Taking 5 Yr Old Off Singulair - How Long Do Behavioral Side Effects Last?
Posted over a year ago
We're taking our 5 year old off of singulair to see if maybe some of the severe aggressiveness, inflexibility and difficulty with frustration are as bad off of it as they are on. While it clearly has helped his asthma, I just realized that these are parts of his personality that have been exaggerated in the past two years, and maybe it's just a coincidence but he's been on singulair for the last two years. We did have to take him off Flovent because they caused even more severe side effects in the behavior realm. ... more »
We're taking our 5 year old off of singulair to see if maybe some of the severe aggressiveness, inflexibility and difficulty with frustration are as bad off of it as they are on. While it clearly has helped his asthma, I just realized that these are parts of his personality that have been exaggerated in the past two years, and maybe it's just a coincidence but he's been on singulair for the last two years. We did have to take him off Flovent because they caused even more severe side effects in the behavior realm.
How long does it take after stopping Singulair for side effect to go away? Did parents of other kids with behavioral side effects notice any difference and when? Did your kid ever go back to "normal"?
Zsmom - My son displayed the same behaviors while taking Singulair! He also had anxiety, irritability, and began developing depression right before we stopped giving it to him (he was on for 5 years). We began to notice a difference in his general mood within days of stopping. The depression went away the quickest, then the anxiety. He has been Singulair free for almost two months and his frustration intolerance, aggressiveness and temper have greatly improved. He still is aggressive at times and gets angry easily, but does not have tantrums and meltdowns like he did on Singulair.
Other parents have noted that the aggressiveness takes longer to go away. Much of it may be learned behavior that children need to unlearn once their emotions become controllable.
For more recovery stories, please visit www.parentsforsafety.org, and go to the "recovery stories" page.
Best wishes.
Ttruher - Oh my god, how can we get that url out there? I've done web searches for hours looking for info on mental health side effects to singulair and never found that link. It's clearly what I've been looking for.
Everyone should go there if you are having questions about whether this med is having negative side effects on your or your child's mental health:
www.parentsforsafety.org
Ttruher - I noticed changes within a week. My son used to have major explosions every day. He's had exactly 2 total since I took him off Singulair. Thank god his asthma seems to be in remission right now. I will say that my son has an even worse reaction to Flovent than Singulair. He has no reactions to Xopenex so you might try talking to your Dr about using that instead of Singulair and Flovent. It is *definitely* roid rage. Check out the link above and read the stories. I have to tell you, I was on the verge of taking my son to a psychologist and now, just going off the meds, he's his old normal self. Poor kid.
Misszoe - I wonder if any of you have had attention or hyperactivity issues? My 5 yr old DS is super smart - reading 2 grade levels ahead and hasn't started kindergarten yet but he can't sit in a chair. He is anxious and frustrates and angers easily. He always must be moving and we really don't want to add medications. We have just discontinued the Singulair today but I am interested if you had any of these issues as well.
Thanks
Kara1973 - misszoe I am having the exact same issues with my six year old son plus tics throughout the body. How is your child now? I a very concerned..it's 5 weeks on and he still has the same side effects but they are Less. The neurologist does think its the singulair. Just wondering if your child is better.
Ttruher - I always like to post this first to more people can benefit like i did from the info about others' experiences with their kids both on and off Singulair: [link removed]
Kara1973 - I know you didn't ask my opinion, and anyone who's seen my posts before will know - my experience is that if you're seeing side effects that are troublesome, listen to your gut. I've heard from lots of people who have had the same. None has had side effects subside in time, and in fact most of us had kids whose side effects became much more extreme. They become more frequent, more intense, and sometimes very difficult to overcome *even* when taken off of the med. Granted this med seems to do well for some kids, but when you are experiencing side effects already, this may not be the right one for your kid. 3+ years after coming off Singulair, a change in schools and 2 years of therapy and my son is finally emerging from the world of anxiety and into the world of a confident boy -- who is sometimes still anxious and has difficulty managing frustration. Those early behavioral/emotional learning years (3-6) were lost for him. The super-aggression that was released by the meds (that was never an issue pre-meds, nor has it been nearly as intense post-meds) turned into what his brain understood, so we've spent years re-training and un-training. Now that I look back and can talk with him about it, I can see that he felt helpless when these urges took over him and made him act badly when he didn't want to. Aggressively. Sometimes violently. He's still a kid. Still has things he gets impatient with but the aggression, the attention issues, the anger have, for many of us, gotten exponentially worse the longer kids are on Singulair, and they don't just magically disappear once they go off. Follow your gut but read up on this here: [link removed] I printed it out and took it to my dr. and he no longer prescribes it regularly. Good luck and let me know if you want to talk in more detail.
Kara1973 - I meant to say he has been off for five weeks...now seven weeks. His tics finally lessened last week and he is better overall. He has days of hyper behavior and some volatility which was never his norm. I hope it continues to taper off. We are starting some behavior therapy to help him and for us to learn to adjust our parenting. The neurologist is certain the singulair triggered some tendencies he had to explode. He was on it as a toddler then last spring then for a month this year. This is an awful thing for him and serious stress for parents. Thanks for your response.
Liliya - Hello, I from Russia, Singulair to us too recommended to accept the doctor, but we read a set of responses and discussions and we do not know as us to arrive. Tell please, whether to your children it became better after preparation reception (I speak about asthma)? Thanks in advance also excuse if many mistakes.
Liliya - Hello, I from Russia, Singulair to us too recommended to accept the doctor, but we read a set of responses and discussions and we do not know as us to arrive. Tell please, whether to your children it became better after preparation reception (I speak about asthma)? Thanks in advance also excuse if many mistakes.
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Pattif - I'm just now finding this posting and I'll admit, I'm shocked. My son has been on Singular for 12 YEARS!!! He's been dealing with anxiety, depression, and a whole world of other things and we thought it was just him. Now I want to stop Singulair completely - but after 12 years, I don't know if it's better to wean him off. His doctor insists there's nothing bad with Singulair so there's no point asking her advice. I'm taking the bottle out of his bathroom today. But ugh - now I'm scared doing that will make it worse??
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