Singulair and mood swings

My son is almost 4 but has been on Singulair since he turned 3. We saw an immediate improvement in his allergies and asthma and thought it was a miracle drug. That is until we started to see our sweet, outgoing little boy change into something we barely recognized. We thought maybe it was just a stage he was going through or something and didn't connect it to the Singulair until his doctor accidentally wrote his refill prescription for 5 mg. instead of 4 mg. After about 2 weeks on the 5 mg. his mood swings increased substantially. He cried for hours everyday at school. He had previous trouble with his emotions at school on the 4 mg. as well. He continued to cry and throw fits at his preschool so often that he was ending up in the principals office. At home, he became clingy and so emotional that he would cry about everything. After doing some research on Singulair, I immediately took him off the drug. Within 1 1/2 weeks off of the drug, my little boy was a different child. I thought maybe I was the only one who had noticed until his teacher came to the car and ask what happened. She said that he didn't even resemble the same child that started school. He is sweet, and calm. He can take discipline without crying and gets praise every day instead of going to the principals office. His trouble sitting still and listening to the teacher are gone and her push for us to have him tested for ADHD has ended. He is now a star student. The only difference is the removal of Singulair from his little body.

My son is 6 years old, and I started crying when I read the above stories. My son, too, was a completely different person when he took Singulair. Prior to taking it, we had a wonderful, close relationship and he was a well behaved child that excelled in school and got along well with friends. His behavior changed for the worse, but until now, I didn't connect it to the use of Singulair-I thought maybe he had childhood depression but didn't know why, as his life is stable and happy, and no major life changes had happened to cause the mood swings.
He would say his life was bad and he wanted to die for the slightest thing, he would say he hated us and punch us for just simple time outs that he usually complied to and he never ever hit us before. I have had him off of Singulair the past month, and give him Zyrtec occasionally when he really needs it, and he has not had one major moody episode, and he is back to his happy self again. I am joining the class action lawsuit above.

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

I am 15 and have only been on Singulair for a week. But I have already had sever leg cramps and my foot locked into place for a few minutes with extreme pain. I had a nose bleed today too, which is not normal for me. I have also had really bad cramping which I didn't think anything of but now I don't know what to do because I have sever allergies to almost everything outside and this seems to be the only thing that helps. After reading all this I am freaked about everything. And I have been really moody this week, but I thought it was just because I am a teenager but now I don't know.

My daughter had been on singulair from the time she was 8 yrs old until she was 14. This will sound as if I am a horrible mother but I just thought that she was a raging bitch. Without my knowledge, she stopped taking her Singulair for a few months and she became a different person. She was so sweet and loving. One night she came in my room having an asthma attack and I asked her if she was taking her meds, she admitted that she had stopped taking her singulair and I got on to her and immediately got her prescription refilled. Within a few days of taking the singulair she turned into a raging, screaming emotional wreck, a TOTALLY different person. I feel so bad that for 6 years of her life I put her on medicine that caused her to have screaming, uncontrollable tantrums, and severe mood swings that caused her to be miserable. It does seem to be the only thing that effectively controls her asthma symptoms but the emotional havoc that is causes her and the people around her is not worth the benefits. We have an appt. with her doctor to see what other options we have.

Has anyone experienced difficulty swallowing solid foods? My son has been on it for 2-3 years and this issue has just developed. Not sure if it has to do with the Singulair or not. He's had an Upper GI and no physical problems show up. He is 11 years old and the allergist says the mood swings are due to his age, not the medicine. He has been really down and cries at the strangest things.

I have been reading all of these posts and have another question. I hope that someone can help. My daughter, 8 years old, has been on Singulair since she was 4. She is normally a very happy girl with a wonderful disposition. For the last year or so, she has been having trouble getting herself to sleep at night. She says that she hears things in her head such as ringing or "noises". A few hours before she knows it's bedtime, she cries and when we ask her why she's crying, she can't give us a reason. We initially thought that she was crying for no reason because she didn't want to go to sleep. I remember reading about the side effects of Singulair causing mood swings, etc., but her's are not violent mood swings. Just very emotional and has a hard time coming down from the "episode". I'm at a loss...I have not talked to her doctor yet about it, but have told her that we will make an appointment this week to discuss it with him. My husband suggested that maybe it sounded like she was having a panic attack or anxiety attack. I hate to label her as that at such a young age. My mind now goes back to the side effects of Singulair and maybe this is to blame. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Concerned Mom

My son, who just turned 14 this month, was on Singulair for over 2 years.
He was diagnosed with reactive airway disease and possibly Asthma--and prescribed this awful drug-even back in 2004. The doctor said how wonderful this med was and prevents any further attacks.. So, for 2 years-every night, he took this mood altering, destructive drug. He lost all interest in school, his athletics-soccer, skateboarding, biking..in fact became almost a vacant , very unhappy, child-had stomach aches, joint pains and reflux--why--I brought him to the doctor and Pediatric center so frequently--all they kept saying his --his asthma is better, much be other issues...Even after the March 2008 suicide--his doctor said-that is just an isolated incident-just monitor him--It is a good drug. Right, month by month his behavior escalated to wanting to die, no reason to go to school-he said he was stupid and a failure and why don't I understand there is no reason to his life. A usually happy fun-loving boy -my son- didn't want to live. Nothing made him happy-I started to believe what the doctors said--maybe something or someone at school (bully, pedophile??) caused this change. Terrible nightmares and vivid dreams...Until this past July, I asked him want to go to the library for some books or dvd's...he went ballistic-threw everything off his computer desk and tried to break his chair. He is not an aggressive boy but this behavior was becoming a daily issue. Along with everything flying off his table, was his bottle of Singulair pills. It then dawned on me..I have been poisoning my only son. The child I know and love and gave birth to returned within a few days--although I am worried sick about further asthma attacks --all the doctors can prescribe is a steroid drug-asthmex or Pulmicort.. I cannot understand nor comprehend why this drug is being prescribed for children and young adults. The guilt I live with is terrible as my son has lost 2 years of his life--
and thought there was something really wrong with him-At least we woke up---in time--how about some other parents..thinking it's just normal adolescent behavior for their child or their fault???

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

I have 2 sons with asthma that have both been taken singulair (the oldest for 3 years & his brother for 2). My younger son's asthma got alot better since he was diagnosed & he was recently taken off Singulair thanks also to my husband hearing a report about the moodiness caused. When he was on it he would cry for no reason, get very irrational & seemed to think the world was against him. In just 2 weeks he is happy & cheerful and has told me he thinks it is due to being off singulair. His older brother's asthma has gotten worse over the years & I'm concerned about taking him off but he too has crazy moods. Just tonight he started a new soccer team & got crazy & suddenly didn't even want to participate in something he loves (wanted me to let him quit right then) until we argued enough he reluctantly participated. He then came home complained of a headache (which is also way too frequent) and now has been asleep for hours. Are there any alternatives to this drug? I'm a stressed out mom that doesn't deal well with these mood swings. He is normally a social butterfly & a sweet kid but lately seems more withdrawn, more irritable (especially tonight) & complaining about leg cramps in addition to these frequent headaches. I can't deal with too many more of these evenings & wonder if all these things are possible side effects. I'm glad to see my other son doing well but miss his normally sweet brother! Even his siblings think he is acting crazy :(

I have just come across this website and I am so upset. My 10 year old daughter has been on Singulair for 8 years. Since she was 2 years old. About 3 years ago I spoke to her pediatrician about the fact that I was concerned that she had been on it for so long and about the possible long term side effects. She brushed me off and told me that there weren't any.

Over the years she has complained often of stomach aches and pains. We even had her on Miralax for a couple years because the Dr. was sure it was constipation. The last couple of years she has been complaining of leg cramps and I sort of brushed that off as "growing pains."

She is extremely emotional and has serious mood swings. I even asked her Dr. about ADD and she said it was just her personality. I am almost in tears typing this because I have no way of knowing if her actions are because of her age, her personality, or because of this medication. She has been on it for so long that I wouldn't know what her personality would be if she had never taken it.

Her asthma tends to be seasonal and she hasn't had an attack in years. I took her off the meds as soon as I read about the disturbing side effects that hit too close to home. I am upset that her Dr. never warned me about these side effects (that were not listed on the label) and didn't take my concerns seriously.

She is very small for her age and I was concerned that the medication may have stunted her growth....little did I know there were so many other dangerous side effects. I just hope and pray that she doesn't suffer any long term negative effects from this medication that I have given her, thinking I was helping her.

My son has been taking Singular as well as Advair and Zyrtec and Nasonix for the past 6 months. He is doing so well. He has not had to go to emergency, he has not been sick, and he has not had mood swings. If you look at the prescription information that comes with Singular, you can see what the side effects can be. My recommendation is to take your child off of them if they have a side effect. I contacted my Dr. and Merck is studying only 1 case with a child that had side effects, but they did not say if this child was on other Psych medicine at the same time. The 2 psych meds that have shown a bad interaction with Singular are Phenobarbital and Rifanpin (spelling may be wrong). With all the posts I have read, very few people indicate if they are taking other medications at the same time as Singular. My suggestion is that you consult your Dr. and then send your case to Merck for more studies. If all you are doing is posting on the web, you are not solving this issue with the makers of the medication.

Dear Friends,

Just want to reconfirm that this drug, that according to the Lab, present this side effects as "rarely" now we can see that it is not, I have a 2.5 year old boy, that is presenting these same side effects that you are mentioning. In a sudden he starts to act really nervous, his eyes turn red and cries while he tries to express something, but he does not know what is going on, in the meantime he has this truly visible crisis, his heartbeat goes up like hell, and his hands shakes. My wife and I got really scared the first time we experienced this with him, and we did not know what to think, we asked the Doctor and the stupid guy told us that he needed a shrink, but we did not believed it. Today he had the second same crisis, not as hard as the last one, and we discussed and came up with the idea to find out what were the side effects of this drug, and voila, is the gdm Singulair. I just can't believe that the Doctors that are prescribing these drugs do not warn the people that this may happen. The only thing that I can do is write my experience to you, thanking you for your attention, and spread the voice to the other parents that are around me that they take care of this and prevent their children to go through this process. I really feel like trash, because I did not do this before starting giving him this drug. Thanks for listening.
By the way this is an international problem, I am writing you from Mexico City.

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

My 15 month old son was just put on this Friday, four days ago. He had been on Zyrtec since he was five months old and his allergies had recently gotten worse along with a percistant cough. As the weekend went on he became more and more angry and fidgety. Sunday afternoon, after his nap he came running down the hall screaming and crying (this nap is usually 1 1/2 hours long and he had only been asleep for 30 to 45 minutes when this happened). He was very upset for about 20 minutes. He is normally a very happy, fun loving child. Later that afternoon he didn't get his way and took it out on me. He began to kick and scream(at the top of his lungs) , throwing his head back, and then hitting me. Everyone that was with us have been around him from day one and they all said how he wasn't himself and had never seen him act this way. Now, this morning on our drive into town to go to daycare he normally is talking the whole way (45 minutes) but this morning he was just staring off out the window and didn't want to talk or "have a conversation" with me. I knew something wasn't right and had already had it in my head he wasn't getting another dose of this. I found this site and some of the little things began to jump out at me and I know for sure we aren't going to take this again. I just hope and pray that this hasn't caused any lasting side effects, again he has only been on it for 4 days. After reading all of this I have called the daycare to check and the doctor, who hasn't called me back yet. Going to see his ENT tomorrow and we will be having a long conversation about it all. His ped. is the doctor who put him on it. She is trying to try everything before he is put on a nebulizer.

Another side effect named on the Singulair web site is ear infections. This med. should have never been given to my son who has already had one round of tubes because of ear infections. The tubes have already fallen out and within a week he had an ear infection.

My 54-year-old fit, social, successful husband was put on Singulair in January for newly diagnosed asthma. He developed a depression with anxiety, irrational fears, avoidance, mood swings and even one episode of suicidal thoughts out of nowhere. He saw a psychiatrist and a therapist, tried medications, yoga, a vacation, meditation, breathing exercises - everything! But he kept getting worse.

The day he was throwing patio furniture then sobbing uncontrollably was the day he realized he couldn't work in his condition. He negotiated a 60-day leave without pay. Even that didn't help. It was crazy. How could a man who managed hundreds of employees and a major health service system for 20 years suddenly be so paralyzed with fear that he couldn't walk down a beach or go into a Walgreen’s?

We found this site May 26th. He stopped the Singulair immediately. It has been 10 days and he is already 80-90% back to normal. Thank God.

Partly I am writing because it is so hard to read of parents' guilt that they "should have known" etc. Look, unlike a child, my husband is mature and very verbal; he is also a psychiatrist (!) with a capacity for self-examination and a language to describe his inner experience. And me, I'm a psychologist (!) trained in understanding people and I know him very well. And yet with all that training and skill and consultation and treatment, WE STILL COULDN’T FIGURE THIS OUT! So please, don't make yourself feel any worse with guilt. This is awful and tragic enough already.

I would add that the onset of mood and behavioral problems is so insidious that it is hard to connect the problems to the Singulair. Also, I suspect that children and adolescents are at greater risk because of their immature emotional developmental level. An adult l suspect may need some genetic or personal predisposition to mood disturbance, or stress, or both, to trigger these side effects. My husband had a depression episode 30 years ago and had recent traumas that certainly could have triggered the depression. But how treatment resistant that depression was, and those strange paralyzing fears and extreme anxiety – all that I blame squarely on the Singulair.

I have made a report to the FDA. I urge you to do the same.

My 5 years old son has been on Singulair for 9 months. His allergy symptoms have completely gone away. He’s no longer has his night time cough, bloody nose, and frequent croup due to allergies.
My life has been a living HELL from the moment I started this medicine. Before he was on this medicine he was always a pleasant, smart, well-behaved child. Right after he started singulair he began having temper tantrums, becoming increasingly argumentative, not listening. He gets mood swings like you would not believe cry and/or yell at us over the silliest things, kicking, screaming, nightmares, and became very physically aggressive. We were unable to take him places because we never knew how he would behave in public .He was extremely unhappy little 5 year old boy. He also complained of upset stomach and fatigue. Even his school complained about his behavior and they said that he might have PDD. After consulting with doctors we got the assurance that he does not have PDD, but we end up changing his school anyway.
Being a first time mom I never thought it was the medication, I thought it was just a normal behavior. I thought as a parent I must be doing something wrong! I couldn't believe that other parents have gone through the same nightmare.
Two weeks ago the doctor handed me a report about singulair and its suicidal side effect and ask me to stop using this medicine for a while. Since then I started to notice a dramatic change in our son's behavior. He woke up singing, laughing. He wants to help with chores. He is doing great with his school lessons, and very patient with everyone. He is now a more stable and friendly 5 years old.
Wow, I have a completely different child, and thank God I took him off singulair.
As parents, please let’s do something to stop poisoning our children.

hi, im not sure what to do. my 3 1/2 year old daughter was today given the prescription for singulair. i voiced my concerns to the doctor after my friend telling me its no good due to the side effects.she said that there are risks and side effects with any drug you take but for some reason i don't feel right about this. don't doctors know better than this. anyway Would like to know if all the people who take singulair suffer some sort of side affects or is it minimal? or going by this side it looks like its probably best not to give it to her at all.

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?

This is a follow-up. I have posted about our experience before, but to summarize: 6 year old boy on Singulair for over three years for Asthma. Drug worked wonders, but side effects developed so slowly that we thought those were "phases" that would go away. Side effects were just as everyone else reported: nightmares, fears, depression/sadness (we even went to a child psychologist since we thought this behavior was all due to father's deployment), aggressiveness, crying at the drop off a hat (like a 2 year old, not age appropriate), attention deficit, school performance dropped, and also, at the very end, obsessive compulsive behavior.
We stopped Singulair as soon as we heard about the FDA investigation (on NPR, about 6 to 7 weeks ago). Asthma has not worsened, thank goodness, so we make due with the Flovent for now. Most of the side effects were less prominent after some time, however the obsessive compulsive behavior stopped only a few days ago. We have better days, we have worse days, but slowly the better days outnumber the bad, aggressive, and negative ways.
What I read again and again in the postings is that we all assumed our children entered a bad "phase." A phase that just got worse and never ended!
Reading about the very same side effects in our children, over and over again, alarmed me. Taking my son off the Singulair and seeing the improvements, some faster some slower, totally convinced me. I will never ever have Singulair in my house again.

Both my sons have bad allergies. Both were recently prescribed Singulair after other drugs were not very effective. My oldest, 12, started feeling "strange" and asked to be taken off Singulair. He was not himself on the soccer field or at school. Since we stopped the medication, he has returned to normal. My 8 year old had a much worse reaction. He has bad mood swings and tonight became suicidal. He was searching the kitchen for knives to stab himself. He had fits on the carpet beating himself and the floor until I got him a pillow to take his aggression. My wife notified our doctor and school counselor. We're stopping his Singulair immediately.

My 6 year old daughter Started taking Concerta about 3 months ago. Some things I've noticed are, loss of appetite and loss of weight.
She has had very noticeable academic improvement at school. She is concentrating better. At home I l see how she can go through mood swings and emotional episodes. She snaps all of the sudden and cries if things don't go as she expects. I'm not sure why this is happening. She is currently on the 36 mg. I really don't like having her on this or any other medication. It's very frustrating trying to decide what is best for your child.
She is also taking Singulair for her asthma and allergy symptoms. I was reading the reviews Singulair medication and they are scary! I don't know if her emotional episodes have to do anything with singulair or concerta med side effects. For now I'm definitely taking her off Singulair and see what happens.

My son, Wilson, is a bright, easy-going, athletic 12 year old who has a history of asthma and allergies. After several asthmatic episodes from age one year to about four, he was prescribed Singulair. The asthma triggers seemed to be change of season or congestion from a cold, but not from exercise or physical exertion. As I recall, his asthmatic episodes seemed to decrease after he was on 5-10 mg of Singulair, and even more so with each passing year. Over the years, of my three sons, Wilson was the one to catch any virus that came around and missed more school time than both of his brothers combined. Often, he was the only one to get sick from a virus, which never passed to anyone else in the family.
About five years ago, Wilson started complaining of stomach aches. He was tested and was prescribed Prevacid on and off since then with varying success. In the last couple of years, headaches would come and go. He was re-tested for allergies and blood work with no conclusive results. About 2-3 years ago he would complain that he “felt funny…like he needed to do something.” Further conversations revealed that he was expressing anxiety. He’s a good student, has lots of friends at school, and is popular among his sports team mates. Occasionally, a teacher here and there over the last couple of years would note that he did not participate enough in class, or did not appear to be attentive. We thought perhaps he is shy. Still his good behavior, agreeable personality and diligence otherwise earned him good grades overall. He loves school and was very unhappy having to stay home when he was sick.
This past winter, he seemed to catch a virus about once every month and a half which caused him to miss 2-3 days of school. Headaches and stomach aches were common with each illness (sometimes nausea), and sometimes these same symptoms when he was not ill. He would only complain when they were prolonged or significant. Trips to the doctor did not result in anything conclusive. Again, Wilson was only too happy once he returned to school.
He claims that sometimes in school he feels like he’s in a fog and has difficulty concentrating. He gets plenty of sleep and sometimes sleeps up to ten hours during the weekend. We attributed it to adolescence and a busy schedule. He claims that this year is the easiest for him at school, and his social life with his friends is very active. His friends’ parents like him and find him to be an agreeable child. Other adults mistake his sometime mumbling answers and lack of eye contact rude. We concluded that he is just shy. He is the most hyper of his brothers, and has difficulty sitting still and constantly exclaims that he’s bored. We chalked it up to being an active boy. His grades are good in school and we never get complaints about bad behavior.
The last illness started a week ago, and he’s still out of school. The doctor said he had no significant allergy symptoms, other bacterial infections, and his blood work all returned with normal results for white blood counts, liver and kidney functioning and anemia. He can’t return to school because of his constant headaches (which cause pain in different parts of his head), nausea, constant stomach aches, no matter what he eats, and feelings of anxiety, mostly in the evening hours. He’s also complaining of dizziness, leg cramps and other muscle soreness. The notable difference in this illness is the anxiety. My husband and I take turns staying home with him, but if we left him alone for a half an hour at a time while the other was in route picking up a sibling, he became very anxious. In the past, he seemed to enjoy some alone time at home so he could play his computer games. He also becomes easily dizzy with shooting pains in his muscles. The doctor said that viruses can manifest themselves in later stages in the form of sore muscles. However, he was concerned about Wilson’s feelings of anxiety. The anxiety had not been as prevalent in prior illnesses. I finally signed onto the internet reading all the stories about other parent’s observations of their children on Singulair. My husband cautioned me about “internet diagnosing” with symptoms and stories that can be easily taken out of context in hope of self-diagnosis. I’ve always thought that Wilson’s doctors have had good judgment. Both my primary physician and allergist don’t think that Singulair has caused these symptoms, but agreed to take him off as long as we monitored any effect on his asthma.
I don’t know what to think. I want the cause of these problems to be the Singulair, because it’s an easy answer. Today will be the first day he’s off the medication. He probably won’t go to school again tomorrow. We’ll wait and see what happens…

My daughter has been off Singulair since March 29th. In my previous posting I explained that she had taken it for 2 years and last December started to experience stomach pain, and she became very anxious, agitated, and obsessive compulsive. We had every test possible and her anxiety only grew worse as the weeks went on. In February she was admitted for panic attacks and was given Paxil and Risperdal. When we stopped Singulair we noticed definite changes with her mood swings, personality, and affection. We saw a side of her that over time we forgot existed. She is so much better, but still on the medicines from her hospitalization. We have an appointment to discuss reducing these meds. But has SINGULAIR been out of her system long enough? She endured so much emotional stress that I know just stopping the Singulair will not be the cure all. Any input from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

I spent the weekend reading about the development of Singulair. The early studies recognized that the first phase of the acute asthma response bronco-constriction was probably not caused by leukotrienes. They identified histamines and prostaglandins as the probable sources. I don't think that changed because the Singulair literature states that it should not be considered as a treatment for that. Leukotrienes were a source of inflammation caused by eosinophils and mast cells present in greater numbers (than normal) in airway tissue. So, it was beneficial to find a way to decrease that.

The cysLT1 receptor was identified as source of the signals that tell the cells to produce leukotriene. The receptor, a gene, consist of 337 (they think) amino acids. They modified a compound that would bind to that receptor thus blocking the cells ability to produce leukotrienes. This compound is very specific. It was formulated to bind to the "model" receptor. This compound will not even bind to cysLT receptor sub-types. (That is the good thing.) There is an enormous amount of research that discusses the genetic variability of the chemical reactions that occur in the leukotriene (calling it this for simplicity) pathway. We are also seeing that a number of researchers would like to use gene profiles to predict whether patients will respond favorably to different asthma/allergy drugs. ALL PATIENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW IF IT IS INHERENT THAT SOME PEOPLE WILL NOT RESPOND TO SINGULAIR OR RESPOND ADVERSELY.

There are many studies from the 1998 era that conclude that montelukast is not effective for everyone. Those researchers stated that it can be predicted that those people who are going to respond favorably will do that within the first 14 days or so. That conclusion would be consistent with a genetic component for efficacy and safety of Singulair. Those doctors concluded that those who did not respond within that time frame should not take Singulair for fear of harming them. That makes good sense.

The Italian researchers wanted to know if there was more going on than blocking leukotrienes in the action of montelukast. They set up a "test tube" study regarding montelukast, the cysLT1 receptor, and some t-cells that they selected. Why? Researchers always have something on their minds. They observed the death of these particular t-cells.

Montelukast is a quinoline. We basically know of quinilines and quinolones as compounds that were invented as broad spectrum antibiotics. They work because they interference with bacterial DNA so they cannot replicate themselves. Montelukast is a quinoline modified to bind with the cysLT1 receptor (a gene) and prevent that gene from activating. That's consistent with what a quinoline/quinolone does.

So what does montelukast do in blood plasma if it does not bind to the receptor because of genetic mis-match? (If montelukast does bind, then a chemical reaction has occurred and the liver will break down the by-products. Montelukast metabolized in 10-12 hours.) What happens if it doesn't bind? How long before it breaks down? Does it produce toxic by-products?

I want to know what happens to lymphocytes such as t-cells just because montelukast is a quinoline. Maybe nothing but what's up with the Italians researchers? I want to know if montelukast has the capability to interfere with lymphocytes who can clone themselves. That could be a good thing under circumstances when these lymphocytes are causing inflammation. But it could be a bad thing in the case of normal individuals with no problems.

I want to know if the bad side effects are due to the fact that the body has to break down and metabolize a quinoline that did not bind to the receptor for which it was created. The side effects of Singulair are strangely similar to what is observed in the quinolones such as levaquin. I have not as yet been able to compare montelukast as a quinoline to levaquin as a quinolone. I am hoping to find something on these categories. There may be no reason to worry that they cause similar damage. But frankly, I think that there is. There is some terrible chit happening to some people. The scariest is the neurological damage.

All of these questions would be in the everybody pharma knows to ask category. I don't know where the answers are. I haven't found them as of yet. Maybe there are no answers. We have to remember that Singulair and Vioxx were released in the same year. They have continued to be drugs under the current executive management of Merck. If the Vioxx marketing promoters had their ghost writers, why not the Singulair marketing promoters. The genetic component appears to be widely accepted but we haven't heard one thing about even that.

I think that it is sad that maybe the marketing of Singulair as one stop shopping for asthma/allergies may have destroyed the original concept. I really think from reading the original work that they knew that they couldn't engineer a drug for one size fits all. Everybody gets harmed when information is withheld.

Shame on the allergist who yelled at the mother who wanted to discuss issues. Does he know exactly who is allergic to Singulair and who isn't? Get him a dunce hat. Just because Singulair is marketed for allergies does not mean that you cannot be allergic to it. See the power of Madison Avenue? The ad agencies focus group these drugs to death. The ad agencies cleverly craft the product information. A good piece of legislation would be to prohibit consumer drugs ads.

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.

I took Singulair for a little over a year. In that time I have quit my job of six years, dropped college classes that I was previously excited about, and generally didn't give a damn any more about anything. My dreams became dark and horribly violent nightmares leaving me shaken throughout the day. I couldn't concentrate and was thinking I should seek professional help. My wife was worried that it was her and I couldn't figure out what my problem was.

About 6 or 7 weeks ago I heard there had been links to mood swings and depression from taking Singulair and immediately stopped taking it. It sounds cloche but it was as if the clouds parted and the sun began to shine again. I have become much more like my old happy and motivated self. My wife has noticed a huge difference as well as my friends and former coworkers. I am still having a little bit of a hard time staying on task but each day gets better and better. I sleep much better and the nightmares have stopped.

I think I'd rather deal with the allergy symptoms rather than take the FDA sanctioned poisons put out by firms like Merck. Their practices are criminally negligent but nothing will probably come of it because the regulatory agencies are in their pockets. It's all about the bottom line profits--public health be damned.

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.

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

Unfortunately my lawyer told me that they do not want to take our case because of the lack of evidence that Singulair has caused our daughters problems. :(

Does anyone out there have a pending class action lawsuit that We may be able to get in on? I have tons of proof that Singulair has caused our daughters problems and loss of almost 5 years of her elementary school career!

My phone number is *** and my email is ****** if You email me please put "Singulair" in Your subject line so I know it pertains to this posting.

Thank You in advance,
Chuck & Brenda
Jamestown New York

In response to all the brain research theories, I just wanted to say that when my son (at age 6) was on Singulair there was a noticeable relationship between food and mood. Although his weight was not affected noticeably he would almost predictably have meltdowns if he skipped a snack or we had dinner late. And I remember that I would do almost anything, including spoon feeding him like a baby, in the morning, knowing that, after a few bites he would become 100x more manageable.

I mention this because even though one could argue that this phenomenon happens with many kids and adults it really was sharply apparent in my son - and of course his behavior was more extreme. Like the mother who mentioned a hypoglycemic-like reaction, I felt that my son's explosive behavior and intolerance at these times quickly improved after eating.

By the way, he has been off more than a year now and does not have this problem any more. Also he is much less lethargic.

Effective after two weeks for some people - not effective for others. Side effects for some people - others do not report side effects. So why does Merck have to grow their market before they have any idea what's going on?

This isn't a big group of people in the study but it makes sense from what we are reading here. These researchers did examine the mast cells. We need to know about mast cells (while suppressed by montelukast) on a longer term basis.

J Asthma. 2008 Apr;45(3):243-50. Links
The efficacy of montelukast and airway mast cell profiles in patients with cough variant asthma.Kawai S, Baba K, Matsubara A, Shiono H, Okada T, Yamaguchi E.
Division of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Department of Internal Medicine, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.

Background. Cough variant asthma (CVA) is characterized by chronic cough without apparent wheezing; its pathophysiology is considered to be similar to that of classic asthma. Objective. The clinical effects of montelukast, a cysteinyl-leukotriene receptor antagonist, on cough variant asthma were assessed, and the activation profile of airway mast cells was examined. Methods. Montelukast (10 mg/day) was given orally to 36 CVA patients (25 women and 11 men; median age, 37.5 years). Before treatment, the patients' bronchial mucosa underwent a biopsy with a fiberoptic bronchoscope. The biopsy specimens were double stained with anti-CD63 antibody and anti-human tryptase antibody. Results. After 2 weeks of montelukast treatment, cough symptoms improved in 22 patients (the effective group) but did not improve in 14 patients (the ineffective group); in the ineffective group, the symptoms disappeared 2 weeks after they were switched to fluticasone propionate (400 mug/day) inhalation therapy. In the effective group, the time interval from the onset of symptoms to the initiation of treatment was significantly shorter than in the ineffective group. The bronchial mucosa biopsy specimens showed that the proportion of CD63-positive cells in tryptase-positive mast cells was significantly higher in the effective group than in the ineffective group; although the total numbers of mast cells were not different between the two groups. Conclusion. There is a subgroup of CVA patients in whom leukotrienes are closely involved in the pathogenesis of their chronic cough; activation of airway mast cells may be an essential feature in these patients.

PMID: 18415834

Hi, I am a mother of 6. They are 11,9,7,4,and twins 2 1/2. So nothing surprises me as far as kids. I have been through it all. My 7 year old had been taking singulair for allergies and ear pain, for over a year. Did my doctor once ask me about any of the side effect, NO!! This is not ok. My son suffered, decrease appetite, weakness, fatigue, mood swings, irritability, fears of being alone, scary dreams, anger, bone and joint pains. Before he was a loving kid (who had his moments)!!! I had no idea the singulair was causing all these destructive side effects. I just thought this is a phase he is going through, he will soon get over it. Finally I took him to his ped. and we did blood work and x rays. I told her something was wrong with him, he has not been himself over the past 6-8 months. This is one reason why I never suspected his singulair, it did not show up immediately. All of his test came back fine. I just happened to look at the side effects of this medicine. I almost died!!! Every single thing that this poor child has suffered from was on this list. Then more, I found this page and other mothers have had the same experience. I was just amazed that this has happened to so many. I was relieved that my son was normal. He has been off singulair for 6 days now (he doesn't know why I took him off it) . But you would not believe the change. It is AMAZING!!! In only 3 days, I started to see change in his anger. You would not ever in a life time believe that a medication can do this. I have been poisoning my son for a year. I think that Merck should take some of that 4.3 BILLION dollars and do some better research!!!! Concerned citizen you are right on. I have read many pages of this forum and I think you are doing a good job researching this. Maybe Merck should hire you as one of there "experienced personal". It just makes me seriously sick to see that the medical field is not seeing this problem!!!

It has been 18 days since my 9 year old daughter has taken Singulair. Our daughter had been taking Singulair for approximately 2 years. It was in the last year that we started to notice some behavior changes and mood swings that were so often unprovoked. We were somewhat concerned and thought like so many other parents that it was a phase. Then in December 2007 she came home from school with a tummy ache and had several episodes of vomiting. She seemed better the following day, but we took her to the pediatrician to be sure that this was a virus. The stomach pains continued, and then anxiety attacks began. Over the next month she began to wake up each day with stomach aches and we began more visits to doctors and more testing. She had abdominal X-rays, CT scan, mekel scan, GI consult and endoscopy. All were ok except she did have some small amounts of acid in her stomach. She was treated with Prevacid with really no significant changes. As weeks passed she missed more and more school, she just could not make it through the day. She had intense separation anxiety, and developed OCD about being sick again and vomiting, fears that she may stop breathing; fear of dying and the list goes on. She was refusing to ride the bus to school, and was having more and more panic attacks that would last for hours. We finally took her to a psychiatrist after we had done every test we could possibly do and all were normal. She woke up with the fear and anxiety, and fell asleep each night the same way. The doctor said she had "OCD" which she believes was triggered by the fear from vomiting. "This was the first time she had vomited since she was an infant.” She was treated with Lexapro, and Klonopin. The symptoms worsened over the next few days even with the new medications. After many calls to the doctor we were finally advised to have her admitted to a children’s psychiatric hospital for closer evaluation where higher doses of medications could be administered. She was there for 4 horrible days with slight improvements. Over the next few weeks the medication did begin to help some and she was able to make it through school each day as long as she was able to call me a few times a day for re-assurance. I thank God each day for her wonderful teacher and staff that have helped us through this. They all have known her for 3 years and knew this was just not her character at all and she was truly struggling. She was always known as "Smiley" to everyone because she always wears a grin. We began therapy with a psychologist as well and she has good and bad days. Then we heard the news about Singulair and I began to trace back other issues she had with focusing in 2nd grade and how things just seemed to progress from there. It all happened so gradually that I would never have put two & two together. She is showing improvements every day with personality, mood, attitude, fears, and the "OCD". She told me today that this was the best day ever!! I have made all the Doctor's involved aware of this information and the progress she has made in the last 2 1/2 weeks. Her doctor did cut her meds in half this week as well. Thanks to everyone that has posted their nightmares as well, and we will pray for you and for full recovery for all those that have suffered.

I found this message board last night and until then, I thought my daughter was just bad. She is almost 3 and has been on Singulair for a little over a year. I have said on many occasions, "What happened to my sweet girl?" After the suicide and Singulair connection, my husband would joke and say that's why why our daughter is out of control. I finally decided to check into it and was amazed at the number of kids out there like my daughter. She is an emotional wreck! Her mood swings are something else. I have to walk on egg shells around her so not to upset her. For example, she will walk up to me smiling and give me a hug. When I hug her back, she screams at me and tells me to let her go or to stop touching her. When her brothers talk to her, she screams at them to stop talking to her. She has meltdowns numerous times a day. I am going to stop giving her Singulair as of today and hope that she will improve.

My son is three and a half and has been taking singulair for a little over two years. But only when his seasonal asthma flares up or when I know it is that time of year that he has problems. While taking singulair he has always complained of headaches, stomach and leg pains, and of course it never occured to me that it could be a perscribed medication. However after hearing the affect it had on another little girl and that leading me to research it to find all of these postings from other parents. What really brought on the investigation is the last week. My sweet little boy turned into a monster. He kicked, hit, screamed, pinched, bit, scratched or anything he could do to physically hurt you. We were all freaked out by this because he is such a sweet, gentle little boy, one of his teachers made every excuse she could think of. Because this was not in his character at all, then of he did it to her. She described it as a switch going off inside him. I believe he was also hallucinating, he told me someone told him to do it. This is by far the most scary thing I have ever been through and will never give my son singulair again. Further more I am going to pass this information along to all my friends and family and hope and pray that it makes is to everyone so this madness this perscription medication causes.

I am starting a new post in the hopes that others will see what I am trying to say about the delayed reaction in those that took Singulair for allergies.

If it is consistent that Singulair does not stop allergy symptoms immediately, then the pathways that eventually stop allergy symptoms involve a change in the mast cell function, development and migration (or some combination).

I asked this question for a reason. Are allergy symptoms stopped immediatedly. My question below:

I have a question that will help me continuing looking for information. I can understand that in the case of asthma that Singulair would provide immediate relief. If it is used for seasonal allergies or other allergies without asthma, does it work right away or does it take a period of days or weeks to be effective? If it takes time, could you tell me how long it took in your situation?

My thinking was going in the right direction if the answer below is consistent of everyone or most.

about 2 hours ago on Apr 11, 2008 by catherineevans, #7045
My granddaughter was put on Singulair for allergy symptoms without asthma. Itching, red eyes, terrible congestion, etc. dark circles under her eyes all the time. When we first put her on this, we didn't see any consistent results for 2-3 weeks, then it seemed to 'kick in.' I don't know if this helps. By the way, she was 9, now she's almost 12 and was immediately taken off when this story came out 2 weeks ago.

Then after seeing one response, I gave my reason for asking.

I asked this question because I have a theory of how montelukast really works for allergies as compared to how it works for asthma.

Asthma is a hyper-sensitive state that gets going because the mast cell has a receptor (the leukotriene receptor that Singulair blocks) that sends a signal along a pathway that causes lung tissue to have that extreme response - the wheezing, the airway constriction.

On the mast cell is another receptor the histamine receptor that causes the secretions that make our noses runs and and stuff up. This is not the same immune response as the asthma response. When I saw a post that somebody's doctor said that Singulair is an anti-histamine, NO it is NOT.

So if Singulair does not block histamine immediately and your child's allergies did not go away immediately, then maybe Singulair is working through some other means such as changing normal mast cell homeostasis.
I know that this seems like "what does this mean?" I am really writing this hoping to God that there are people reading this site that know what I am talking about.

Thank you so much for responding. Your answer actually told me what I wanted to know and confirmed my hypothesis. More answers will help. I hope others respond.

PLEASE respond about the length of time that allergies disappeared if you took Singulair for allergies.

My ten-year old son began taking Singulair two years ago to control infrequent, light to moderate asthma. I would say it is in the past year that noticeable, and extreme changes occurred in his health and personality. The list of negative changes is a long one. His physical symptoms have included:
frequent, unexplainable bouts of stomach cramping and diarrhea
Painful light sensitivity, listlessness, tiredness, inability to fall asleep, inability to wake up.

The mental/mood changes have been the most devastating. They include:

Withdrawal from friends and family.
Isolating behavior.
Unprovoked anger.
Dislike of being touched
Spaceyness/disorganization/forgetfulness
Depression
Lack of interest in school
Inability to wake in the morning (on weekends sleeping till one pm.)
Loss of interest in hobbies
Aggression
Mood swings (from placid to intense rage)
Talk of wanting to be abandoned
Loss of self-esteem
No joy ever

My son was once considered one of the smartest boys at school. He is a member of the Johns Hopkins Talented Youth program. He performed several levels above his grades in math. Last year all this extraordinary promise began to slip away. This is documented at his school. Recently a math test was given and he scored in the lower third. This may sound like no big deal, “so what if a kid performs below expectations,” but this was my child’s identity slipping away. What once came to him so easily was mysteriously vanishing. It felt like his brain had stopped developing. He no longer wanted to read, (once a favorite activity.) He began to lose interest in music, (once a passionate pursuit). I could go on and on about how his personality changed. About how his friends fell away. He once was a popular, fun-loving kid. What is the most upsetting and inexplicable was his constant sadness and dissatisfaction with life. He frequently said, “I have nothing good in my life.” And, “Why don’t you drop me off somewhere so I can live by myself on the street.” I couldn’t make any sense of comments like these. We had a happy family. Our house used to be full of laughter and fun activities. We have another son, two years younger, who would cry at the changes he was seeing in his brother who no longer wanted to go outside to play, or was even willing to talk to him. They were once best friends. If my younger son tried to make a joke he would be attacked physically. I could find no explanation and so told myself it must be adolescence come early. Friends of mine asked me if my son was sick and they told me they privately worried about his obvious depression. Nothing made sense.

The most devastating episode that happened was finding under his bed some writings where he talked about how the world was a miserable place with no chance of getting better. The only solution would be for him to die and fly away. This is coming from my sweet ten year old son, who once had such a love of life and learning. How could a boy this young be thinking of suicide? It seemed incomprehensible to me. It broke my heart. The next day (12 days ago) I saw on the evening news the report about Singulair being linked to suicidal thoughts. I WAS STUNNED. It all began to make sense. I pulled him off the drug that night and the change was immediate. For the first time in years he fell asleep before midnight. I have heard his beautiful laugh for the first time in months. He wants to go outside and throw the football with his brother. There have been many breakthroughs since he stopped the drug a week ago. I just hope they continue and my once learning-hungry, loving little boy returns to me.

Both my children, ages 4 and 7, are currently taking Singulair chewable tablets for their seasonal allergies. They have been doing so for about three months. At first, I was not consistent in giving them the medicine. It wasn't until recently that I decided I should give it to them as prescribed, once daily before bedtime. During this time I heard about an incident linking this medication to a suicide. I shrugged it off thinking this could not happen to my children. Little did I know that this medication has other serious side effects linked to it. For the past few weeks, my own 7 year old daughter has experienced many of those side effects including stomache aches, headaches, trouble falling asleep, irritability, mood swings, crying spells, and traumatic nightmares. She used to be a fun loving child who loved waking up to go to school. Now she does not want to get up in the morning and hates going to school. She cries easily over the smallest thing and complains frequently of headaches and stomach aches. My son on the other hand has become overly aggressive and I had concluded that maybe his video games or cartoons were to blame. Well, today I found your website and I will take them both off the medication indefinitely! Their allergies were not as severe to begin with so I figure that they should do okay without it. I will probably look into more natural/ herbal remedies to soothe them when they do get their allergies. I will definitley be reporting back as to their results.

My daughter, now 7 years old, took Singulair (4mg crystals) every evening from 12/29/2004-4/3/2008 (with 5 days off in 2/2008 ONLY). She developed significant mood disturbance/mood swings, sleep disturbance/frightening dreams and anxiety/unexplainable fears during this time, which we have now attributed to the drug, Singulair - the ONLY MEDICATION SHE WAS TAKING besides occasional antihistamines (which caused no problem). The drug Singulair clearly caused significant psychiatric symptoms in my daughter which are strikingly similar to symptoms now being attributed to the drug by MANY parents across the country. I suspected Singulair of negatively affecting my daughter and talked to her allergist about taking her off it in 2/2008 (before any news broke about links between Singulair and suicidal thoughts/behavior). The effects of Singulair on the brains of children are NOT UNDERSTOOD and/or NOT reported. I believe that this is a dangerous drug. It has been very difficult to connect the use of this asthma/allergy drug to behavior/mood issues in young children for two reasons. First, improperly trained physicians confuse drug "side effects" with normal child development (a "phase") or psychiatric illness. Second, Singulair has been heavily marketed as "SAFE" (to the medical community and directly to patients and their parents) and therefore has not been suspected when these serious psychiatric disturbances are reported to doctors. Pediatricians and allergists have said for years, "It couldn't be the Singulair" because that is the impression SOLD to them by Merck.

My 15 year old daughter has been taking Singulair for about 10 years for asthma, and it seemed to do a great job of controlling that condition. However for the past year or two (since onset of puberty) her mood swings, anxiety, sleep problems, ability to concentrate, etc., seemed to escalate to extremes. She has always been a little high-strung and emotional, but I never related it to the medication. Lately I tried to convince myself everything was a result of hormone fluctuations although things were going from bad to worse. Late this fall she suffered a series of back-to-back illnesses (flu, sore throats, etc.) which caused her to miss so much school she almost flunked her entire first semester of high school. After the holidays she seemed to be back on track but then another bout of flu triggered asthma, and then she seemed to bounce from one to the other - and missing a lot of school again which caused a lot of anxiety, which caused the asthma to flare, causing greater anxiety, etc., etc. For almost 3 weeks she barely came out of her bedroom, and looked more despondent by the day, begging me to not force her to go back to school because people would make fun of her. After lots of arguing one Saturday she agreed to go with me to a therapist while we tried to find alternatives for school this year. Well, that same night my daughter woke me around 3 a.m. (she also does not sleep well...) to tell me about the story she had just heard on CNN about Singulair. After finding this website the next morning I was horrified - and she has not taken it since. Our allergist dismissed the CNN story, saying there was no scientific evidence to support that claim, but agreed that maybe we should take her off Singulair. We did visit a therapist, although since that day I have seen a noticeable change in her behavior and moods. If anyone else is considering a class action suit, please email me since I am seriously planning to take some kind of action - I believe the FDA should move quickly on this so that other parents may be able to avoid seeing their children have to deal with the effects of this medication. I could probably write pages, I am so appalled that this has happened, but I will end here for now....

Sorry guys. The post below is mine and I left out a critical part of the entry. My three year old daughter was put on Allegra (along with the Singulair and Nasonex) in mid-March which is when her sleeping patterns changed. I've researched the side-effects of Allegra and I can't find sleeplessness anywhere. Therefore, maybe it's the combination of the Singulair and Allegra causing the problem. Does anyone else have a small child on this combination of meds. that is experiencing similar problems?

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

Our 4 year-old son was prescribed Singular 4mg tabs approximately 1 year ago and I started to notice a dramatic change in our son's behavior almost immediately. He progressively became more aggressive, suffered from very strange/intense dreams, cried easily, temper tantrums and became very physically aggressive. He also seemed to suffer from dramatic mood swings. He even tried to choke me several times. THIS IS NOT OUR SON!!! We sought out Professional Therapy thinking that it was emotional ties to his father being in Iraq. It was only after I (Pharmacy Technician), decided to investigate the drugs he was taking for allergies a bit further. I felt this "maternal instinct" if you will to discuss termination of the Singular with his doctor. I approach it from a decrease in meds for him at the time. He was taking Zyrtec, Singular and Nasonex. I tapered his dose for a period of two weeks. (This was my decision, please follow DR or Pharmacist recommendations for stopping this drug). We noticed a marked improvement in mood swings, sleeping patterns, attitude, house rule compliance. We agree that his therapy was responsible for some of these changes but it was only after we dc'd the Singular that we noticed a change in his overall being. He is now a more stable and friendly 4yr. old.
Trust your instincts as a parent. All drugs carry side effects and you must be well informed as a patient and a parent. Consider the side effects against the usage for the drug. This is our experience with the drug Singular and our Pediatric patient. We will not put our son back on this medication.

J. Douglas Bremner, M.D., I hope that you google your name and will give us your opinion. We are going in the right direction. We need expert help.

Hi All! So glad to read of all the "happiness" since off of singulair. My 2 sons and I are off for a week now and what a difference. My 6 year old is back to his old self. He is much happier and is laughing a lot and not throwing angry tantrums. My 8 year old feels much better as well. He is much calmer and has had only one outburst in a week compared to daily. I can't wait to see if he can come off of ADHD meds too. I feel much more laid back. I thought my mood swings were hormonal but since I have had a hysterectomy, I thought they should subside. My estrogen level seems good but I just thought I was being female! I can tell a difference now and I feel better. I am getting along with just my asmanex for now. I wonder if the singulair really even helped me at all. I had a little tightness the first few days but now I feel just like I did on the singulair. To me this med is just not worth the risk. We have no family history of ADHD or depression so I wondered why my boys had the thoughts and symptoms they did. Singulair was the only drug my youngest was on so I know his symptoms came from that. Good luck to everyone and thanks for the posts!

I am updating as my almost 7 year old son has been off Singulair for a little over a week now. He seemed to actually go through a "withdrawal" period for about 2-3 days. He was very emotional with his moods swinging wildly, giggling uncontrollably one minute, and then crying at the drop of a hat. Thank goodness we did this over a weekend so his teachers didn't have to deal with this! His stomach aches continue, but they don't seem to have the intensity they did before and this morning he even said to me that his stomach hurt and he was trying to figure out if he was just hungry or had an actual tummy ache. I gave him a small breakfast and he said, "Yup, I was just hungry, it's gone now." Before, he couldn't ever tell if it was a real stomach ache or if he was hungry. His stomach just always hurt. He did have two nights in a row (the first two nights w/o Singulair) with really BAD nightmares--even came into our room crying both nights. Since then, he hasn't woken once during the night. My husband and I can't remember the last time we went a whole week without our son ending up in our bed!! No complaints of headaches, leg pains, no sinus infections, etc. So far, I would say that he is getting better--the side effects, at least. Because our son is severely asthmatic however, we do take peak flow measurements 3x every day. Since going off Singulair, his peak flow hasn't been as good. Not terrible, but not as good.

Interestingly, I spoke with both our pediatric pulmonologist and our pediatrician's office. Our pulmonologist was very supportive in going off the medication as long as he had other controller meds (which he does). Our regular doctor's office has two pediatricians, one was very interested in what our pulmonologist had to say, what our son's side effects were, and was supportive of our pulmonologist's decision, etc. (She's the one we always see.) The nurse told me that the other ped. was not recommending that ANY of her patients stop taking Singulair. The ignorance of some doctors--lesson learned for me. Never see that pediatrician!!

The tough decision for us will be what to do if our son's asthma gets worse with recurrent pneumonia and hospitalizations for URI's returning. We are hoping that doesn't happen and that we can find other ways to help control his asthma! I still feel that Singulair was the most effective in controlling his asthma--just don't think we can put him through all the stuff that seems to come with the Singulair!

My story is very sadly similiar to enough's story

I have also been following these posts since the story broke
My son is 11 yrs old has been on singulair for almost 1 yr now for allergies after suffering a SI that lasted over 2 months

He was dx'd with ADHD & ODD at age 4 & they have been trying to rule out bipolar for the last few yrs But Can't, so he has been on a ton of meds!!!
I have noticed that this last year has been worse though & he almost had to be admitted numerous times within this past year We kept switching the ADHD meds & trying Bipolar meds nothing seemed to work, So last friday night (almost 1 wk ago) the day I heard about this, I stopped the singulair But he also started a new bipolar med the same day & HE IS A NEW KID!!! so now I'm stuck with the terrible task to find out if it's a combo of stopping the singulair & the new med working or stopping the singulair & maybe he doesnt even need the new med? IDK right now BUT I DO know that Something is working!!! So I have decided that next Friday put him back on the singulair for a few days to see what happens?? we talked about it & he knows I will not punish him for anything he does while he is on it I just NEED to know if this med Made him worse!!!!!! That way I can take some kind of action here, I just would like to know why the heck would they put a kid who already has mental health issues on a med that could make those issues WORSE????
I'm positive that singulair did not cause his probs since they started way b4 him being on this med But I have a gut feeling that singulair has made his probs 10X worse!!

his S/A's have been the same as e/o has already described

itching (which I know for a fact was from singulair b/c that is gone now)
mood swings
crying
angry
crabby
irritable
violent
not sleeping well (even worse than what he had already)
aches & pains everywhere

I always dismissed the complaints or assumed it was one of his other meds causing them, I never ever in a million years would of thought it was the singulair!!!!

I held off on posting b/c I wanted to see if taking him off would work?? IDK for sure yet but I will come back in a week or so & let u all know

I'll pray for all the familes involved in this I'm still kind of shocked by it all but felt the need to share my story also

(I tried posting yesterday guess it didnt work??)

I am 39 years old; a great family and great kids. Went on Singulair about 2 years ago and am now facing a divorce and issues with my children because of my mood swings and depression. I have never had emotional issues prior to this and at this age and relative good health physically and financially be feeling this way. I am going to also talk to my doctor immediately. I don't know if anyone else feels this way; but I can feel the swings coming on; but just am helpless to do anything about them. As a child in the early 70's I was overprescribed sudafed, with many of the same results. It feels like it's not you.

chris555 should be listed as a side effect. I'm one of the ones whose son committed suicide while on singulair and had the mood swings and such before hand. chris555is causing headaches and making people sick because chris555 is an ass!