Singulair side effects

My daughter was prescribed Singulair in the spring and it worked wonders.Since her allergies and astham don't bother her in the summer I took her off for those few months.Since she has been back on the last few months I notice once and awhile an aggression/depression behavior.I thought immediatley that it was Singulair causing this but it wassn't everyday it happened.I believe that activity,schedule,and even food in combination with this medicine that was cause this rare effect.It's no news to parents that all of these things can change a persons attitude and behavior.I also believe that Singuair may just make people more sensitive to their true self as my daughter has always been paranoid and has lacked self esteem.I think that it is trial and error as with any medicine.Try it and it may or may not work for you.Taking it off the market would be a disgrace as it has saved many lives.

I first read notes on this site in February 08 when our Doctor prescribed Singulair. My 7 year old daughter is a silent asthmatic which prompted me to push past the side effect warnings written here and give it a go. Rach had strong side effects for the first two weeks & then seemed to settle, so I persevered with it. The drug didn't seem to have no effect on her asthma flare ups but the doctors didn't believe me and encouraged me to keep going. After 6mths I called it quits and took her off it. She's now back to her normal self. No longer emotional, her school work picked up immensly, no more nightmares or unexplained body aches. She does still have tummy aches but they are subsiding. She's been off singulair for 3 months now. Every doctor and pharmacy I spoke to denied the side effects and promoted the product. To anyone researching this drug, do your little one a favour and don't use Singulair unless it is a last resort. There are so many other alternatives out there.

I have a 4 year old that was on Singulair for 17 days. He has always been a strong will child, yet he was always manageable. Those days that he was on it, and a couple of weeks after were the hardest weeks I have ever had with him. Within days of taking it I began to notice an extreme change in his behavior. He was moody, angry, he was beginning to be aggressive. He wasn't sleeping through the night anymore, and even began wetting the bed, something he hasn't done since he was two.

It was prescribed for his asthma, he couldn't walk five steps without coughing and wheezing. It did work, but I didn't think it was worth it. I went in to see his doctor, she said the aggression wasn't a side effect of Singulair in children, but had been recorded in adults. So she said it was fine to take him off of it. And to control his coughing he could just use 2 puffs of Flovent twice a day.

Well, he's been off of it for almost 2 weeks. His first days off were the same if not worse. He was even moodier than usual. I started thinking it wasn't the Singulair. He became exhausted, sleeping in the day. Was still angry and not sleeping at night.

But as he heads into his 2nd week off Singulair, he seems to be acting normal again. :) Normal for a 4 year old anyway. He's been sleeping through the night for the past few days and has been happier. He's playing again with his toys in a non-aggressive way. He just seems like he's becoming himself again.

I read some things were people said they didn't notice a change in their child, but it's taking some time for my boy to get back to "normal."

Last Sunday I attended the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) walkathon in St. Paul, Mn. I was able to hand out hundreds of flyers to survivors of suicide and people in the mental health community. Of the hundreds of flyers that I handed out only two people had ever heard of the link between Singulair and these various side effects that we have all noticed. I received some wonderful responses and many people offered to make copies of the flyers and hand them out to everyone that they know. Several people worked in the mental health community and in pediatric offices and they were going to tell all of their coworkers about Singulair.
I also had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Paula Clayton. She is the National Medical Director for AFSP. She said that they are aware of the concerns with Singulair and their organization is going to Washington this spring to express concerns about Singulair and several other medications that are linked to depression and suicide. She also stated that if everyone could write letters to their local representatives that it would really help to raise awareness.

My 8 yr old has been on singulair since May. I never put two and two together until reading these posts. He has been having anxiety at night..crying and looking terrified saying he can't stop the scary thoughts in his head. Tonight I felt so bad for him...because I can't make it go away. I am hoping with tonight being the last night on singulair he will not have such a hard time at night. He also says it's very hard to get to sleep at night. Poor kid. I also know he's a sensitive kid but it seems a bit overboard in the last few months....like getting upset and just not knowing how to handle his emotions so he just shuts down. Please message me if you've had similar experiences. I'm calling his dr. on Monday to figure out some other options if there is any. My son started with a cough in March and finally took him to see the dr. in May and she heard wheezing and started him on singulair and then added zyrtec. I know they control his coughing (wheezing...slight asthma) because if we miss a dose he coughs all day the next day. I'm a bit scared to go off it...but hope it stops the anxiety and moodiness. He had his first asthma attack last week too...and I wasn't prepared as we never have had to use the inhaler...so I didn't have it with us. Anyway, hoping he doesn't get too bad taking him off...and I hope he is able to control the scary thoughts by going off of it too.

i'm glad that i found this site...thank you.
I have a seven year old boy and a four year old girl that have both been on singulair for a couple of years. The first year their allergies weren't that bad, so i didn't really make sure that they took it daily...the past year, allergies have been worse, so i was making sure that they took it daily and that they didn't miss a dose. My son was in 1st grade last year and by the end of fall, he was going to the nurses office daily for headaches and stomachs. Where his drawings used to be of flowers and all of us as a family, they started being of monsters. We also noticed that his pupils were dilated more than normal (you could barely see any of the colored part of his eyes) and took him to an eye doctor just to find out that his eyes were fine and there was no medical reason for the dilation. I also asked the doctor and the school to test for ADD/ADHD, with them saying that he didn't have it..At night, both my son and daughter started waking up for no apparent reason (they had both slept through the night since they were about 1) and being very scared for no reason. The mood changes have been more noticeable in my son, but like most, i chalked it up to "a phase" and just part of being a boy....my daughter got clingier and moodier, but i know how it is to be a girl, so i just took it with a grain of salt. My kids have not been on Singulair for approx. a week now, and my son is back to the boy i knew....skipping through the house and yard, catching bugs to just look at them and not pull them apart and kill them, sleeping through the night, no trips to the nurses, and eyes that seem to be normal again...my daughter is actually a pleasant little girl that can't wait til she see's her brother instead of pinching, hitting, and trying to hurt her brother........Long story short, since they've been off of singulair, i have my kids back. my son had circles under his eyes at times and a runny nose at times and we have to find something to help my daughters allergies (she gets eczema and is borderline asthmatic) but we will deal with that and find something that works without harming them.....
Thanks again.

My 2.5 year old son has been taking oral Singulair granules for 5 days. He has developed a vasculitic rash on his arms and legs. Is this a known side effect of the medication?

My daughter is 5 years old and has been on Singulair for about 2 years now. I was at a loss concerning her behavior for the past 2 years. The anger, aggression, tics in her eyes and legs feeling tingling, unable to express herself, and truly not liking herself and thinking we don't like or love her. All this brought us to take her to therapy. And then all this information regarding side effects of Singulair come out. I brought this to her allergist and he like many others brushed it off. I think it is time the medical community looks very close at this drug concerning side effects with children. How many more parents have to come forward with all the same side effects for these educated doctors to realize there is a hugh psychological and neurological connection with this drug for some children. It has been two days now that my daughter stopped Singulair. Her nose is already starting to drip and her cough is back, but I would much rather deal with these side effects of allergies than watching her go though this mental anguish any longer. I have not seen any changes yet, but it had only been two days.

My son requires two forms of medications to stop the running nose, singulair and pediox. The two together were a very good combination and it did work. By eliminating the signulair on Oct. 6th, his nose is already running and he is coughing. We have tried Zyrtek and a few others I can't even remember, but none work as well. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I will be calling his pediatrician for other suggestions, but I know she will be against us taking him off of the singulair, especially since he has had pneumonia in the past.

Just wanted to offer a follow-up on our daughters behavior since getting off Singulair and Advair. AMAZING difference. She is a pretty normal 12 year old now. The most noticable thing to me is her voice. On the drugs she always sounded so gruff and angry. Now she sounds sweet. She smiles so much more and is not eager to become angry. I can reason with her more now when there is a disagreement. It will be a long process to break habits of behavior that have developed over the past ten years, (yes, ten years, she started these poisons when she was two years old) We are very hopeful for her future. I am so very thankful that I was led to this site.

My 3 year old son was having trouble with aggressive behavior in his daycare. The head teacher asked if he was on singulair. When he said he was, she said that that might be the cause of his aggressive behavior.

My wife went with my son to Chile for a month. The singulair prescription ran out while they were there, but because it had not been a month before the last refill before they left, they could not refill the prescription before leaving for Chile. The singulair ran out after their third day in Chile. So my son went a month without taking singulair.

And interestingly, his behavior did not change. He aggression was about the same as before. It is only recently, now that he has been developing more language skills and has also been potty training, that his aggressive behavior is for the most part under control. So in our case, it does not seem that there has been a cause-effect relationship between taking singulair and our child's aggressive behavior. He still takes singulair every day and is doing fine. Also, he never experienced any of the problems sleeping that others reported.

I just discovered a new, drug-free way to help treat children's allergies. It's called Little Allergies Allergen Block.

It works by helping to block airborne allergens before they enter the nose.

I am going to try it with my son and will post if it is a success. If anyone else tries it, or has tried it, please email me and let me know if it worked for your child.

Look up the Nuremberg Code ,see what you think

My son is now 31/2 years old and has been on Singulair since he was about 1 Yr. old. His pediatrician recommended this due to his allergies and runny nose. He has had fluid on his ears since age 1, at least that we had confirmed, and she thought that the Singulair combined with another type of antihistamine could dry up the dripping nose and clear up the ears. It did not clear up the ears, but it does stop the drip. He had tubes placed in his ears a year ago in May of 2007 and is looking now at his second set coming up in Mid-October of 2008. He has been taking this medication all but one summer of his short life. My husband and I have both had children, he a boy and I a girl, both 14 years old now. In comparison to the other two, our little one has been so completely different to raise. I've always seen children of "other parents" that have discipline problems with their children and wondered what might cause that type of action in such a small child. Now we have this beautiful little boy, but all we've ever known is how difficult he is to handle and how is anger, temper tantrums and stubborness have always put a damper on outings and even casual days at home. Due to the fluid on his ears, his speach was delayed and he has now really began to speak like a normal 3 year old. I have noticed within the last 2 weeks how he has really started saying things that I have not approved of, but have fluffed it off thinking that he has heard other children in his pre-school say these things, or heard it on a superhero show. Something happened today that really made me stop and think. I picked him up at pre-school like normal after work and he would not come to me. He looked slightly glazed in the eyes, totally not like himself at all. He talked very little on our 30 minute commute home, which was not like him. He said, "I hate you and you don't like me". I told him I do love him and he said, "NO". He said, "I'm bad for you and I have a dangerous heart". He then told me, "I kill you". This was so disturbing that I told my mother what he had said. She told me that it sounds so much like what she had heard on the news that I should check it out. This is how I've come to find this site. We have stopped giving this medication to our son and I am curious to see if there will be any change in his personality. Tubes will probably be placed in his ears again despite whether his nose drips again, so that is a mute issue at this point. When we voiced our concerns to his pediatrician when the information first surfaced several months ago regarding adult behavior and side effects of Singulair, she fluffed it off and told us she has many young patients on this medication with no adverse side effects. He is taking Pediox every 12 hours. I am worried that we may need a substitute med, but we have tried so many that haven't worked. He has Albuterol Inhaler and Xopenex Inhaler when his Asthma symptoms kick in, when his allergies are at his worst. He has had pnumonia 2 times, or one like run of it I should say. It's important to keep his allergies under control so he doesn't get something like this again, but his overall mental health and stability cannot be jeopardized. Since his brain has been developing on this medication for 2 and a half years, does anyone know if this has lasting effects? He is very active and has a very short attention span. He can however sit through an entire movie if it is something that he likes and he has nothing better he wants to do at home. I do not believe he is hyperactive or ADHD in the sense that he needs medication for that symptom. He can be a very loving child and he is very polite and knows his manners. He comes from a very loving home with loving siblings. We have wondered for so long how he could possibly have turned out this way, and I am truly scared to think that this medication could be the cause of so much turmoil in our lives. I will be monitoring his results.

My 10 year old daughter has been on Singulair for 5 years- I am in shock of all these postings! I logged on because someone mentioned the possibility of weight gain as a side effect. Has anyone experienced that?

We believe the following are among the most important shortfalls in the conduct of research involving infants, children and adolescents:

Failure to examine alternative methods of obtaining needed information so that research involving risk for children is minimized. The goal should be to limit the exposure of children to trials that seek vital information that is "unprocurable by other means" - as mandated under the Nuremberg Code and as stipulated in current federal regulations - 45 CFR 46 Subpart D - which restrict the exposure of children to greater than minimal risk. Indeed, until the FDA adopted the "Pediatric Rule" in 1998, high risk, phase I trials in children "had been primarily limited to life threatening diseases and children who had the disease for which the new drug was being proposed." It is difficult to justify a shift in policy that will increase children's exposure to pain and risks of harm.
Inadequate review: failure to evaluate risks relative to existing empirical evidence of harm.
Failure to minimize risks, including psychological risks, or to justify them from the perspective of the child.
Absence of evidence-based guidelines for classifying research protocols "minimal risk," "minor increase over minimal risk," or "greater than minor increase over minimal risk."
There is a pressing need to examine cases that resulted in harm to children - and to draw policy recommendations on the basis of that evidence - so that we can avoid causing harm in the future. Such an analysis was carried out by the Advisory Commission of Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE), and for that reason ACHRE stands apart from all subsequent ethics advisory committees whose recommendations were unsupported by evidence.
Absence of boundaries to limit the level of risk and pain to which a child may legitimately be exposed.
Pervasive conflict of interests of all involved - including, and especially, institutional review boards that have been shown to rubber stamp approval of harm producing trials.
Absence of an independent child subject's advocate to monitor his/her well-being.
Lack of accountability or enforcement of federal safeguards.
Lack of penalties for those who violate ethical standards.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................i found this on the best for childrens pharma act websight,it was a letter of worry from several doctors

WOIO channel 19 out of Cleveland will be running the story on Mondays 11 o clock news,i saw a video of ky channel 3 that ran a similar story,word is getting out.Keep fighting guys

My 7 yr old daughter has been off of Singulair for 12 days now. The change in her personality is amazing. She experienced two nights of strange dreams and waking in the middle of the night. We put her back on Flovent once a day as a substitute. Her aggression and frustration went away within days. She is so happy and content with herself. I can see that she is no longer frustrated by emotions that she could not explain. She's silly, funny, happy. She no longer hates us, pulls her hair, or tries to slap herself because she's thinks she deserves it. She has been on the drug since she was 3-1/2. We were doing family therapy to try to help her. This is no longer needed. She's back to her old self. What a shame no one warned us of this potential side effect. I also wondered how I missed the news story since I just found this site in September 2008. The news story about Singulair came out in March - just around Spring Break. Since we were out of the country, I missed the news. Isn't that a convenient time of the year to break a story? I'm sure many other families missed the news.

headaches, dizziness, tic in an eyelid, depression, leg cramps

Today is 4years exactly that Matt had his one and only asthma episode,that sent us done the road of singulair disaster,7 months of the drug now thanks to Kate who went public with her story.Each new day brings more hope for a full recovery,although the road is long and strewn with guilt and anger.First i was angry with my doctor,then Merck now the FDA,but the guilt always stayed with me.Ive spent hours on wouldas couldas and shouldas but none the less it is what it is.I have had an education in things i really didn't want to know,the medical system,the justice system,and our government.I have written hundreds of letters reported 3 times to the FDA,never a response other than your email was received,called and reported to Merck twice,they were always ready and willing to take my info,so today i wrote to the FBI asking if they could investigate corruption at the FDA,proberly they will laugh and trow it out,or maybe even put me on a list of some kind,but i will leave no stone unturned until some one explains to me how this happened in America

October 2, 2008, 7:26 pm
FDA Contract: Prescription for a Big Headache
Alicia Mundy reports on drug regulation.

It’s unusual for a regulator and the industry it regulates to share the same public relations firm.

But that’s just what’s happened with the Food and Drug Administration and the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying arm.

Qorvis Communications, an influential PR group in Washington, was hired this year by the FDA as a subcontractor to help heal the agency’s ailing image with a $300,000 “FDA 2008 Public Awareness Campaign.” Qorvis, however, has been working for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Washington-based lobby for drug makers, since 2006.

Ironically, the FDA has been under fire for being too lax in enforcing drug safety regulations with PhRMA’s members – and the big effort to burnish its reputation has backfired.
Qorvis also has been representing UST Inc., whose U.S. Smokeless Tobacco unit is the largest American maker of chewing tobacco, which supports a controversial bill in Congress that would allow the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry. The FDA commissioner has opposed the bill. UST is being acquired by Altria Group...........................this was in yesterdays Wall Street Journal...maybe if they did their job right they wouldn't need a publi relations group to up its image,maybe if they separated themselves from the drug companies we would believe them

I have a 26-month old grandson who has been on Singulair for "27 DAYS". His pediatrician knows that his immune system is already compromised due to some developmental delays. However, before he started taking his Singulair he was a very happy, funny and loving child. Within 2 weeks on this medicine we started to notice a few changes in him. He started waking up at night "screaming" and he has been sleeping through the night for at least a year now. And when his mother would go in to get him out of his crib, he would be so frightened and afraid to leave her side. It would take her a very long time to settle him down and put him back down for the night. At the same time, he started not wanting to drink his normal daily glasses of milk or eat his regular meals. He was simply a mess most of the day and would fuss, cry, bang his head and we were having a very hard time trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He is not yet talking due to his delayed speech, so he could not tell us what was going on. Yesterday, I told my daughter let's look at the side effects of Singulair since it was the only thing that had changed within the last few months. When I found this site, I could not believe what the parents/grandparents were saying about their children on this drug. We immediately took him off Singulair. This will be his second day without being on the drug. According to my pharmacist, it will take approximately 50 hours for it to get out of his little system. The pharmacist had not heard the latest that aired on the TV station, so she asked me to call her back in a few days to tell her how my grandson is doing. Parents should be able to trust the medications that are prescribed by their Pediatricians, especially at such young ages. My daughter is REALLY UPSET and has a call into my grandson's doctor. Thank God I found this website. I simply searched on "side effects of Singulair in children" and this site came up. I do believe the Lord is watching over my grandson. Thanks.

I have a 4yr old boy who has been on singulair for 5 months. Before he began singulair he was the most happy, kind, gentle, loving boy. We had an awesome close relationship. I enjoyed just sitting there watching him play. I could not wait for him to learn something new, but EVERYTHING has changed now. I took him off of singulair on Sept 19, 2008 after accidentally running into this site while looking up children and OCD. Thank God I did. It has been 12 days since I found this and took him off. I couldn't type then because I was to upset. My son who never had ANY mental problems or anxiety is now completely riddled with it. Instead of playing all day care free like 4yr old are supposed to do, my son spends his days now clinging to me in fear that I may leave or go into a room without him and he will not be there to open the door. He obsessively has to open every door now. He spends his days getting upset at the smallest things. He now gets mad at everything I say, or I don't say it right. Our relationship is not the same now, and I am devastated. Before Singulair he slept through the night every night. Now he wakes up every couple of hours to go to the bathroom and say "are you still there mom?" ok "I love you" "Don't let the bed bugs bite" I have to answer "I love you to" and "you either" If anything different is said he will go nuts, and he will obsessively say this over and over and over again. This is not my son. He is a totally different person. I am so very scared that this poison has permanently ruined him. I mean he is so young and his brain is developing. It has been developing with this poison in it, that has ruined him. It has been 12 days and he is still doing the same ocd stuff. He still seems really agitated. His muscles hurt, his tummy hurts, his eyes hurt, his ankles hurt, and he has diarrhea. My beautiful boy is now mentally and physically SICK because of singulair. I feel really bad to, because I did not know at first that the singulair was causing this and I was always getting on to him for his behavior and putting him in his room. At pre-school a couple of days after first giving singulair to him he started crying ALL DAY at school, and I made him stay there because I thought it was just because he had gotten a new teacher and he needed to get used to her. I feel terrible!! Does anyone know if the ocd will go away or has he now learned the behavior?

Hi,
I'm a 38 year old woman who went on Singulair in September of 2006. By December of that year I started experiencing heart palpitations,dizziness,and nightmares that stayed with me in my waking hours. By January of 2007 I was having full blown anxiety attacks. My doctor ran every test under the sun and I went to several therapists. By the end of January my doctor had me on Effexor, and several other short term aids such as atavan. The summer of 2007 I started experiencing stomach pains and sever diarrhea. As much as I loved my 20 pound weight loss, it was not a lot of fun. Again every test under the sun showed nothing. This spring I heard of the concerns of Singulair and immediately went off of it. Within a few weeks I felt like my old self. I am still weaning off of the Effexor and my asthma is not as good as it was on the Singular, but it is worth having my health and my life back. I feel that Singular almost ruined 2 years of my life. It should be taken off of the market.

What you will not hear elsewhere: Though Singulair is likely safe, it is ridiculously over prescribed. Singulair is indicated for the treatment of allergies and asthma. For allergies, It has not been shown to be more effective than Claritin (which is now generic and over-the-counter). In fact, when Merck-Schering were trying to add Singulair to Claritin, they found it no more effective than Claritin alone (sound familiar?). In this case, they decided not to manufacture this new pill. The most effective agents for allergic rhinitis are inhaled nasal corticosteroids. Flonase is now available as generic fluticasone, and is much more effective then Singulair (which is not generic), Claritin or the combination of the two. Regarding asthma, the updated 2007 NIH guidelines recommend inhaled corticosteroids for asthmatics of all ages. The data is overwhelming, clear and convincing. Singulair, which has much less of an effect is considered alternative therapy by the NIH. Yet, Singulair remains one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for asthma.

I have found several video reports regarding Singulair on *****. Just type in Singulair to see the different videos.
Interesting.

I aged ten years in a month. My legs lost any muscular power and I needed help to get up our 3 steps to the front door. My eyes are sore and my balance is also affected. What I do not know is how long am I going to be affected like this. I began to think that I was starting with either motor
neurone disease or Parkinson's disease.
Muscle weakness, loss of balance, bad dreams,anxiety, irritability.joint pain.sore itchy eyes and difficulty focusing on printed pages.
A., Yorkshire, England.I am 69 years old and prior to Singulaire I was pretty fit for my age.

Wow- this floors me. My daughter is 20 now- we had her on Singulair for years for her asthma. She suffered from horrible leg pain, but she was a 4-sport varsity athlete and we attributed the pain to over training.

Her first year at college she started suffering from severe depression and lost a lot- I mean a LOT of weight. She went about a year and a half with no period due to low body weight. We wanted to check her into an inpatient treatment center for eating disorders but couldn't because she was over 18 and didn't want to go.

In June we sent her to a new allergy doc who retested her and switched her from Singulair to Symbicort as the Singulair was not managing the asthma well. It was like we flipped a switch- she stopped having vision problems, stomach pain, and insomnia almost overnight. She has gained back at least 10 pounds and is looking like her old self again.

I'm so glad we stopped the Singulair, even though it was accidental. A year ago, we thought we might lose our bright and beautiful daughter. We had no idea it could be as simple as the asthma med. I'm telling everyone I know about possible side effects of Singulair.

Hat's off to zmom who founded the website ,your skills are going to help many.Again please know you can all help by visiting the site and signing the petition.Share your information and make a difference in someones life.
Kate

If you google the words fda singulair side effects......the third result down is a link to the FDA's consumer information page on Singulair.......the information has NOT been updated since 2001. Why have they not updated this since 2001?

I have been on Singulair for about one month and am experiencing extremely painful cramps/charlie horses in my legs. I am taking Singulair for adult onset asthma. Have a horrid cough, been told over the past 20 years, yes, 20 years, it is caused by allergies but no medication stops the coughing. Then they figured it had to be caused by acid reflux. So prilosec is prescribed. Still have the cough. Now this specialist deems it to be adult onset asthma. The Singulair does not stop the coughing - so what is next? Major leg cramps/charlie horses.

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

I apologize for the typo. "Responsibility" should be "accountability". It's late, I'm tired!

I am a loving mother of a 5 1/2 year old boy. He has been on Singulair for over 3 years. In this past 3 years my son has suffered in an unspeakable amount. He came down with Rota Virus and was hospitalized at 2. He then came in contact with Pneumonia in the hospital while he was there. They automatically put him on Singulair, Zyrtec, Prednisone, and antibiotics to treat the pneumonia. Since that day, my son has gone though more tests than I have in my entire life. He has had asthma, sinusitis, leg cramping ( to the point he cannot walk for 2 years), IBS, Acid reflux,(they gave him laxatives for a year that made things worse and addicted to them also), stomach pain, constipation and diarrhea back and forth. He also got Erythema Mulitforme TWICE, while on this drug. All of which the doctors said could NOT be caused by Singulair. He has had several Upper GI's and CT scans. Along with Barium enemas, several hundreds of blood tests, and many many pokes and prodded that were not necessary. All since he has been on Singulair. He now has frequent bathroom trips, depression, confusion, and anger outbursts. He also has to go to the restroom every 5 minutes. He has had genital swelling, and many other aches and pains. None of which his "doctor" ever said could be a result of Singulair. I am 100% sure it was!!!! He currently has anxiety and emotional sporadic issues causing problems in school The teachers and counselors say that it is so strange because there is no TRIGGER and the outbursts are completely inconsistent. His preschool teacher and director are sure he has ADHD. Well, we had him tested and he does not have any part of it. He has no learning disability what-so-ever. So that brought me back to square one. He is in a positive loving enviroment. How could he be depressed and want to hurt everyone around him? He cannot sit still. He cries and says he is 'stupid" and "can't think" like the other boys. He has nightmares and cannot sleep alone. He is scared of everyone and everything. So, as I sit here crying, I realized that this has all been a reaction of his "medicine" Singulair. He never should have gone through all of those painful tests, only to prove they couldn't find anything. So many treatments and sound full advice speeches from his doctors. How could they be so naive and selfish in the life of my son?

When I called my pediatrician of 5 years, she told me that " parents that have children with behavioral problems will LOOK for something to blame their problems on." She also said "drug companies only put side effects on their labels to PROTECT the drug companies. (as she laughed at me) They are not always valid". Then she said "if you take you child off of Singulair you will be playing Russian Roulette in his life." Then she said that all children around 5 or 6 go though this emotional time in their lives." She told me that if I take my child off of Singulair that she would no longer be a part of his health regimen for his asthma. She told me to see a Pulmonologist for further treatment.
Who is paying who? This is my son's life???????? I decided to go with my mother-gut instinct and get him off of this medicine. No matter what. He has been a different person since. He is currently going though a lot of side effects and withdrawals (leg pain, insomnia, hic-ups, emotional distress) but every day is getting better. How can the drug companies say that this is a "wonder drug?" There are more reported side effected patients then clinical studied patients! How can a "medication" that stimulates the brain not be connected to other problems? This "medication" interferes with the bio synthesis and action of LTs and has been marketed as NOVEL medication against asthma and allergic rhinitis. Who the hell is playing God here??? The pocket books of Merck or our over PAID "doctors?" Who pays the price? Our children? Or us. Thank god I found this before it was too late. I would not be able to withstand the pain of losing my son due to their lack of scientific evidence. They are lucky I am one of the smart ones. I will not settle for less than Justice for the drug companies and their paid "doctors?" You all end up in the same place. HELL

There are 18 million people on this drug. Most of them are children. Please save a life if not your own child's life. Thank You

Our boy is 3 1/2 years he has been taking Singulair for several months, but just in the last few weeks he has had a total mood change, obsession on many items, cleaning, separation anxiety, not eating, angry, cant not sleep, Dr. has taken him off, it has been only a week and he is still having some bad effects.

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.

I have been reading a book on anxiety and phobias,it says that the Gene # 23 is shorter for people pre dispositioned for anxiety,If this is the case it makes sense as this drug works genetically,,so i wonder the % of short 23 to long 23, and that would give Merck its % of adverse side effects...betting its more than they are saying.As far as the doctors still saying this is a small %,they are just not asking the right questions,The insurance companies should have a record on clients that filled prescriptions for singulair and anti depressants and adhd drugs.If we all cn figure it out in a week ,Well what does that say

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!

Has anyone seen concerned citizen lately. I'm wondering what Singulair does to cortisol levels. This is the natural hormone produced by the adrenal gland that allows you to deal with stress. I'm wondering what happens to a human being who's physical ability to deal with stress has been compromised.

Also next year, Merck’s going to start reporting payments it makes to doctors who speak on behalf of the company and its products. That stops short of Lilly’s plan to report payments both to doctors who speak for the company and to those who serve as consultants.

Merck and Lilly are both staying a step ahead of the congressional shotgun on this one — the Physician Payments Sunshine Act that’s rattling around the halls of Congress would require drug makers and medical-device companies to report payments to docs...................................Just betting my docs name is on this list...

My son is 5 years old and has been on Sigulair since he was probably 2 years old. I never really thought anything of his behavior until recently. I took him to the doctor because he would not stop sniffing and said his nose felt stuffed up. The Dr. said his nose was completely clear. I asked her about the Singulair and she said I was the 2nd one this week whose child had recently developed a tic and that the other child was also on Singulair. She said she would call the Drug Rep. and let me know. By the time I got home she had called and I called her back. She said that tics occurred in a very small percentage of children taking singulair and to go ahead a stop taking it. I have also experienced severe behavioral problems ( tantrums unlike anything I have ever seen, telling myself and and my husband that he hates us, he tells us that he is stupid and that he doesn't love himself, he says he will cut his Dad's head off and that he wants us to go to jail.) There is more but just talking about for the first time, I am so upset that I never put 2&2 together. He has also had the leg pains and stomach pains. Everything I have read, fits my 5 year old to a"T". I am in awe over all of this. Today is his first day not taking it and I am looking forward to seeing some changes in him. Does anybody know if there are any long-term affects? Thank you to everyone who is open enough to talk about things and get information out there for people like me . I will never give my child Singulair again. Thank you so much

I have been on singulair for several months or more. In the last month or so I have had a handful of breakdowns emotionally, crying like a little baby some worse than others. I feel paranoid but i don't know if that is just a case of anxiety.Leaving the house has become an issue if it is a bad sad feeling day. I just learned about an investigation tonight and googles it. It lead me here.

I don't know what to do.

My Daughter is almost 11 and has been on Singulair since the age of 3. She has some very serious signs of anxiety. I was never told of any of the possibilities of these kinds of side effects. As a matter of fact the doctor never discussed any side effects. I only know what I read on the prescription information almost 8 years ago. I am horrified to find out about this information. She has also been complaining for a very long time of spasms and pains in her legs which I have brought up to her doctor and he claims they are and have been growing pains. She came home from school the other day and was devastated over some bullying that had occurred toward her that day. I was heartbroken to listen to this from her knowing I cant be at school to protect her from this unnecessary garbage and at the same time was waiting for the 11 o'clock news on the singulair information. Now reading all of this, I am sincerely concerned about what is really going on in her mind after I watched her get up the next morning on her own at 5:30 a.m., ready by 6:00 in a full blown anxiety attack about going to school, and dreading going period. I will be speaking to her doctor immediately and I will be removing her from this prescription to see if there is a difference.

for the people that have taken their children off singulair...
what are you using for a preventative med?
my daughter has really bad asthma and I don't know of any alternatives

Along with uncharacteristic depression from using singulair for only a few months- I experienced ( and still now, after 1 week prior to ending my daily dosage) terrible lower calf cramps I have never experienced before. Not only do I get quick searing pains in my legs at night, but my calf muscles are very sore whenever participating in brisk physically activity. I hope these side effects will terminate shortly- because for an athletic thirteen year old high school freshman, depression, lack of energy and physical pains are not making the beginning of young adulthood a very enjoyable experience

My Daughter has been the same way .. she had the headaches, stomach pain, very depressed .. she has missed 6 months of school she was afraid to go to school, shopping, and being left alone.. I have put her on medication for her depression, and anxiety . i have her in therapy for this... she is not the same child i just want my beautiful daughter back..We are having a hard time with her from school to he social life.. and from her tring to kill herself.. My daughter is only 13 years old...I think someone needs to pay for this... please there must be help out there...How long must this go on before people (FDA, Merck, ALA, etc.) will take this seriously?!?!?!?!
I want my beautiful katelynn back........................
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I am going to be attending the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) walk on Sunday, October 5th here in St. Paul, Mn. Dr. Paula Clayton, the AFSP National Medical Director will be there and I will have an opportunity to talk with her. Does anyone have any advice for me? I will also be handing out flyers about the dangers of Singulair and spreading the word about the grass roots efforts of Parents United for Pharmaceutical Safety and Accountability. If you have any advice for me please let me know.

Thank You.

My son Tyler was 5 when he started taking it. He was on it for approx. 2 weeks when he started bleeding out from his ears. I phoned Merck and made them do an incident report and mail it to my sons primary care doctor as well as myself. Tyler was in the 2% that had that had happened to. I was infuriated and I tell everyone I know how the I was deceived by not being told of all the side effects.

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?

I will never be sure Singulair changed my daughter because she is a very complex little girl. I just know that when we made some changes that included taking her off Singulair she has done nothing but improve!

My daughter is adopted, she was in Foster Care, she is a very vulnerable little girl. She has been on singulair since the age of 2. We needed to add an anti psychotic to her list of med's some time last year, because she was threatening to kill herself at 8 years old. She often complained of having a bad man in her head that would tell her to do bad things. When we heard about singulair side effects it just felt too coincidental. We made a decision to take her off ALL meds. Since that time she has done nothing but improve she is happy and working hard, the bad man is gone and everyone who knows her says she is a different child. Again we changed many things in her life I don't think we will ever know if singulair is the true cause of her behavior but we aren't taking any chances.