Oh no….another drug that we need, and it also cause us to want to end it all???? Is there anything out there that will NOT hurt us????

My son is 4 years old and was put on singulair for a severe dust allergy. I only give it to him in the winter because I noticed he was very aggresive when he was on the medication. I understand that the benefits are great, but is the alternative better!!!
Maria Brandl, Hollis Hills NY

My wife has just about everything on the list for psych disorders, but would never tell me if she had suicidal thoughts.

Post-Marketing Experience
The following additional adverse reactions have been reported in post-marketing use:

Psychiatric disorders: agitation including aggressive behavior, anxiousness, dream abnormalities and hallucinations, depression, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality), tremor.

Another drug with significant (and permanant) potential side effects. My daughter used to take singulair but I stopped giving it to her long ago when I noticed mood swings. This one article presenting even the possibility that there is a connection between suicidal behavior and a drug is enough for me to never give it to her again. The bottom line in we citizens of the United States are the most medicated, drug happy society in the history of the world. We are a nation of prescription drug addicts. Illegal drugs are not the problem anymore, it’s the drugs the doctors prescribe who are getting kick-backs from pharmacutical companies. Just say no to drugs!!

I have been taking Singulair for 2 years and I do not have a suicidal bone in my body. In fact it has helped me more then any drug on the market for allergies and asthma.

My children HAVE to take singulair every day. If they miss it more than 36 to 48 hours, we are in the hospital with severe asthma attacks. I don’t know what we will do if they take this off the market. We HAVE to have it!!!

I have to take it every day and it definately has helped my asthma. I have been on it for about 9 years (with breaks during pregnancy). I have noticed some “down” time where I have had the blues; but since I had two children during that time, I chaulked it up to post partum and then just stress of daily life. It don’t think it had anything to do with the Singulair, and I’ve never been suicidal or anything like that (thank God). I am definately going to ask my doctor about this when I got to see him though and would let everyone I know who takes it to be aware of the possiblity.

We give Singulair to our child daily during much of the year and believe it helps. We also use Pulmicort and Albuterol when a cold is present. A lot of medicine for an otherwise normal little person who would like to be very active.

I have taken this drug since it first came on the market, I take it daily for asthma and COPD. I have no desire to committ suicide.

My son is 4 and has been on Singulair for about a year now due to his asthma. He is very aggressive at play groups, etc. I wonder now if this is the reason for the aggression. Without it he has trouble breathing. Is there an alternative medication?

I’m an adult who has been taking Singulair for a few months and have not noticed any mood swings or suicidal feelings whatsoever. There always seem to be some allergy or asthma medicines that adversely affect children. Perhaps physicians can find an alternative for those children. On the other hand, young people and adults who experience the problems mentioned might be taking other mood-altering drugs, or they might have suicidal tendencies that are made worse by the Singulair. Either way, it’s always good to be cautious of any medication.

I would think if you have little children taking it - they wouldn’t be suicidal. But teens or older, I’d start looking for something else. I was on it, and would have never connected the two, but I had suicidal thoughts at times while on it. So glad I’m off it and I’ll NEVER go on it again now.

What the public needs to realize is that SINGULAIR is the #1 prescription respiratory product by volume. That means there are literally millions of people from 6-months of age up that take the product either daily or seasonally for asthma or allergies. Is it just possible that a few of those millions taking SINGULAIR might be depressed or have other personal challenges that make them consider taking their own lives?? Of course it is. Bottom line, there is absolutely NO CAUSALITY established between taking SINGULAIR and committing suicide or having suicidal thoughts. The FDA has stated that no one should discontinue use of the product. In short, SINGULAIR has been a miracle product for countless patients. Yet again, the press has taken a piece of information and twisted it out of context for sensationalism. Ultimately, the public suffers by the misleading nature of this reporting. If you take SINGULAIR, get the facts before you go off the deep end.

I was just telling my wife how tired I am of the constant feelings of “blue” and that the thought of dying does not seem so bad, and within moments of saying it, we heard the news of Singulair and suicide. I started taking Singulair about 10 months ago, which coincides with when these feelings began. I hope there is an alternative medicine if the link is proven. In the mean time, forewarned is forearmed; and I will understand the root of these feeling (instead of trying to rationalize them away). It is just very tiring feeling far less than happy all the time. Having just written that, I think I will quit taking it completely and see how all goes.

I’ve been taking Singulair for years. Using it I have been able to almost completly eleminate use of an inhaler and have never had any side effects. Of course I can’t speak for all users of this drug, but I have to wonder if there is some competing medication that has initiated this.

Ive been taking it for two years and have had little desire to end my life. I work out and practice martial arts regulary it may be that sparring frequently cuts back on the rage. I have noticed small mood changes but i dont think its from the drug , more like from the stupid cats having there way with the furniture.
It dose raise my BP slightly though. Other than that i cannot go back to prevental or other inhailers they just didnt work as well as this stuff.

Since Singulair became available, most allergists have been quite unimpressed with its usefulness in a large number of patients. I have only one patient who complained of any side effect with the drug, and that was abdominal pain. Teens with a chronic disease, such as asthma, that might be poorly managed might begin to think of suicide as a way out of dealing with asthma, especially if there is poor self image for reasons other than asthma. Singulair is the most widely prescribed asthma medication, largely because primary care physicians prescribe it. It’s easy to use, approved down to a very young age (6 months), is given once a day at bedtime, may help nasal allergy, and has few side effects. My impression from talking to a number of my allergist colleagues is that we don’t think much of the drug. Maybe it’s because we are seeing the more severely-ill asthmatics. Inhaled anti-inflammatory steroids, such as fluticasone, mometasone, and budesonide, are much more effective in patients with more severe asthma, and in milder patients they may be used once daily. So there goes the dosing advantage for Singulair. There is nothing in the labelling of Singulair that indicates a problem with suicidal ideation.

My 9 month old son was put on Singulair for allergies and we noticed shortly after putting him on the drug that he had mood changes and other behavioral issues. We took him off the drug and within days he was back to his normal self. I would have to say I would not be surprised this drug is linked to behavioral issues if not suicidal tendencies. If there is an alternate drug, I would recommend changing to it.

My 7 year old son has been taking Sinulair for his asthma/allergies for a year, he has severe asthma tho, we live in Texas where I think we are the capital for allergies. I never noticed any mood changes or aggression, other than frustration for him of not feeling well all the time. I have found the inhaled medications to be much more effective. Advair has been a life saver, I discontinued the Singulair a couple of months ago because I saw no improvement with it. I agree with the allergist that we did not find any benefit with taking it.

One year ago, our (then) 3-year old was put on Singulair for her asthma/allergies. What a disaster. Soon after the first dose, she exhibited aggressively belligerent behavior. To the point of violence. It was really remarkable, since she is a very quiet, mild-mannered child otherwise.

We were beside ourselves to figure out what happened. The only change we could find was that she started Singulair. So we did some internet searches. And found many bulletin boards where other parents posted similar experiences.

We called the pediatrician and stopped adminstering the Singulair. The aggression and beligerence stopped almost immediately once we stopped the Singulair.

The outrage here is that the manufacturer, and even pediatricians, seem to be unaware of these side effects despite the fact that a large number of parents are reporting these incidents.

I can tell you that we were pretty angry at our pediatrician for either not knowing about these side effects and/or not telling us that these side effects were reported to occur.

You don’t have to ban this drug. Not everyone has the problematic side effects. But you do have to disclose that many kids do experiences these side effects. This way parents can make an informed decision as to whether they want to give it to their kids. And they can be aware of what is causing the problem in the event that their child turns out to exhibit the side effects.

Disclose all the issues to the consumers.

No excuse for not doing so.

I have taken Singulair for many years and find it to be the best remedy for allergies I have ever used. I have had no adverse side affects and hope to be able to continue taking it. I wonder if the case study will divulge other issues that may have been instrumental in causing these suicidal/behavioral problems.

Absolutely ridiculous! When Singulaire was added to my treatment regimen eight years ago, my asthma symptoms subsided within a few days and dramatically reduced my dependence on the short-term Albuterol inhaler. After living with uncontrollable asthma and allergies for over twenty years , it was like my life was finally beginning.
I suspect a fishing expedition by some trial lawyers is under way. Just what vanishingly small number of cases could be used to justify this goose chase?

I have been on Singulair for about 15 months. When I first started taking it, I had no symptoms due to my asthma being out of control. Once my asthma was under control, I started noticing muscle pain and being very easily angered. I started chopping up my pills into quarters. In my family we refer to my singulair as my angry pill. I have to be very careful not to let small things irritate me, as I know what the cause is. It is like being very super PMSy. I like how well it controls my asthma and I have learned to decrease the side effects.

I’ve been on Singulair since it came out. I had one short break when I tried to get pregnant and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. I have very severe asthma. Never noticed any mood swings on it. The only time I have really bad mood swings is from the prednisone they have to use when I get a respiratory virus. I doubt they will take it off the market because of the benefits outweigh the risk factors.

I started taking singulair about one year ago and loved how quickly it helped my asthma and allergy symptoms! However, I have been very anxious and depressed over the past year. I also have had a lot of life changes and moves over the past year so I just related the depression to my circumstances. Now that I have heard these claims I am very curious to know if this could be the cause.

My 3 year old son started Singuliar about 2 months ago. It’s helped him tremendously. He is his same happy go lucky self. I don’t doubt that some people experience mood swings etc. I think we forget that every body is different and may or may not expereince side effects. What works for someone isn’t the solution for the next patient.

My 4 year old son was put on Singular for a chronic cough. After 4 months he started wetting his bed and had severe anxiety. On a daily basis he would have uncountable temper tantrums that would take a long time to get under control. If your child is taking this medicine and they are crying to you that they can’t control their anger…listen to them and throw the medicine out. My son is a very mild mannered child and after taking him off the medication for 2 weeks we got our son back. We have contacted Dr’s, pharmacists, and Singular and no one would admit this was a side effect. THIS MEDICE SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET!!!.

My 4 year old son was put on Singular for a chronic cough. After 4 months he started wetting his bed and had severe anxiety. On a daily basis he would have uncountable temper tantrums that would take a long time to get under control. If your child is taking this medicine and they are crying to you that they can’t control their anger…listen to them and throw the medicine out. My son is a very mild mannered kid and after taking him off the medication for 2 weeks we got our son back. We have contacted Dr’s, pharmacists, and Singular and no one would admit this was a side effect. THIS MEDICE SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET!!!.

I have severe asthma. I have taken Singulair for probably 5 years. I have never had any problems with this drug. It is a drug that makes my asthma soooo much better and only when I miss one do I know just how good the drug really is. I have never had suicidal thoughts while taking this drug. I am sure that you could say that about any drug because if the person was taking asprin when they were suicidal you could say in a general way it was caused by the asprin. I know that it has been a God sent for me. It is just like any other drug, some can take it and a few can’t.

I tried this med with my 5 year old son for 4 weeks. He developed motor tics, his attention span significantly declined, he spent alot of time rolling around on the floor after school instead of engaged in goal directed activities, complained of stomach pains and talked excessively. I stopped this medication because he was “out of it” and looked like a cat in the dryer. I did read that it can affect the serotonin neurotransmitter system. Serotonin is a neurochemical that regulates mood. Perhaps this is the contributing factor to those who have had adverse reactions. Sometimes negative/adverse side effects are hard to pinpoint as they come on subtly. It took me a while for my sons behavior to register with me. His teacher had noticed a change, but I thought he was just tired or perhaps a cold virus was affecting him for a brief time. However, the symptoms got worse and persevered. It took about 4 weeks after discontinuation of Singulair for the tics to subside. Interestingly, he also developed tic after using flovent and albuterol. I hope science and research can investigate this drug without funding sources from those with a conflict of interest.

My son took Singulair for his asthma. He was on it and off of it. He committed suicide on October 2, 2007. He was 17 years old. And yes, in the earlier years of his use, he did have a personality change and spoke of suicide with his friends. I can provide medical records of his times of use. Did Singulair help to kill my son?

I’m 15 and have been taking singulair for a few years. After hard times last year I became extremely depressed and attempted suicide three times. This recent week I’ve been having the same thoughts. I NEVER would have thought it to be my allergy medication. It’s scary to understand that this could cause me to take my own life

I have been on Singulair for 8 years or more, and it has changed my life! (In a good way!) I have asthma, and Singulair has allowed me to function far better than I ever did before. I rarely have to use my rescue inhaler now, when I was using it daily before. I can exercise, now. I have not had a single suicidal thought in all the time I’ve been on Singulair. I’m not depressed, or anxious. I expect they will find these symptoms are caused by something else. I sure don’t want to go back to the way my life was before - waking up every morning wheezing and coughing, wheezing every time I laugh…

Our daughter,who is 11, has been on Singulair for some time and it has helped especially during allergy season, but she has shown frequent signs of mood swings and aggression. I know that medications have different side effects on different people but it never occured to me that this might be caused by Singulair. We need to explore this possibility, consult our doctor and make a decision on whether or not to continue to administer this medication.

My son, who is now 3 1/2 years old, was on Singulair for several months last winter and spring. We noticed extremely aggressive behavior and some major personality changes that caused great concern. We felt that it could possibly be related to Singulair so we took him off of it. The first few days off the drug, he had several asthma attacks (it really does work well for asthma). But the longer he was off Singulair, my son became more and more like the calm and happy little boy he had always been. My husband and I have no doubt his behavioral changes were linked to Singulair. It’s interesting to note in the comments below how many children around his age (3 to 4 years old) described similar behavior. Every person is individual and will respond to the drug differently. It just seems to be more than a coincidence to me that many young children appear to be having the same reaction to the drug.

I’ve been prescribed Singulair several times since it came out. Yes, it is a mood changer. Even though it may help some, it should be banned. Only one tragic death is not worth it.
Merck & Co. could care less as long as they get rich at the expense of some suicides or worse.
By banned, I mean banned. Not just change the name and sell it again as a “new wonder drug”.
It is absolutly worthless and does nothing for my asthma.

My daugher has been taking Singulair for her asthma for almost 5 years. Before she was on it, she practically ended up in the ER with every cold. It is very scary watching your 2 year old gasping for breath. She couldn’t even be potty trained because she didn’t have the energy to get out of bed. Now she only takes Singulair daily and albuterol/flovent inhalers for a few days when she has a cold. Singulair has tremendously helped her quality of life. Yes, she can be moody, but was even before the medication and I think she’s acting like a fairly normal 7 year old. Millions of people take Singulair. Millions of adults have issues with anxiety/depression and millions of children have behavioral problems. I don’t think there’s enough evidence out there that links these 2 things as cause and effect, and I’m not going to take my daugher off it right now. Singulair enables her to have a normal life.

I have 10 year old triplets. Both my boys are taking Singulair. One of my boys exhibited some strong anxiety changes recently. He became obsessed with seeing TV commercials where lawyers were trying to build cases against drug companies for meds believed to be unsafe (ironic).. Paxil was the commercial he saw the most and was terrified that harm had been caused to unborn babies. So much so that he asked if I had taken Paxil when pregnant. He would cry to the point of making himself sick. His pediatrician and I agreed that I could work with him and try and get through it. He is better now, but it has taken lots and lots of talking and loving from his dad and I. He is still very sensitive, though. My other son will on occasion exhibit aggressive behavior and when corrected he will become very upset and cry and say that he can’t control himself. Has anyone else had these type things occur? I will be taking them off Singulair today and see what happens.

My two boys{6 and 4} have been on Singulair for almost 2 years now and unfortunately I’m just now linking their aggressive behavior to this medicine. My oldest has been having headaches and stomach aches for a while now and I just attributed the headaches to allergies. He did occasionally have some of the horrible nightmares as other children have experienced. He too says he cannot help his behavior and claims “my brain made me do it” which is an odd thing for a 6 year old to come up with on his own. My 4 year old is really aggressive and is almost fearless. Sometimes he just cannot be controlled. I just stopped their meds yesterday so I hope they will start to come off of the side effects very soon. Everyone is different, some people may have a reaction, some may not. I think it is unfair to dis-regard others experiences just because one has had a favorable outcome to taking Singulair. I don’t think any lawsuits should be filed unless there are long term effects that we are unaware of. I am glad I found this forum and got some much needed info.