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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Singulair...Beware

It is NOW the FALL of 2014 and I still have the disdain for this drug I did 4 years ago.  Has Singulair been prescribed for your child to help their asthma, aid in the prevention of exercise-induced asthma or ease their allergic rhinitis?  I know that many families swear by it's efficacy.  

That's NOT our experience.


S.A.F.E. Review - Singulair

Has your doctor thoroughly gone over the possible side effects of this medication including the less common side effects which are listed in the singulair documentation? I know mine DIDN'T.  If I had, maybe we could have avoided the bad dreams, fits of rage and over the top, full blown screaming, hitting, out of body experience my child seemed to be living as he melted down in a Salt Lake City airport boarding area at the age of 4.

As I was recovering from the 'What kind of mom am I' guilt, a friend reminded me that at least it ONLY took me 10 weeks to figure out why my child was becoming someone I didn't recognize.  

Before deciding to use this medication for your loved one, make sure you are mentally prepared to deal with what may come your way.

  • Listed below is just a small sampling of side effects listed in the 'less common side effects that have happened with SINGULAIR' section of your patient information flyer. Sadly, there are many others.

Behavior and mood related changes:
  • agitation including aggressive behavior
  • bad/vivid dreams
  • depression
  • hallucinations
  • feeling anxious
  • irritability
  • restlessness
  • suicidal thoughts and actions (suicide)
  • trouble sleeping
Parents United for Pharmaceutical Safety and Accountability offers information you don't want to miss. It is stated on this link that: "The FDA continues to investigate Singulair". http://www.parentsforsafety.org/

Information on this site includes a list compiled on 8/28/09 from Singulair's "Patient Information" and the Adverse Reactions and Post-marketing Experience sections of Singulair's Prescribing Information. The information here repeats and expands on Singulair’s possible side effects:
  1. Psychiatric disorders: agitation including aggressive behavior or hostility, anxiousness, bad/vivid dreams or dream abnormalities, depression, hallucinations, insomnia (trouble sleeping), irritability, restlessness, somnambulism (sleep walking), suicidal thinking and behavior (including suicide), tremor

  2. Respiratory disorders: cough, nasal congestion, sinusitis (inflammation/infection of the sinuses), upper respiratory infection, rhinitis (runny nose), flu, bronchitis, wheezing, pneumonia, skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: rash (dermatitis), eczema, urticaria (hives), pruritus (itch), angioedema (swelling beneath the skin), erythema nodosum (disorder of fatty layer under the skin - reddish, painful, tender lumps usually located on the front of the legs below the knees).

  3. Disorders including: Cardiac, musculoskeletal, Digestive/Gastrointestinal, and Neurological/nervous; dental pain, ear problems, ear pain and eye problems.
  • For more information, be sure to visit http://www.singulair.com/ and read both the Patient and Prescribing information in case changes have been made since this list was compiled.
Here are a few more websites to visit when compiling your research.

1. This link has over 730 ratings for the drug, Singulair, in the Askapatient data base. It's an easy to read, UP TO DATE, concise compilation of information. http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20829&name=SINGULAIR


2. This link investigates the "Singulair side effects...hype or hazard".
http://pediatrics.about.com/b/2008/03/28/singulair-side-effects-hype-or-hazard.htm


As I did, please report adverse reactions to singulair to the FDA: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/



Here's my final bit of advise.

Do your research. Research a little more.
Remember, no one is as passionate about your kids as you are.
Good luck.

4 comments:

  1. My son was on Singulair for a while (two years or more). I told the doctor I wanted him off it when publicity about depression and suicidal side effects hit the media. My son already struggles with anxiety, hyper behavior, etc., so the last thing I wanted was to have something make those problems even worse. I couldn't tell a difference when I pulled him off it, but if there was a chance it could make it worse, I wasn't going to risk it. Glad I made that decision. A year or so later, he's doing well on Advair and AllerClear/Claritin. Thanks for sharing this important info! - Kelley (www.foodallergyfeast.blogspot.com)

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  2. My daughter was on Singulair for about two years and we didn't really notice any side effects. However, when my son started having RAD problems, the dr. put him on it. We experienced all of the weird side effects you listed above, within days. I hadn't heard anything about the side effects until this happened, and I searched it out on the internet. Taking the Singulair was the only thing different in his life and after reading all the bad stuff about it, I took him off. Of course the bad dreams, irritability, not recognizing who he was through his horrible behavior, stopped. The allergist told us that it can happen and told us not to have him take it any more. My daughter was off it for the winter months and we decided not to put her back on it. Like you said, the decision is up to us as parents. :)

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  3. Excellent blog very nice and unique information related to Singulair. Thanks for sharing this information.
    Beclovent | Brethine

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  4. Here it is 9 years later and people are still NOT realizing how bad the side effects can be for some... why are the doctors NOT warning families?

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