23rd of June,they contacted me.I hope it will reach more people who are still unaware of this drugs serious potential side effects.If any of you parents have some connection to media ,please use it to your best advantage to get this very important information out to the publicAlso so many of you ask how to help.Contact your local Senators and keep bothering them to reach out to the FDA to expedite this investigation. Make a pain in the butt out of yourself and be persistent.I will try to make reference to this site so your stories are heard. Dave and I are coming up on a year since our son passed on to our lord .Still fighting Kate and Dave M.

In September of 2007 my then 13 year old daughter was put on Singular for mild asthma. At the time she was a straight A student, vice president of our school and a popular girl who's guidance counselor described as "the glue of her grade" because she was so well liked. In November she told me that she was struggling with advanced Latin and Science. She asked to drop down to on grade Latin so we did. In December her science teacher notified us that she had a C average. She told me that she thought she had ADD/ADHD and she couldn't keep up. At the same time she was having a lot of problems with friends at school and we just attributed it to being 14. 3 weeks ago we discovered that she is significantly behind in English and it was then that she told me that she is been having horrific night mares. She said that they usually involve someone killing her or her killing herself. She said that they were so graphic that she couldn't repeat it out loud. She also said that she would feel waves of anxiety that would come over her at school and she would act "witchy" to the kids in her class for no real reason. She said that sometimes when she is trying to do her homework she will read the same passage for 2 hours and still have no idea what it's about. She also said that the suicidal thoughts from her sleep happened during they day and that she had thoughts of her harming herself. Fortunately her pulminologist told us that this may be caused by singular and we immediately took her off of it which was 2 weeks ago. She has only had 1 "bad dream" not even a nightmare since. She had one anxiety attack 3 days after she was off it and she describes her moods as the "cloud lifting....slowly". Now, we have to pick up the pieces. Her grades have suffered, her friendships have suffered and most of all her self esteem is very low. I'm grateful that we found out the cause but I feel as if my daughter lost a year of her life and I worry that because Merck won't admit there are side effects we can't find out how long it remains in their system. Is anyone else concerned about the long term affect and has anyone pursued a class action suit to try to get this drug tested properly?

Does montelukast affect growth in children? Remember the report of identical twins, one took Singulair and one didn't. If I remember correctly, the one who took Singulair was at least two inches shorter in a short period of time.

If anyone would like a reason to look into that, then I refer you to this study. It could suggest that leukotrienes act on the pituitary to release pituitary hormones. We don't know what happens when the production of leukotrienes are blocked by montelukast.

"Finally, leukotrienes have also been found to act on the pituitary to modulate the release of the pituitary hormones."

"The distribution data of HPN321 suggests major role(s) for this receptor in endocrine and cardiovascular systems. CysLTs are well known for their modulatory effects in cardiovascular functions, where they reduce myocardial contractility and coronary blood flow (Letts and Piper, 1982) and have vasoactive effects (Drazen et al., 1980). They are thus considered to be important players in cardiovascular diseases (for review, see Folco et al., 2000). The strong expression of HPN321 in adrenal gland points at a new tissue where to study the influence of CysLTs on endocrine circuits. Finally, leukotrienes have also been found to act on the pituitary to modulate the release of the pituitary hormones (Hulting et al., 1984; Saadi et al., 1990). Our discovery of the existence of the HPN321 message in pituitary adds a molecular credence to this concept. The HPN321 receptor may thus modulate a variety of different physiological functions, which can now be tested using BAY u9773."

Vol. 58, Issue 6, 1601-1608, December 2000

ACCELERATED COMMUNICATION

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of a Second Human Cysteinyl Leukotriene Receptor: Discovery of a Subtype Selective Agonist
Hans-Peter Nothacker, Zhiwei Wang, Yuhong Zhu, Rainer K. Reinscheid, Steven H. S. Lin, and Olivier Civelli

Departments of Pharmacology (H.P.N., Z.W., Y.Z., R.K.R., S.H.S.L., O.C.) and Developmental and Cell Biology (O.C.), University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California; and NeoGene Technologies, Inc., Irvine, CA (H.P.N., Z.W., R.K.R., O.C.)

http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/58/6/1601

I'm an 18 year old male and I've been taking Singulair for years; I don't even remember when I started taking it. I've had chronic sinusitis my whole life, and use a Singulair 10mg/ Allegra 180mg combo to control it. I never gave it a second thought. From my adolescent years on, I've been able to sleep (if undisturbed) for 15, 16+ hours a night, and have always felt like I was in a fog during everyday life. Getting out of bed has always been a terrible problem for me.

Throughout high school, I became progressively more depressed and apathetic toward school work, to the point where I dropped a number of classes my junior year. Got put on Prozac for a while, it helped a great deal with the depression, and seemed to give me enough energy to get through the week. I discontinued it after a year or so, everything was going okay (aside from mood swings and tiredness- explained away as symptoms of my age/hormones/going to bed too late), and then I went to college.

I had a mild depression that I think most people get upon leaving home for the first time, but the real problem was anxiety; I had a number of anxiety attacks, and decided to transfer to a school closer to home. I started Celexa and therapy- the celexa seems to take the edge off, but I fear its making me even more tired than before.

I've just heard about the whole Singulair controversy, and I am not taking it from here on out. I really hope that this whole ordeal was brought on primarily by the Singulair. After a month or two, I'll repost to report whether the symptoms went away.

Hi guys,
I came to this forum after a client at our firm told me to check out whats happening with singular. I am not a lawyer, but I am a secretary for a med mal firm and I can tell you that we have already started taking these cases. I saw a few questions posted about whether you had to wait 9 months for the investigation to finish, but that doesn't stop you from filing suit. If it were my baby boy, I would switch meds, but if you can't--make sure you journal EVERYTHING. Take videos of outbursts, etc. We have one client who's son is self mutilating after using singular. If thats happening to you, try to document the episodes. Like I said, im not a lawyer, but I work for some so I can answer a lot of questions and I would be more than willing to help. I am so disgusted by what I have read. Please email me if you have any legal questions, etc. If i can't answer them, my boss will and if its a medical question, we have a staff nurse so I will give her a call. Again, I am so sorry for what everyone is going through. I pray to god I can help in some way.

My daughter took singulair for a number of years because she was asthmatic and the doctor recommended that she takes one each a day. At 13 she started acting differently and I thought it was just growing up and being a rebellious teenager. I later found track mark on her arms and she was hospitalized under suicide watch. She was not allowed in school until she had numerous therapy sessions. On top of everything she was giving topamax to control her anxiety and depression and now missed so much school that she has graduate a year later.

My 13 year old son has been on Singulair for about 4 years. I considered it a wonder drug because he would always get sick from his asthma. For the past couple of years my son has been very inattentive. I blew it off as the preteen hormones. It wasn't until recently his dad made a comment about him never smiling or enjoying things they use to do together. If you saw any of his recent photos compared to his past pics, he appear dazed and depressed. I would always ask he's okay, any new changes in school. OMG! I can't believe they are marketing this medicine to our children.

He always complained of stomach upsets, really bad headaches every week, pain in his legs and hallucinations. I know this sounds crazy, but I would have never considered it may be the medicine, but after reading the blogs, I'm starting to realize it could be contributed to Singulair. It's been two days since I've taken him off Singulair and I can only hope and pray his asthma does not flair up like it has in the past. I also pray that Merck is reading these blogs and will take Singulair off the market until a more detailed research is conducted. I at one time looked at Singulair as being the greater good for my son's asthma, but it's not worth risking my son's mental health. I wonder if Merck would give this medicine to there children?

My 6 year old daughter has been off the Singulair for 5 days, after being on it for like 4 years. I have noticed some big changes for the positive... but she is still yelling at me when I have to get her up for school...and ight before bed. She is falling asleep a little better, and waking up less. But this screaming is so bad. I need to videotape it so people will believe me..as to how bad it is! Anyone else have some side effects still left, or did the all go away right away?

I have a 10 year old daughter who has been on Singulair for 3 years for allergies. The medication worked great and has not had ANY problems with allergies at all. I don't know exactly when her behavior started to change. It was so gradual. She became irritable and easily upset but I thought it had to do with hormones. In January 08 she began complaining of stomach problems and the doctor thought maybe reflux. We tried medicine for that but it did not help for long. Then in March 08 it really it hard. She began to have leg cramps often, which I thought were growing pains and the mood swings were terrible. She began to have tantrums that were so bad they were like night terrors but she was awake. She would talk of dying and hurting something or breaking something. She would lye on the floor and pound away uncontrollably. She would cry help me help me why am I feeling like this. She states she doesn't know why she does this and does not feel normal. I was researching allergies this past weekend and came across the Singulair problems. I had no idea about them. I immediately stopped the medicine and today is the 3rd day without it. I have seen improvement already. I was really encouraged because of her unusually great mood. However, she had a crying episode
tonight. I know it takes time to get out of the system. I am hoping within a few more days she will be free of this terrible medicine. Patients should definitely be warned of possible side effects. Not everyone may react in this terrible way but from reading so many forums there are a tremendous amount of people who do, children and adults.

I'm 22 years old. I've been on Singulair for about 5 years. I have stomach pains and mood swings frequently. As soon as I heard the news about depression and suicide I stopped taking it. I have a family history of depression and suicide so I don't need anything helping it out. I thought the mood swings were just from my hormones... guess not. I have not felt much of a change yet. I've been off the med sinceThursday.

My 8 year old daughter has been taking Singulair for 4 years. She immediately began having sleeping problems. I never connected it to Singulair. When she was 5, she had a check-up with her Asthma/Allergy doctor. I received a new prescription and had it filled at Costco. She became more irritable and the sleeping problems persisted. After I had the second refill and had the information sheet Costco had given me, I decided to read the about side effects. That was when I realized she was taking the 10mg dose for ages 15 and up at 5 years old. I knew she was taking a different dose but it was new script because she had been at the doctors and I thought the doctor had just increased the dosage. I called Costco and had them check the original prescription and sure enough they had entered it wrong in their system and was given an OVERDOSE. They did pay for any tests for Physical damage (blood work and liver), and gave me free pills that were dispensed incorrectly. I assumed everything was ok now that she was back on the 5mg. dose again. She has still continued to have sleeping issues and her aggressive behavior has gotten worse. She has consistently had stomach problems, daily! A month ago I had an evaluation done for academic purposes, When the Psychologist was done he was saying she was a sweet girl. I proceeded to tell him about her violent outbursts. Just that morning her brother, 6yrs.old, was walking by her and out of the blue she took the pencil in her hand and slashed across his chest. I told him these were typical of the behavior at home and I had tried all type of discipline to no avail. HE WAS SHOCKED. He said that wasn't her personality at all. After talking to him a second time, He said it was probably a combination of her age, hormones starting to kick in and sibling rivalry! I knew it was more than that but still never connected it to Singulair! Well, as of today she is off the Singulair. I can't wait to see if her behavior changes. I see these posting go all the way back to 2003! If only I had thought to look online first!

I too am in shock as well as relived about the news on singulair. Last night my 15 year old son called me (he's at the beach on spring break w/ friends), first he said Mom don't be mad but I haven't been taking my singulair and I feel better he then proceeded to tell me what he saw on the news about singulair and he was not ever taking it again. My son has been on singulair for the past year and as I write this I want to cry thinking of how I have treated him the past year because he went from a loving happy child to a tired, moody, grades falling, bouts of anger where he would tell me to just leave him alone he didn't care anymore about school or anything. He would stay awake at night and I couldn't get him up in the morning. Over the past 8 months I've had him at the Dr.s office trying to tell them something was wrong with. He shouldn't be so tired, angry, falling asleep in class. He was tested 3 times for mono with neg. results and I was told it was his age. Last month at my wits end I took him to the Dr. and demanded a complete blood work up because either something was very wrong with him or maybe he did developer teen add or emotional problems. The doctors diagnosis: depression and fluctuating hormones of a teenager. I'm furious at myself for all those nights trying to understand why he could pay attention in class, wouldn't remember his homework, getting angry when I would tell him theres no way you can be that tired all the time, telling me he hated fighting with me over school,and just wished he could quit school altogether. He even lost interest in his favorite sport and would get so frustrated at how he felt he would cry at night say he was sorry he didn't know why he felt so mad inside and I would try to understand but not know what to do.
I asked his Dr.s on several occasions if singulair could cause him to feel like this and every time they told me no and blamed on his age and being depressed about school. He will not be taking singulair again!.

Living with our 13 year old son for the last 7-8 months has been like H--L, and now to read about all of this, we've taken him off Singulair as of last night. We've been completely at a loss why the sudden shift in his behavior, and we assume too it was hormones. Now, he's just started seeing a chiropractor for his recently diagnosed scoliosis, so we thought maybe the scoliosis was affecting his moods, which it could be, but the Singulair sounds more like it. I myself have been seeing a chiro for 19 months for a very bad back and have seen the great results (I could barely walk and was waiting to meet with a surgeon - happy to report I've not had the operation after all), and I've just finished reading a great book I encourage you all to read called One Minute to Wellness (and I'm not religious at all but this book really opens up the alternative possibilities of chiropractic care). I had heard before how chiropractic care has helped many with asthma, so we're hoping that our son's chiropractic care for his scoliosis will also help his asthma. It is worth considering. Our kids health and our sanity are worth it.

I sit here in tears because I know where you have been with this "wonderful" drug. I have spent nearly this entire year complaining and fussing at my 11-year-old son constantly for everything! I have punished, grounded and even spanked due to his poor attitude and bad behavior. Now, I come to find out that it is due to medication that he is on. I feel so bad.

You have to understand, he is a great boy. He was a straight A-B student, takes guitar lessons, is in advanced classes at school, participates in the youth activities and classes at church. Since the first of the year he has become so difficult to deal with. Angry, spiteful, hateful, aggressive, depressed. You name it. I thought it was because he was 10 and hormones!! I could have lost him and not known why!!

A couple of weeks ago he was suspended from school for making a threat to another student. The principal mentioned that this was very uncharacteristic for him. Now I know why. You see, he has never been aggressive before. He is not even aggressive with his sister who is 3, until recently. His grades have dropped from mostly A's to mostly C's. He does not enjoy the things that he used to love doing. He has gained weight to 150 pounds! His teachers comment that he is a loner now when he did not use to be.

It all makes sense now. We have an appointment tomorrow at 1:45 with the allergist. He will not be taking this medication any more.

Thank you for being so honest and sharing so others like me can see that we are not going through this alone and there is a reason for this behavior. I just hope that others are able to stop this cruel drug in time before their loved ones are lost forever!! May God bless you all!!

I have an 8 year old son who has been on singulair for about 2 years now. We have a very busy schedule with school, scouts, and football. So we often times would forget to take the pill as the Dr. recommended to take it before bed. Well around November we began taking the medication on a daily basis as prescribed. And since November the number of side effects from this medication has been alarming. I never made the connection to the medication until I came across the information on this website and on other forums. Since November my son has been on his medication consistently and over the past 5 months I have seen so many changes in him. Many that alarm me and have caused me concern but many others that through this website have come to light.

My son has always been a shy but outgoing child. He is very caring and loving and recently he has turned into this selfish, depressed, paranoid, and emotional child. His teachers have made comments saying they don't know what it is with him but they see a change and they were not sure what the cause. I was not sure either. Recently we went for a walk at the park and he said, "I feel like everyone is looking at me". I just shrugged off his comment and said, everyone is looking at you. You are a handsome boy and we are at the park. People enjoy watching other people. Then he would often times tell me he was sad and he did not know why. Said I have a whole in my heart and I don't know what to do to make it better. My heart would just break for him. I felt helpless for him. He has also been aggressive. He has been in 3 fights in the past 3 months. My son also experienced rashes on his body. He has a batch of rough dry irritated skin on his belly and it has now cleared up. He had 3 patches of dry skin on his back and that also has began to clear. His legs also were achy and he has not since complained about leg pains.

This past week we were on vacation for spring break. Well being vacation and not being at home threw our normal schedule for a loop. So we took the regular AM medications (Flonase, Pulmacourt inhaler) but forgot all about the Singulair evening pill. He has not had a pill for 9 days now. Last night we had football practice and I noticed how eager he was to do well and I noticed how much more excited he was about it. I thought it was because he was enjoying it and learning something new. Now I feel like I have a clearer vision into what was REALLY going on. I will NOT give my son Singulair EVER again! I feel misguided that my doctor did not tell me that these were possible side effects. I trusted him and was at my whits end in finding a reslution to my sons asthma issues.

I have a daughter who just turned 11 and has been on Singulair for 1 year. I can't say exactly when she turned into devil child, but she did. She went from fun loving, happy go lucky and VERY EASY GOING to a miserable, irritable, cranky girl. I've been using the must be her hormones phrase... Not saying that some of it is not her hormones but her behavior sometimes is beyond anything normal. From the minute she gets up in the morning till bedtime any little and I mean little incident can put her in a frenzy. I've been considering counseling for her until a family member asked me if she was on any meds and that maybe it was that. What a horrible mother I feel like that I never thought of that. I don't give my kids anything without looking it up and I never did with this one.. It has helped her so much . The last time I took her off in 2 days she was wheezing.. Well I'm going to try again because my whole family can not bear her mood swings anymore. I'm going to wean her off by using it every other day and eventually down to nothing, CAN'T WAIT.. I'm going to try something new although I'm not sure if it will help the asthma part, it's the neti pot. It's has an amazing success rate for sinus problems. I'll follow up in a couple of weeks to post how all is going.. Wish me luck...

I was diagnosed with asthma 2 years ago when I was 47. I take Allegra, Foradil, Asmanex, Singulair and receive two allergy shots a week. I also take a tiny dose of Buspar for anxiety. I have been on Singulair for somewhere from a year and a half to two years. Two weeks ago I started having what for me are very disturbing side effects that I felt sure were drug related. Twitching leg muscles, a terrible restlessness upon waking which causes sleepliness, heavy feeling in my chest, some headaches ( I never had them before). I have had tingling in my left hand for while and I thought that was because of something else, but now I am wondering....everything is definetly new since I started this drug, but most of it recent. I went off the Allegra, Buspar, Asmanex. I had no reduction in symptoms. At the end of the week I stopped taking the Singular for two days and started to feel better, but then decided that the symptoms were was caused by something else (hormones) and resumed all meds. The symptoms came rushing back. I now have ceased the Singular, but only for a day. I am narrowing the cause of the symptoms (which elsewhere in the literature seem to be very much attributed to a medication induced situation) and I am thinking it is the Singular, particularly after both reading all of your postings and talking to friends who either have had similar effects or have family members who have and after having no reduction in symptoms after going off my other meds. I will post again after a week to let you know if Singulair appears to be the culprit. Some people I talked to whose family members have had the same reaction said that there are plenty of other things available to help the asthma symptoms and quite frankly, as far as I can tell, the inhalers are what are working the best and this drug is not worth it if you are having side effects of this nature. Fortuna, I had the same idea as you, to get my heart tested and thought maybe I was heading for a stroke or something, but now I am convinced that this is medication related. Please post again and let me know how going off this drug is working out for you. I will do the same. The best to all of you.

I have only been on it for 8 days, but it has been wonderful for me. I suffer from nearly daily migraines. My migraines are brought on by strong smells like smoke, or perfume. The first day I was on Singulair, I went on a field trip to a farming community with my daughter. This is usually enough to have me in bed with an aching headache for a week, but instead I got a mild migraine late that afternoon. My imitrex knocked it right out. The next day, I cleaned house all day, no headache even with cleaning chemicals. Now 8 days later, I haven't had to take any migraine medicine at all. Three nights this week, my neighbor has burnt grass (a major trigger for me) and still no headache. I may get side effects later, but for now, this has been a godsend to me. It has my allergies under control and I can now go out to dinner without fear of smelling smoke, or too much perfume. I can work in my yard again.
If you are having side effects, try something else. I have had terrible side effects from medicines before so I know they do exist. I wish you luck in finding the one that works for you.

I am in total shock. I cannot believe I found this site.
My son is 18 years old, and has cold induced asthma. He has been on singulair for many many years. Since taking the drug, his outbreaks have been only once a year, and just this year he has not had any flare ups! I was a huge believer in singulair, until now....something has happened to my son...I watched a video of him last night when he was about 10...he was happy and patient and loving. He was always a straight A or A-B student. Within the past 4 years, he is so mean that I am at my wit's end. He can hardly stand his dad, and despises his younger brother. I'm not too high in his book on some days either. Of course, you would think it is just teenage hormones, but I've never seen anyone that is so hateful of everyone as a teen. He is a star baseball player, and doesn't like his coach, and doesn't like most people! I have sat her and just cried my eyes out reading about everyone else....I don't know if I can stop him cold turkey, but I'm going to call the Dr. and then not tell anyone and wean him off his singulair, and see what happens. To think my boy will be going to college in the fall and he has had to suffer all these years! Why in the world has someone not told us about this? (I guess I shouldn't have watched Erin Brockovich last night! I'm ready for a fight! LOL). My brother is a nurse and laughed me to scorn when I asked him if singulair might have some side effects that would make my son so irritable. I am SO excited, and pray that this is the cause of his anger.

I have had asthma for over 30 years and have recently been on Singulair. I have gained 15 lbs with no dietary changes and I am active. Recently I have been experiencing rapid heart rate, tense feeling, anxious, and uncomfortable to the point of a "panic attack" type of episode accompanied by sweating and the feeling of almost passing out. I take hormones for flashes (i'm 47) and have been fine with thme but the new med is the Singulair. I stopped it for 2 days and thday is the first day with no "episode". I do not have more tha 1 cup of reg coffee but I have felt like I have had pots of coffee. This stuff is awful. I will stick with an inhaler when needed and go to the health food store for a natural asthma supplement.

I am a 28 year old female and have been on Singulair for around a year. I was placed on Singulair for allergies and allergy-induced asthma. The major side effect that I have experienced is dramatic hair loss! I'm not talking about a few strands, but hand fulls of hair. It comes out when I shampoo, brush, run my fingers through my hair. I noticed hair all over my clothing, pillow and I could even see it flying around in the air at times. I consulted several doctors and had my hormones and thyroid checked. They were all normal. I started researching hair loss on the internet and came across a hair loss forum. Several people have experienced major hair loss from Singulair! I couldn't believe it! It was not the answer that I was expecting, but I quit the drug immediately. My allergies and asthma flared up for 2 weeks after quitting. My hair is continuing to fall out, but not nearly as dramatic. I hope that it will eventually stop all together.

After reading this website's discussions, I experienced many of the other side effects, but was totally unaware that it could be caused from Singulair. I had anxiety, depression, feelings of rage and out of control emotions. Furthermore, I had the feeling that there was pressure on my chest at times and that it was hard to catch my breath. I too had trouble sleeping.

This just goes to show that you have to educate yourself before taking any Doctor's advice and their "miracle" prescriptions that they are so quick to prescribe!!!

My daughter is 11 years old and was put on Singulair in September 2004. We haven't noticed any side effects until the weather started warming up and she started playing outdoors for over an hour at a time. After playing on a sunny day, she develops hives on her face, neck and recently her arms. Her doctor is suggesting it is a viral infection and is putting her on Zyrtec for two weeks. I am very suspicious of her Singulair. Has anyone else been having this side effect?
Also in reading all the other postings regarding the nightmares and mood swings makes me wonder if this has been a side effect all along and we have overlooked it as preteen hormones. I am going to gradually take her off her Singulair this spring (the doctor has already suggested this do to her asthma symptoms being worse in the winter
months) and take note of any differences! Thanks everyone for taking the time to report on this drug!