A big thank you to Jenna of Parents United for Pharmaceutical Safety and Accountability for the FDA update on the negative side effects that children on Singulair experienced (read Asthma, Singulair and Depression for our story).
Updated Information on Leukotriene Inhibitors: Montelukast (marketed as Singulair), Zafirlukast (marketed as Accolate), and Zileuton (marketed as Zyflo and Zyflo CR)
6/12/2009
Updated information
Neuropsychiatric events have been reported in some patients taking montelukast (Singulair), zafirlukast (Accolate), and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR). FDA has requested that manufacturers include a precaution in the drug prescribing information (drug labeling).
Montelukast is used to treat asthma, and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itching of the nose), and to prevent exercise-induced asthma. Zafirlukast and zileuton are used to treat asthma.
The reported neuropsychiatric events include postmarket cases of agitation, aggression, anxiousness, dream abnormalities and hallucinations, depression, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, suicidal thinking and behavior (including suicide), and tremor.
This information reflects FDA’s current analysis of available data concerning this drug.
To report any serious adverse events associated with the use of this drug, please contact the FDA MedWatch program using the contact information at the bottom of this web page.
Advice to patients and healthcare professionals
* Patients and healthcare professionals should be aware of the potential for neuropsychiatric events with these medications.
* Patients should talk with their healthcare providers if these events occur.
* Healthcare professionals should consider discontinuing these medications if patients develop neuropsychiatric symptoms.Background
In April 2009, FDA completed its review of neuropsychiatric events, (mood and behavioral changes) possibly related to drugs that act through the leukotriene pathway (montelukast, zafirlukast, zileuton). As part of its review, FDA reviewed post-marketing reports and also requested that manufacturers submit all available clinical trial data for these products.
The post-market reports of patients on these medications included cases of neuropsychiatric events. Some reports included clinical details consistent with a drug-induced effect. In the clinical trial data submitted by manufacturers, neuropsychiatric events were not commonly observed. However, the available data were limited because the trials were not designed to look for neuropsychiatric events. Sleep disorders (primarily insomnia) were reported more frequently with all three products compared to placebo.
My daughter’s depression resolved within a week of stopping the Singulair. However, her anxiety is still through the roof. She is afraid of the smoke detectors and will not walk underneath them. This means that she won’t walk anywhere in the house by herself. She cannot play in her room like a typical 5.5 year old child. Her anxiety is disheartening and I only hope that it gets better with time.
Photo: neofedex/Flickr
Welcome to Mindless Mommy Dot Com (aka M3). Originally launched in 2007 as a blog dedicated to raising special needs kids, today the site has been relaunched as a blog dedicated to raising tweens. In just a few months I will be the mom of two tweens. Sure, they still have some challenges but what kids don't? Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for getting the word about regarding the Parents for Safety website http://www.parentsforsafety.org/17601/10794.html
I think many of us are seeing many side effects subsided very quickly after going off of Singulair. A year later, my son is still experiencing aggression when overhwelmed socially. I have no idea if this is connected to Singulair and there is no way to prove it one way or the other. But many other parents are finding 1) they get their sweet kids back after years of aggressive, inflexible behavior very quickly after coming off of Singulair. 2) they often see some lingering side effects that aren’t nearly as bad as they once were but still cause problems at school, home, with friends, etc related to anxiety, aggression and the like 3) many or most of these symptoms are similar to many other pathologies, disorders like AD/HD, Aspergers, Anxiety, Depression, etc. There’s no way to know whether it’s one of those or long-term side effects from Singulair, and once the symptoms present and stay, what other choices are there. There’s no research, no proof. It’s maddening this is such a frequently prescribed med to our young children!
I just found out this weekend about all the dangerous side effects of Singulair and I am desperate!!!
My daughter was prescribed singulair by her doctor for being constantly sick allergy/sinus/asthma and took it for 3 months last year, she changed her behavior dramatically and I couldn’t put my finger on it, thought it was terrible 2s, I was having a baby, my sweet little girl went from being a happy camper to a maniac…crying, hyperactive, tantrums, not sleeping, etc…I took her to so many doctors and couldn’t accept that until the doctor prescribed again and as I gave to her 7 months later, she was much better ( she was of for 7 months ) I thought she was out growing…I gave it again and 3 days later boom, I have another child at home. I cannot believe there is a drug out there doing all this to children and families and the FDA allows it. I read 722 complaints of parents all with pretty much the same symptoms, all devastated like me. This has to stop!
My son started Singulair for extreme allergies which always triggered winter asthma. The Singulair worked like a charm and he was on it for quite a while. Last year he started having severe full-on panic attacks at 8 yrs. old. Most were associated with school but this was place where he had never been anxious before. It was so severe, we placed him in therapy and had to remove him from school and home tutor for part of the year. Eventually, we placed him on Zoloft and worked to integrate him back into all his social activities. We had taken him off all of his medications when it started at the recommendation of our pediatrician. After a year of normalcy, we put him back on the Singulair for allergies. We immediately saw the panic and emotional reactions begin again. Only on the drug for 2-3 weeks, we took him off thinking there might be a link. He was his normal self again within a week or so of going off the medication. We still deal with the anxiety now which I feel is now a lingering effect of the medication. I feel like once your brain has experienced a panic attack, it is hard to retrain it not to react that way. I am so upset at the thought that the medication may have caused this in my son and that we can do nothing now to reverse it.
I too have been experiencing many of the same symptoms with my 10 year old son using singulair. I can’t express enough the emotions going through me as I’m reading all the posts on-line by parents with similar experiences. My son has been on singulair for years. I’ll be checking with his allergist and pediatrician to determine exactly how long it’s been. Anger, depression, crying, trouble sleeping, outbursts, major behavioral issues. I’ve spoken with his two doctors and a therapist. I did stop giving him the medication several month’s ago, his symptoms got even worse so I put him back on. It seemed to me he was going through a withdrawal. I spoke to his doctor who dismissed it with a “huh.” Nice. She just said I could try taking him off of it again. My fear now is: are the withdrawals real and what can I do about that? Also, how much damage has been done? I’m just so sick about this. It’s been so traumatic.
My son was 3 yrs old when he first started useing singulair. He is now 6 and has anger issues, nightmares, sleep walks, mood swings, lies alot, gets very mad when he gets into trouble,fights with his siblings alot, disobeys, wakes up with tingeling in his arm, and depression. He was such a sweet little boy who loved to make people laugh. Now he can be sweet one minute and blink my eye and he’s a totally different child. He will litteraly disobey me and get into trouble then run crying he’s sorry. We had him tested for ADHD and the doctors said he was a normal 5 yr old at the time. He had his tonssils removed at age 3 and thats when he developed asthma. I never put two and two together thinking it was the singulair until he started having nightmares and told me,” Mom i feel like someone is going to stab me when i’m asleep” that’s when i started looking this up. That is some thing I would never expect my 6 yr old to say to me. He is now off the singulair and we are going to try some other means of meds to help him but not first without me researching them. I do not suggest anyone putting there children on singulair. I hate talking about how bad my son is when its the meds doing this to him i just wish i knew this all before, that way i could of prevented it from even happening. I thank everyone for there comments that I have read it helped with my decision on taking him off this terrible medication.
My 7 yr. old daughter was on Singulair for seasonal allergies/ chronic ear infections several years ago as a 3/4 year old and it worked wonderfully with no noticeable side effects to us. She’s been off of it for 3 or more years. This spring we have not been able to get her allergies under control. She was miserable and nothing over the counter seemed to work. I took her to our pediatrician who has prescribed Singulair again. We had a good experience before so I started her on it. She has been taking it only 5 days and we notice extreme differences in her mood, personality and attitude. She’s fatigued, cranky, weepy and apparently lacks focus in school. FIVE days!?? If your child is taking this STOP now!! I remember reading about the side effects this 1st time she was on it, but since we had no issues with it I thought it would be fine again. WRONG! This is a scary drug for anyone and especially children. I regret giving to her.
I was prescribed Singular due a capsular contracture in one on my breast implants, although I am not asthmatic I had been having allergies and nasal congestion so the medication helped to clear up my sinuses and supposed to counteract the production of certain substance that contributes to the contracture. I was also taking an antibiotic but last week I started to get really sick vomiting. I could not keep anything in my stomach and I stopped taking both medications about a week ago. It has been a roller coaster for me! I had been feeling awful emotionally and couple days ago I experienced my first anxiety attack. It was my daughter’s graduation party and I did not realized this was due the medication, thought it was emotional and I could only relax after having a couple of drinks?? I am not a drinker and I had realized that I have been craving alcohol. I have not drink again but noticed that change in my brain. In the other hand my husband and teens keep telling me to relax since my arguments and tantrums had increased notoriously in the past few days. Another changed I experience is sleeping better but having bizarre dreams about my past but most of them are bloody or morbid, but I assumed that was due a tv show I watch about drug cartels in Mexico. (?) now I got it and understand that this is not me, and I am confident and sure that my doctor prescribed me this because the other option is surgery; he had always worked on my best interest, so I need to find another alternative.
Thank you all who wrote on this site!! I am a mother of 3 year old boy who suffers from asthma. He has been prescribed Singulair when he was 1, but I have been reluctant in giving it to him because it was a daily medication. But this spring his asthma is considerably worse. I was very tempted to give him this med, especially from the pressure of his pediatrician. But I decided to do a little research first. I am glad I did because it led me to this site and similar others. I will NOT be giving Singulair to my son. I thank you all form the bottom of my heart for sharing your stories. It may be helpful for you to know, that your actions directly helped to shield my little boy from possible harm. Thank you!!
My son was on Singulair from about 4 to 7. Once I heard a loud scream in the middle of the night. So loud my daughter woke up crying because it scared her. I went to check on them both…my sons eyes were open but he was not really responding. I just went back to bed thinking he was just dreaming. Fast forward a few months. Same scream happened again. Woke my wife. She went to check on him and he was in full seizure mode. This time, eyes rolled back in his head, foaming at the mouth. Scariest moment of my life. Wife was freaking out. I somewhat calmed the situation but after a short period of time you start to fear what to do if he does not snap out of any. Anyway, we started to put things together. He used to wake up in the morning sometimes feeling sick. He might throw up and then want to sleep. After sleeping for a few hours he was fine. We thought he had migrains maybe, but after this it explained a lot. When we asked how often it happened, he said his body would just tighten up and he said he thinks it happened 6 or 7 times. We had the EKG, MRI and one other sleep test and they all came back negative. We immediately took him off the medicine and the neurologist did put him on a seizure medication for two years. After 1 year, we have not had any issues.
We have one more year to go and then bleed him off the meds. Bad news is we will never know if it was the Singulair. He uses an inhauler every once and a while but I will not put him back on Singulair unless his life really depended on it. Having three kids in day care, we were so used to them getting sick and the pediatrician prescribing something to get them healthy. Never really read up on the side effects. After this episode and researching Singulair I cannot believe I put my son on this. If you look at the list of side effects on their site, I wouldn’t even want take the medicine myself. When I asked the pediatrician about the side effects, they just brushed it off. I was very pissed at their “non-response”. The neurologist did explain that in clinical trials everyone could be healthy and if any issue comes up they have to list it as a side effect. That I can understand, but with such a long list there’s got to be something going on…
Singulair is routinely prescribed by doctors here in Saudi Arabia,I never thought and researched about the side effects until now because my daughter who is almost 4 years old is taking it for 5 months now and my doctor still wants me to continue giving it to her.I admit,this past few months she was not having cough,fever,on and off ear infection BUT I noticed some changes in her that as a Mum,I know something is wrong. She was a happy go lucky K1 student and would always be eager to go to school but recently would always complain of headache,tummy ache,pain on both legs(which the doctor said could be growing pain)and would toss and turn at night that I would get upset knowing she did not even take a nap in the afternoon.So I thought she was a bit grumpy in the morning due to lack of sleep,tummy ache(refuses to eat anything in the morning)so eventually would have head ache and the painful legs would be normal because she runs around at school.I also notice that as soon as we stop giving her Singulair then she would start sneezing,fever with cough and congested.When I told my doctor this today she said that this is normal and the behavioral changes I noticed are normal for a 4 year old.How do we stop this kind of thinking?How can we feel safe when the doctors are the ones who are blind from the side effects of this drug?Please help>>>>>>>>
Our 7 year-old son has turned into a different person. We never had any clue it could be the side-effects of medication. He has had strep throat 3X within the last 6 months. Singular has been known to deplete the immune system. Guess what docs do when kids have strep? ANTIBIOTICS!!! This exacerbates the problem of an already depleted immune system. He has made suicidal comments, is extremely moody, agitated, depressed and anxious. This once vibrant and funny little 7 year-old no longer wants to participate in anything because his stomach and body ache so severly. He has had behavioral problems in school as well. When I took him to his pediatrician, it was dismissed as “he should probably see a psychologist.” His allergist, who prescribed it, isn’t of any additional assistance. I see a shadow of the child I once knew and only discovered this YESTERDAY. My son is having some serious intestinal problems and we started investingating. In the past 5 days he has been to the ER twice; lab results come back “normal” but they have not tested his immune system or looked at his intestinal track. The doctors think my husband and I are looking for a way to excuse his behavior and that is absolutely not true. He has been on this medication since early 2009. PLEASE TAKE HEED AND DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR CHILD — ESPECIALLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANTIBIOTICS.
How is your son doing now? Our son is 9 and has been off Singulair for 6 weeks now since we discovered the side effects. He was taking it for 5 years. Some things have improved and he seems happier overall but some things have worsened. He continues to have hallucinations and is now having anxiety attacks. He is still afraid of falling asleep. We have received the same response from our pediatrician and allergist as you. They have said it can’t be the medicine if symptoms persist or worsen. He also had strep and was given ammoxicillin…we have also been reading up on Pandas but his behavior is not as severe as Pandas symptoms…we also have heard from other parents that recovery from Singulair is long. My heart goes out to you and I do hope and pray that your son is doing better.
Thank you for posting! My son had a severe asthma episode last week and was in the hospital and on oxygen. They added Singulair to his list of medications, but similarly we brought a different kid home from the hospital. Now he says he’s hungry all the time and his body hurts to the touch. I have pulled the Singulair and will not give it to him ever again. He also had strep so was started on an antibiotic so I’m sure this is all compounded! UGH! Glad I found this page!
Most allergy problems and asthma problems (as well as most other health problems) are symptoms of nutritional deficiencies. B complex Vitamins, K2, and probiotics to restore the intestinal lining. Magnesium therapy for the asthma and sleeping problems (balances Calcium levels). Avoid antibiotics at all costs. Healthy chewing, lots of raw foods, and maybe digestive enzymes to help with food digestion. I wish you luck.
I have an unsolved mystery. I have a child who just turned eight one week ago. For about a year he has complained of stomach pain periodically. He began vomiting off and on. It increased as time went on. We have done countless test to include normal blood work, allergy testing, endoscope which did show he suffered from H-Pylori. We treated the H-Pylori successful. We confirmed this with a stool test. When the doctor did the scope he checked each section of he stomach for cancer and it was negative. He also noted that there were no ulcers in the stomach or signs of stress.
The problem is that the vomiting and stomach pain continues. This sometimes it is accompanied by extreme fatigue. Sometimes he vomits then feels fine. There is nothing that is consistent with the onset of this. Once it hits him it’s just that quick. He feels the oncoming in his throat then he immediately throws up. The only points that standout is that sometimes it is time for him to eat when he throws up, he sometimes complains of pain in the upper left quadrant when eating (and must stop eating), and around the time this started my child was taken off Singular (under the direction of his allegorist) .
Most recently we have gone back for a consult with our pediatrician. He ordered a head CT with contrast which came back negative. He also did some blood work in conjunction that also came back negative. He has given us a script for Singular. He said there is no know link with coming off Singular and gaining these symptoms. He wants to refer us to a pediatric neurologist, then cardio then an endocrinologist. Currently he is throwing up sometimes as often as twice a week but at a minimum of once every 9-10 days. We have tried to treat him with a maximum dose of acid medicine as well as a maximum dose of Zyrtec. Neither of these have helped at all. Since going back on the Singular he is feeling better and has gone two weeks without throwing up. What has this done to his system that somehow is masked by the drug? My child took this durg for 7 years. Does anyone have any suggestions?
OMG! I am so relieved to find others like me out there. Approximately 4 months ago my happy, well adjusted, intelligent little 8 year old was prescribed Singulair to assist with his Winter Asthma. He turned into an angry, anxiety ridden and disrepsectful kid that was so the polar opposite of what he was. He was having continual stomach cramps that even ended up in hospital with no one knowing what was wrong. Only today I took him back to the doctors with yet another stomach pain and suggested could it be the side effects from Singulair? He ummed and ahhed and finally admitted that this could be the reason why he was having the issues with his stomach. Afer getting home from the doctors and throwing away the Singulair for god, I starting researching this myself. How can a doctor not tell me these side effects?!! I am so angry that I went through this with my little man – and it was only four months so I can just imagine what you must all have gone thru
Hi Rochelle,
I read your message and I feel like I wrote it about my son who was also 8. He was only on Singular 5 months in the beginning of this year. I took him off during the summer to have a break and then restarted the singular and after about 2 weeks I noticed he started having severe anxiety: afraid to go into the back of the house and take a shower by himself, go to bed by himself and then go to sleep. Then one day he began obsessing about washing his hands because of germs. He is so phobic about germs that he won’t hold my hand unless he is sure that I have washed my hands first. His poor little hands are raw and bleeding. My heart hurts for him. He was a loving laughing fun 8 year old little boy. He is now agitated with everyone, anxious, worried about germs, fearful of the dark and just not happy! He cries easily and feels bad most days. Last week he began complaining of pain in his upper left quadrant of his stomach. He will now be off his singular 3 weeks. We began behavioral therapy just 2 weeks ago and praying that she can help our sweet precious child.
I just took my 9 year old son off of Singulair 2 weeks ago. And the more I read from other parents, the more side effects I realized he had. He used to maybe go to the doctor once per year for sinus infection – generally very healthy kid. Last year, he had a consistent cough that wouldn’t go away, was referred to an allergist, and diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. He started with an inhaler which helped his coughing tremendously, but since he had to use it about 3 times a day (he’s very active) the allergist put him on Singulair. This did help his asthma to where he rarely used his inhaler. But he started getting ear infections. It was winter, and about 2 months after he started the medication, and lots of kids at his school were having a rough season, so I wrote it off as that. Started out at 3 ear infections and throat, too – they never tested for strep since the same antibiotic took care of both. He also was experiencing incessant itching of the scalp which the doctors wrote off to dry winter air, told him to take Nizoral shampoo, and that helped. Then spring came and so did the ear and throat infections. Then summer and he was still getting them. I took him to the ENT and he said he had unique shaped ear drums, so was not having ear infections – even though it may have looked so to family doctor – but tonsils were enlarged. All unusual for a 9 year old – mostly these problems will happen around 5 years old. I asked him if it could be singulair, and he nonchallantly said maybe. Heck, the family doctor even sent me home with another month’s worth of samples. I took him off of it 2 weeks ago – not at the advice of doctors. Other than a few stomach pains still, so far so good. Uses his inhaler a bit more, but no big deal. I’ve been reading about the anxiety and remembered also that last school year while on singulair, he fainted in class and hit the floor when he saw a needle being injected into a hot dog on parent day when a girl’s dad was showing how they give shots to the kids. His dad and step-brother are diabetic so needles are commonplace around our house, but he’s been much more afraid of them since Singulair. The more I read, the more I notice everything he had and the last year makes so much sense. I feel HORRIBLE that he had to go through all this within this past year, but want to post this as a warning to other parents who may be thinking of putting their child on this medicine. I have learned that the next time the doctor suggests a monthly pill for my child, to do thorough research myself first, because the doctors don’t seem to believe in side effects. I hope and pray that he has no long lasting effects of this medicine since he was on it just under a year, but will deal with the issues as they arise and at least I am aware now.
My daughter has only been on Singulair for 3 months now, and I have to admit, it has been 3 months free of runny noses and the chronic congestion she had prior to taking the medication. She started kindergarten last week and has been complaining every morning of her stomach hurting, she refuses to eat her breakfast (which is not like her) and has had major anxiety about going to school….so bad they had to physically pry her off of me when I dropped her off! I know that there are some children that are like this when they start kindergarten, but she has been going to school since she was 2 and I have never had any problems with her, it is very out of character! I started to think what had changed since she was in school last and that lead me to this site. I am going to stop giving her the singulair, stock up on tissues, and hope for the best:) Good luck to all of you!
My son has been taking this Singular for over a month now. He has constantly been complaining about severe headaces and stomach aches…High anxiety has tried to plaugue him as well…I prayed over him and threw the singular very deep and far in the toilet,lol….Now this is the second time he has been on this medication andd I have had to take him off…The first time he was seeing things and having bad dreams…This stuff is no joke and no child should be taking this…If your childs doctor recommend this medication, please ask for something else…Singular is not worth it..
I have been through this with my son when he was almost 5. He is now 12. The Singulair controlled his asthma, but made him psychotic. A D.O. that we saw about a year after that told me to give him quercetin. She said that quercetin would work on the same pathways, but with no side effects. I gave it a try and found her to be right. My son has not needed an inhaler (except when he got pneumonia) since then. I wish the aftermath of the Singulair had been resolved so easily. He is still afraid of the dark and won’t sleep without a light on. He is still very prone to nightmares as well. Falling asleep is very hard for him still as well. I wish I had NEVER given him Singulair.
Our daughter took Singulair for about 45 days and she completely changed from a happy,sweet fun loving child into a child that was paranoid, terrified of dark clouds- not just storms but any cloud that looked dark, she was constantly afraid of dying. She would be afraid to go to sleep she would think she was going to swallow her tongue or that her tonsil’s would explode. We could not go to any other room unless she was right there on our heels. She complained of her stomach and legs hurting and the wouldn’t eat. She was losing weight and we finally figured out that it was the medicine after reading some of these post.
The doctor blew us off and said she needed a counselor but he agreed with us and now that she has been off it about 6 weeks she is getting back to her old self but we were lucky she wasn’t on it that long before we figured out what was wrong. This should NOT be given to children.
Please be careful, it really scares me that something that was suppose to help our daughter has caused more probelms than it did helping her allergies. It makes you feel like a terrible parent.
Hi there, we have been dealing with asthma at home withour 4.5 year old who is starting pre-k. I have avoided singulair like the plague because of reading from smart parents like you about the side effects. My question is, what is the alternative for asthmatic kids with allergies. I know my son needs regular daily tx at this point, but has anyone successfully tried a different daily med with little to no side effects? My son was on zyrtec at 2.5 for about a month an exhibited all the horrible anger, agression, crying, nightmares, etc that you are mentioning so i am super careful not to try any medication with him without reading up on it first. But there has to be an alternative. Suggestions??
It is so disheartening to read these comments, yet comforting at the same time to know that I’m not alone. My 2 year old son was prescribed Singulair a year ago, but I was hesitant to add another medication in conjunction with daily breathing treatments to control his asthma. A few months ago our pediatrician prescribed it again to control his allergies and it worked like a charm. I never associated the erratic behavior changes to the Singulair, just thought it was the terrible two’s. After 30 days, I didn’t refill b/c I didn’t want my toddler on a daily medication. Ironically, his aggressive behavior subsided. Allergies started up again mid-Aug, so we put him back on the Singulair and my sweet, loving little boy is gone. His tantrums are so full of rage that I know this is NOT normal for a two year old. I stopped the Singulair over the weekend and decided to research if anyone else was experiencing this type of abnormal aggression. I thank God for putting it on my heart and thank you all so much for posting. I’ve cried all night reading these posts and feel so guilty for putting my baby thru this…thought I was doing the right thing for him. Taking him off of this drug is the best thing for him.
Please don’t blame yourself or the doctor, they are compartmentalized and listen to the drug companies…I work in the Chemical field, and have allergies. They are mostly chemical in nature. I returned from the doctor with a prescription for Singular. I usually research the chemical compounds of medication BEFORE I take it. I didn’t with this drug, out of desperation I just took it…..well; I woke up with nose bleeding, tight chest and couldn’t breathe through my sinuses. It was time then to research Safety Data Sheet educational material that is available for all chemicals in drug compounds.
They are called MSDS for short. “Material Safety Data Sheets” here is a link:
http://www.lclabs.com/MSDS/M-4966MSDS.php4
There are other links, just Google MSDS….
One of the compounds I specifically mentioned to my doctor as a severe allergy is in this drug.
ALL drugs are chemicals. I worked in that part of the plant for over two years; before I experienced hives and throat closing up…and was moved to another location immediately….
I try to use as much natural as possible, but those too must be researched.
I’m sorry about your son. I hope his allergies get better. Try and find out what they are specifically, and remove them from around him, if possible. I find that researching the compounds in medication is valuable.
There is a high risk of diabetics getting cancer of the pancreas. I was put on medication that had two carcinogenic compounds in the drug and chose not to take it…we have to be proactive and careful.
I don’t say all drugs are bad. I’m glad we have such good technologies that will help with some of our conditions, but buyer be ware, and if you or your loved ones, start feeling bad after ingesting medication….it’s most likely some component of the formula you are reacting to.
Know what’s in your medication.
My daughter started taking singular for seasonal asthma when she was 3 years old. When she was 8 she started to have crying fits, extreme mood swings which I could have chalked up to pre puberty. The kicker was when she was talking about wanting to die and drawing pictures of people with guns to their heads. When I asked her where she got the idea she said she would dream about it. I was mortified and did not know what could be causing this all of a sudden. It was literally a gift from above that told me to check about the side effects of singulair. It was then I found the FDA’s addendum about psychotropic events on singular. We stopped immediately, one year later have a much better adjusted child. Thank goodness the asthma has not worsened and we ate able to control with her inhaler. Keeping our fingers crossed through this fall.
Hi,
I am a 44 year old male 5′ 10″ 190lb, i took one 10mg dose of Singulair last night for an ear issue (fullness in my left ear), i actually asked the ENT for the medication and he gave me a strange look but gave me some samples anyway. I got the headache about two hours after taking the medication, the stomachache about an hour later and strange body aches.
Weird stuff, i would never give it to a child, it’s way too strong and has too many side effects. The kids are not lying, the thing that really sucks is it made my ears feel really good for about 12 hours. Oh well, i will find something to control my allergies but not Singulair.
The company that make this stuff should be sued.
Almost 8 months ago my 6 year old son had two asthma attacks and we later realized that his asthma was allergy induced. Prior to the attacks, we had tried various medications for his allergy symptoms and he had experienced undesirable behaviors; therefore after the asthma attacks, my son’s allergist proscribed him Singular (4mg). I’m not exactly sure when my son started exhibiting undesirable behavior, anxiety, depression, or aggression. This past summer, I struggled with my son, he was always angry, agitated and was very hard to deal with. My husband and I tried everything to help him deal with his anger. This behavior was noticed by friends and family. He started attending a new school this fall, a school that I also started teaching at. A few weeks into school, my son was having problems with behavior, etc. His handwriting has regressed, he has had trouble making friends, and he cannot sit still to get his work complete. I originally thought that he could not handle the change or that maybe he had some characteristics of ADHD, but academically he is well above grade level. Most children with ADHD are unable to focus long enough to complete tasks at school, or be successful at them. My son is still getting 100% on benchmarks, knows sight words beyond his grade level, etc. I knew that something was wrong, but not ADHD. I was thinking of some type of mood disorder that causes anxiety and anger related symptoms, such as Bipolar. During his previous school year he did a fantastic job. He was very well liked by his teacher and everyone was sad that he was leaving this school. When finding out that my son’s behaviors were so bad, I contacted his teacher from the previous school year to ask him if he was honest with me. He was very offended by what his new teacher was telling me because he said that my son was an excellent student, behaviors included. It had been as if someone had flipped a switch. My son has been such a nervous wreck, he eats the skin from his fingers, he chews on his shirts, blankets, etc. He is very impulsive, blurts out, and aggravates others, just waiting for their reactions to him. He doesn’t enjoy the things he once did. He calls himself a loser and thinks no one likes him or wants to be his friend. He had never done any of these things before! I have been crying ever since I have started reading this information! I am outraged and think that all of us should come together to put a stop to this! My son has been aggressive towards everyone, he is so hard to handle. He cries at the drop of a hat, is afraid of everything, it all makes sense now! My mother-n-law stumbled upon this, or we may have never known! We stopped the meds on Sept. 27th and hadn’t noticed any changes at school; therefore we may have put him back on! Thank you all for posting your information! You have no idea how helpful this has been. I only pray that my son’s side effects begin to diminish and he will return to that fun loving little boy that I miss so terribly!
Mandy – Any update on your son’s behavior? A year later, is he back to his normal self? Reading your post was seriously like reading about my own daughter, who I started on singulair 7 years ago (she was only 14months old and is 8 now). I know she doesn’t have ADHD (I’ve had her tested) and was about to call a psychiatrist when her regular ped suggested we stop the singulair first because it’s been associtaed with mood disorders. So I did a little research on the side effects (why I didn’t do research 7 years ago is something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life) — my daughter has so many symptoms of a bi-polar person. I was starting to think that, at only 8 years old, she was bi-polar. Crazy mood swings, manic highs and intensely angry lows. Or is a different kind of mood disorder? I seriously was at my wits end and knew that she couldn’t stay the way she was so was willing to put her on an anti-depressant (mostly for the sake of her 2 sisters who I really feel like shouldn’t have to live with a sister as mean as my 8 year old can be). Now, instead of looking for another pill, I will be throwing away the singulair immediately. Who knows — maybe it is something else but these posts have made me really, really hopeful that it’s been the singulair all along. Which is why I’m wondering how your son is now, a year later?
My son was on Singulair for about 2 years for asthma, age 4-6. (I didn’t want him on a steroid so we went the singulair route). During this time we moved back to my home state and he started to become moody(around age 5). He started saying things like ‘I hate myself’ over and over. I tried to get him to explain but he had become closed off to me and wouldn’t tell me things anymore. Plus he stopped being the cuddler he always was. I thought he was having a difficult time adjusting to his new surroundings. I took him to see a child psychologist and he met with the school social worker regularly regarding his negative thoughts. Nothing helped really. My whole family was really upset about trying to help him and not being able to. Then my sister read about the side effects of singulair. I took him off and his negative thoughts completely disappeared. He was a happy kid once more. I threw away the rest of the singulair and will never go back to that. I am now going to try the pulmicort route for control as needed. However, I do not want to do a regular medication route. Meds can be evil. FDA approval no longer means anything to me. I’ll get my information through other parents thank you very much!! Anyone have suggestions for alternative therapies for asthma that don’t rely so heavily on daily meds?
All of these stories are sooooooooo sad!!!! My 4.5 yr. old started Pre-K in August, and he’s having an AWFUL time in school. He’s hitting, kicking, and having weekly/daily meltdowns!!! My son is such a loving boy. I’m literally in shock when I hear about what he’s doing in school. He’s been talking Singulair for about 8 months now. He does had severe asthma at times, but if this medication is causing his behavioral troubles then there MUST be an alternative. No, ny son is not perfect, but these behaviors are NOT who he is……. PLEASE HELP!!!! Give me some feedback if you’ve found a safe alternative.
Oops, I meant taking not talking!!!
I’m very sorry for all the kids having gone through these problems from Singulair. My heart goes out to them & the parents also. I want to thank you all for sharing your stories. My 4 yr old son was just diagnosed with activity induced asthma & prescribed Singulair. After reading your stories I will NOT be giving it to him.
My 4 year old son has been on singulair for a month and seems to be fine. It has helped his allergies more than anything else we have tried. But now I am worried about what if anything it is doing to his brain. I just don’t know what to do at this point. The FDA is useless.
My wife and I just made the decision to remove our 6 year old son from Singular. He was on this prescription for two years. We both agreed that our son is going to have to deal with his allergies like any other person. We haven’t noticed any big issues since removing him from the medication. I personally don’t think that a medication take ‘once daily’ is very influential for most people. We decided to remove him from the medication during this late fall season while allergens are typically lower. I encourage most of you to reconsider your child’s prescriptions. We probably had our son on Singular for too long. I remember growing up and having to deal with my allergies without medications (runny eyes, tickling nose, etc). Admittedly, there are some rough times of the year, but we all have to adjust to the world at some point in time. Perhaps the younger, the better. Case by case.
After 24 days on Singulair for mild asthma, my 11-year old daughter suffered many of the neuropsychiatric side effects – suicide ideation, hallucinations, nightmares, anger/hostility, thoughts of violence toward others, severe headaches, depression, plus pain in her joints. The doctors don’t seem to know or really care. I’m ready to get active and spread the news about the dangers of this scary drug. With so many safer alternatives, it just shouldn’t be prescribed to children. It is Merck’s biggest money maker.
WARNING to anyone using the drug Singulair: My son had been on this drug on and off for a year and most recently using it regularly for about 2-3 months to help regulate his allergies and asthma. This drug changed my son. In the past month or so my once sweet, happy go lucky boy with a high self esteem began to change. He was easily agitated, argumentative, and sad. He was also unable to complete his work at school and unable to concentrate at all. There were actually times at school when he would sit and do none of his work at all. He has always had an issue with talking and being social (takes after his mom). But this was different. There was a blankness in his eyes and his attitude. He even told me many times that; “I just don’t like myself”, ” I feel like I am a bad kid” and “I don’t like being in this world.” He also stated several times that he felt “funny”. My heart broke when I heard my once full of life happy guy say these things. I was clueless as to what could possibly be going on. At our last DR. appt I asked the Dr. if Singulair could cause any of these issues. He informed me that there had been “some” reports of this drug causing some issues but that the Drug company MERICK which makes Singulair had not found anything. Well that sent the red flags flying. I came home and did some research and found thousands of people stating that their children were having some of these same side effects and many more as well. Many people stated that this drug completely changed their children. Singulair can mimic the signs of ADD/ADHD and even cause suicidal thoughts. After my research I decided to immediately to take my son off of Singulair. After 4 days of being off the drug I saw an 80% change in my son. His attitude, demeanor, and concentration have completely changed. He is now happy, loves life again and his concentration has improved immensely. These side effects do not happen with every user, however I am amazed at what this drug did to my child. Please be careful when you are giving this to your children. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
My three year old son was a happy boy at one point. He was prescribed singulair two months ago. I notice maniac behavior within 2 weeks of him taking the medicine, another two weeks past and he began having Hallucinations, telling me he see cats and ghost. Lack of sleep and rude behavior. When I took him off the medicine he got sick instantly. I put him back on again and his behavior has worsen. Fighting at school, severe tantums. I decided to take him off again and focus on his diet to control his asthma rather than medicines. Thank you to all who posted to assit in my decision
My 7 year old son took singulair for a very short period.. maybe 3 weeks. I recieved a letter from walmart about side effects of singulair and realized that my sons behavior was from the medication. He is a very loving, sweet, child who never hurts anyone and won’t do wrong.. he started to have bursts of anger, hitting his sister and even hit me. I took him off immediately and all is well. I called his Dr and they were unaware of the side effects! Thank You all for your posts!
Hello,
first and foremost, than you to everyone who took the time to describe what their children have experienced on this medication. i’m sorry to hear about your struggles and pains in these experiences.
my child was prescribed this when she was just under 2 yrs old and we didn’t give it to her after reading about the side effects.
now she is 3 1/2 and it was prescribed by the allergist. i almost gave it to her, but my wife was reluctant. why did i think it was ok now?? I have no idea.. but i can tell you that i’m VERY grateful for everyone’s contribution here. I will NOT be giving my child this medication.
it’s disgusting that these drug manufacturers can get away with this.. why isn’t there a class action lawsuit against this drug manufacturer? this is just crazy!
thanks again!
-nick
My 15 year old daughter has been on Singulair for about six months for allergies and asthma. Lately she has been complaining about not being able to focus on her school work-she is a honor student-, headaches, sensitive skin, pain in her legs, and started having nose bleeds. She also complains about being soooooo tired and sad. Like many folks, I trust the doctor, without question. At her appointment last week, I mentioned some of these symptoms. His response was take some Advil and use a humidifier. Thank God I decided to do some investigating-maybe too late-but I am taking her off this poison right away! I would rather have her sneeze all day than battle fatigue, depression, lack of focus, etc. I hope she returns to health and happiness soon. Thanks to all the other moms for your posts! Lessons learned: Question authority and do your own research-be informed.
Thank you for posting this. I have been taking singular fpr over 20 years and I am going to stop taking it before my side affects begin.
Is there anything that can help seed the process of returning back to pre-singulair sideaffects. a food or something?
My heart and prayers are going out to all the parents that have spoken up and I thank you so much! My 5 yr old has been having ear infections non stop also has food allergies and asthma that all seem to have worsen in these winter months. I have been prescribed this drug about 3 days ago for our daughter and just have left it on the counter not really wanting to give it to her..mother instinct I guess. Thank goodness I picked up my ipad tonight and found all you wonderful parents. I will never ever give this to my daughter and I will pass it on to all friends so they know as well. Thank you thank uou..my daughter thanks you.
I didn’t know what was wrong with my son. I talked to his Dr many times about his behavior but she never recommended that he go off the singulair. I didn’t make the connection until I switched pharmacies. RiteAid sends information about your medication through the mail. I opened the envelope and and right on the front page was “Warning Singulair can cause severe mood changes, depression and anxiety”. I stopped giving him singulair and within a few days he has improved drastically. He is my sweet little boy again. I feel so guilty about this. I only wanted what was best for my child. We have to be our own advocates don’t trust that your Dr knows what is best. I’m ready to make sweet memories with my dear son, I’ve missed him so much!
I’m so glad to read everyone’s story and relieved to see I’m not the only person struggling with this matter. My 3 yrs old son has been on singular for on and off about 3 years, but not until this year we’ve notice a horrible change in his mood. He has become fearful of being alone, moody and angry all the time. I never really look at the labeling on the singlular box but my pharmarist place a label to contact the doctor if you experencie mood changes, fear etc. I called the doctor, explained my son issues and she suggested to discontinue use. Hopefully this helps, as he has had serious panic attacks and can’t be left alone anywhere.
I very upset because the med’s that are suppose to help him deal with season allergies are causing him harm.
Angela
My daughter is 5 and is on Singulair for allergies. I never knew Singulair could cause all of this. It makes sense. My daughter use to sleep in her room and go to the bathroom by her self now since i have read all of these side affects and etc.. i have put two and two together and since i have gave her Singulair she has become scared to sleep in her room and go to the bathroom alone. She’s only been on Singulair for about a month or more.
WOW!! I can not believe the number of children that have suffered these types of side effects from singular!! My daughter started taking it for asthma at age 14. She is now 15 and has been switched to another because of unability to sleep due to crazy dreaming. I noticed over this period of time that she began to suffer from panic attacks from anxiety, change in her mood. Just not the same happy girl that i know. What I didn’t realize is this can also be a side effect from this medication. To my displeasure , from what research I am doing now on the new medication she is taking, It’s the same side effects. This is such a catch twenty two, our children need medication to help control their asthma but at what cost to their sanity??????!!!!
-Lori
My daughter was put on this medication more than 2 years ago , and we did not have any explanation for her depression , sadness and I remember like 6 months ago and it was Sunday morning when she came to our bedroom crying and she said that she had a very bad dream which she was so afraid to tell me and after calming he down she said I saw my self taking your head off I was stunned the following month was a disaster she felt guilty just about everything , we managed to take her out of this situation but still depressed and sad ,,, by the way she’s only 7 years old
After several months of chronic sinus infections and a brief but strong encounter with pneumonia and the hosptial, and trying countless otc allergy meds, my daughter’s doctor decided to give Singulair a try. Within a week there were no more sinus infections or runny noses. She was 13 months old at the time. She immediately began to toss and turn at night and wake up screaming(this is a child who has slept clear through the night since 6 weeks old). I started to attribute it to teething because the doctor never said anything about severe side effects. A couple months later she began to get VERY aggressive with her aunt, myself, and her dad. It then followed with being mean and very easily agitated by the kids here at my daycare. She would be playing fine with a child, and then all of a sudden start screaming and shaking if anyone was within 3 feets of her or looking in her direction. She will scream and hit our dog if he lays on the couch…even if she is in her own room playing. I was at my wits end with my own allergies, so I decided to get on Singulair also(I take BP meds, so normal claritin d is out of the picture). Within a day I was having severe constant headaches, horrible stomach cramps, and would not sleep for days at a time. I also began to be a nervous wreck about things that held no significane. Any little noise at night sent me into a full blown panic that someone was breaking into our house. After researching side effects, my daughters sudden change in behavior became very clear to me. I immediately took us both off of the medication and within the next day we were both sleeping through the night, and 5 days later, she has not had a single episode of aggression. I just feel terrible for not making the connection sooner. I know how horrible I felt, I can only imagine what she felt like…and not able to tell me!
Hi I’m Sarah and I’m one of the Victims of singular Here to Show the Worried Mothers A point of view from the Children. When I was 9 years old I had real bad Asthma and Allergy Problems, So the doctor told my Mom to Give me singular. In less than 3 Days I had Strange Dreams But I didn’t worry to tell my mom. 2 Months Past, My Allergies,Asthma,Night Mares . . .Had all gotten worse. I was Petrified, Plus New symtoms appeared Rashes,Tremors,Sore Throat, And Ear aches . . . I told my mom later in the month by then I was 10. The next time We went to the doctor She told the doctor.And I got off it.
My son began taking Singular when he was two after being diagnosed with presumed asthma, since he was too young at the time to officially be labeled as asthmadic. I began noticing changes in his behavior whenever I would take him off of the medicine and then put him back on it. At first, I thought I was just looking too much in to his behavior and was doubting myself. But this last time (he is now 5), it was undeniable that the medicine was causing anxiety, aggression, and depression. After being on it for a little over two weeks he told me he just wanted to die, was having trouble at school whereas previously he had no problems, and was very argumentive and aggressive. I came to the web to see if others were experiencing the same thing with this med. After reading these post, I will not be putting my son back on Singular. Thank you for the information and support.
I know this is really after the fact of your posts, but I am an adult who has used singulair for a year and it has been a godsend with zero side effects. I read about the issues with children and was honestly afraid to start the med and didn’t fill the Rx for several weeks. I did ask my allergist about it and what he told me was that the issue is with the pediatric preparation, not the med itself. He said that the color and sweeteners that are added to the med are the real issue. If a child were to take the adult tablet divided in half, there would not be an issue. I don’t know how true this is, but with children that are big enough to take an adult dose, it might be worth considering.
I hate taking any drug and really resisted taking daily asthma medicine. I am allergic to albuterol though, so I really needed something that would prevent the need for a rescue inhaler. It has worked very well and without any side effects. I am a person prone to anxiety and depression, so if it were going to affect someone, i would think it would affect me in that way. This makes be believe that what my allergist says is legit.
Anyway, good luck with your children. And to the mom who mentioned strep, strep is also associated with causing OCD and tics. Anyone dealing with that issue should google PANDAS-OCD-strep….look for info on it from the NIH and then bring to your child’s doctor, most are not aware of this connection.
PS- I am an autism mom of a recovered 13 year old. It has been a long road but his is doing great!
Wow this medication Singuilar is crazy side effects of: thoughts of dying, scared, bad dreams, very short temper, aggressive, hyperactive, angry complete change of personality, hallucination how is it worth it to prevent asthma when there are so many other medications. Especially if it is going to mentally destroy a perfectly healthy mind. When my kids mentioned that it will cause mood swings I never thought any of this until I read it online. I didn’t think anything of it until my boys started crying for no reason. Luckily they only took it for less then a week. This medication need to be taken of the market. Or at least not given to kids that don’t know what is happening to them.
My 3 year old granddaughter took the medicaiton Singuilar for 2 days and the 2nd night she woke up at 3:00 a.m. screaming and crying, pointing towards the bedroom door to shut it because the monster is going to get her. Its been a week now and she still doesn’t want to leave the room and constantly looks at the door as if someone or something is coming after her. When you open the door she cries for you to shut it hard and say she is scared of the monster, he is coming to get me. Its the same reaction at her great grandmother’s home. She just wants to cling to you and be held and rocked. She hasn’t been her normal self in a week and I am heartbroken to see her go through this. This medication needs to be taken off the market!
How long to see noticeable positive changes?
My 6 year old daughter has been on Singulair for seasonal allergies for a couple years. We usually only give it during “high” allergy season. Our insurance recently switched her to the generic form. She’s been on that for about 3 months and her normal strong-willed attitude has turned into a nightmare-anger, aggression, impulse control, inability to fall asleep. It’s awful.
We stopped her medicine approximately 48 hours ago and haven’t seen any changes – if anything the behavior as gotten worse. Can you please let me know how long it took for you to see results? I know medicine may not be the problem. I’m just wondering when I just started looking for different reasons.