FDA investigating possible link between Singulair, suicide

My daughter has been on Singulair for about 4 years now for Asthma and Allergies. She started having vocal tics (coughing, throat clearing) and eye blinking. She has not been diagnosed with Tourettes as of yet. Have been to her allergist and pedi, but they say her symptoms are not even related! Now I am wondering if there is a link to the Singulair?

Well like you all,my son also took Singulair.He was first put on Singulair when Claratin became an over the counter medication,which I believe was in "99".Anyhow,I never thought to question any medication he was on...the thought never crossed my mind.But,let me say...the next 6 years of his life were hell,for him and the family that loved him. He dropped out of high school,stopped attending family events and had limited contact with close friends.We went to the pediatrician and started treating him for depression.They put him on Zoloft right away,he took that for a few months and stopped,said it wasnt working.Well...if you all remember correctly Zoloft was found to cause depression and thoughts of as well as suicide.Anyhow,in my sons defense (because some people tend to label children who commit such acts) he was a hard working teenager.He was a dietary Aid at a nursing home,made payments on his "2003" mazda 6 and had never been in trouble with the law. But on the morning of Jan 4th 2006 I found myself at the local police station to report him missing.It was at this time I was informed that they had found my son in his car earlier that morning,he had passed away...his Hunting rifle between his legs. So Im really pleased that the majority of you were able to do somthing before it got to this point and were able to save yourselves.But for some of us,we never had that chance...please say a prayer for my child (todd age 17) and anyone else out there who may have gone through this very same thing. When you lose a child a piece of you heart is gone....forever.Bless you all!

I've been taking Singulair for a little over a month now. The only affect I feel from this drug is it makes me VERY sleepy... but I take it right before bed & get a very refreshing night's sleep. The doctor put me on this medicine because I was having constant sinus infections & sinus headaches. I also take 5mg of xyzal at night. Seems I've been lucky as far as the side affects go...

I am so sorry for your loss and I do know how you feel,I hope you will take the time to share your findings with the FDA.Also visit the Parentsforsafety website for more information.It is sad to say that we as parents of children who die from suicide are not alone in not making the connection of mood changes to Singulair.If we had only known our son would never have taken the drug.You can rest assured that we are fighting so this does not continue to happen to these beautiful young people.God Bless you and Many Prayers for your family.

Christina wrote:

Well like you all,my son also took Singulair.He was first put on Singulair when Claratin became an over the counter medication,which I believe was in "99".Anyhow,I never thought to question any medication he was on...the thought never crossed my mind.But,let me say...the next 6 years of his life were hell,for him and the family that loved him. He dropped out of high school,stopped attending family events and had limited contact with close friends.We went to the pediatrician and started treating him for depression.They put him on Zoloft right away,he took that for a few months and stopped,said it wasnt working.Well...if you all remember correctly Zoloft was found to cause depression and thoughts of as well as suicide.Anyhow,in my sons defense (because some people tend to label children who commit such acts) he was a hard working teenager.He was a dietary Aid at a nursing home,made payments on his "2003" mazda 6 and had never been in trouble with the law. But on the morning of Jan 4th 2006 I found myself at the local police station to report him missing.It was at this time I was informed that they had found my son in his car earlier that morning,he had passed away...his Hunting rifle between his legs. So Im really pleased that the majority of you were able to do somthing before it got to this point and were able to save yourselves.But for some of us,we never had that chance...please say a prayer for my child (todd age 17) and anyone else out there who may have gone through this very same thing. When you lose a child a piece of you heart is gone....forever.Bless you all!

Julie,

Your daughter's symptoms have been reported by other parents whose children took Singulair. Please visit www.parentsforsafety.org for more information.

Jenna

Christina,

Please accept my sincere condolences for the loss of your son. I didn't lose my child to Singulair, but he suffered for 5 1/2 years while on the drug. My heart goes out to you.

After an allergist confirmed my youngest son’s allergies, I tried all of the usual remedies to reduce his symptoms – allergen-free bedding, carpet-free flooring, and months and months of allergy shots: two shots—one in each arm, three times a week. Driving to the doctor’s office, signing in, waiting his turn, getting his shots, waiting 30 minutes afterward to make sure he didn’t have a reaction only to turn around and do it again two days later. Argh!

That routine didn’t mesh well with Robby or myself and I became an allergy shot dropout. But clearly, I needed to do something to give Robby relief.

So, I asked my girlfriends, who shared their experience on MedicalMommas.com .

Watch as my friend, Barbara talks about how she looked into off-label sublingual allergy drops, and doesn’t worry about the lack of FDA approval for this treatment (http://www.medicalmommas.com/video/medicalmom... ). My friend, Valerie didn’t want her son, Peter taking over-the-counter or prescription allergy medication everyday, especially after he experienced horrible side effects to his allergy meds. She learned a lot and shares it all here (http://www.medicalmommas.com/profiles/blogs/a... ).

My friend, Melissa shares her technique to best manage her son, John’s allergies in order to control his asthma (http://www.medicalmommas.com/video/medicalmom... ).

Meanwhile, I’m still searching for what will make Robby stop his constant sniffing and am interested in hearing what you have to say.

Please join the discussion on MedicalMommas.com .

Best,
Diana Keough
Editor-in-Chief
Diana@medicalmommas.com

I am a single father of two, as strange as it may sound singulair was responsible for a broken marriage and a boatload of headheaches... My son had many health issues the first two years of his life, most critically severe asthma that kept him in the hospital monthly. I discovered my wife had developed quite a drug habit and was not giving my son medications, leaving him in his crib until noon when I was at work, and most obviously neglecting all household chores. I struggled to keep the marriage in tact through counseling, admitting her into rehab, and tough love. I made a difficult decision after nearly losing my son and seperated from her. I took control of medications, and in the two years she has been gone the only time he has been to the hospital was after a weekend he spent with her (she has since moved cross country w/ her new love... another long story). My problems started about two weeks ago, after reading pages of parents describing behavior issues they attributed to singular I convinced myself my son might also be suffering. He is extremely well behaved, but very quiet and somewhat detached. I don't have insurance and have been relying on urgent care centers for minor illnesses and tried to wean him of singulair to see if I noticed a change in his behavior. I immediately noticed he was acting more like a little boy (not necessarily better behaved) but asking more questions, getting into things, and interacting with his younger sister (he is three she is two). His teachers at daycare also mentioned his behavior had changed (again not necessarily for the better). After a week his sinus's went bezerk, and I began seeing the sickly little boy that I knew the first two years of his life. As I type he is taking a treatment (something he hasn't had to do for months) and I have a feeling before the nights over we'll be in the ER. I believe that, side effects or not, my son needs singulair (pro vs. cons), until I can find something to replace it. But I also feel like there is something that is being overlooked. The fact that it is the #1 allergy drug prescribed doesn't make me feel any better about it, it makes me feel like if there were a problem with the drug, the effects on the pocketbooks of the "important ones" would be intolerable... for a lack of better words. The pharmacuetical industry, from the ground up is a DIRTY business, that is riddled w/ corruption. College kids going to med school are often recruited by these companies to wine and dine doctors into pushing samples of their drugs... I have some very personal experiance with this, and I can assure you that it doesn't matter what the drug is, the side effects or the cost to the consumer, the important thing is getting it on the market QUICKLY. I made a poor decision taking my son off the medication, but I am human, and had only the best intentions for my son, at the same time I have this sense that their is a lot about this drug the public should know that it doesn't. I'm not putting my name on this because I am not interested in having a rep from Merck send me a whistleblower package... thats a joke. Just food for thought from a skeptical concerned parent

tiffany wrote:

i have a 6 year old son who started having tics after being on singulair. he has not been diagnosed with tourettes at this point but i took him off singulair and the tics went away for 2 days and then they came back. i do think the tics were caused by singulair and now i just hope that they go away

Have the tics gone away? I just took my son off Singulair due to tics. I am hoping it stops.

Linda M wrote:

My 10 year old has been on Singulair since he was about 3. He also was recently diagnosed with Tourette's. He is also has a fairly negative outlook and is quite stubborn. Getting to sleep is also a big issue for him. After hearing about the possibility of mood problems associated with sing. use, we kind of wondered if this may be at the root of his mood issues. We didn't think about any connection to Tourette's. He'd been on it so long, that this is all we've known of him, really. So, it was hard to blame a drug. We took him off the singulair this summer and his tics seemed to subside. Then, this fall he had terrible allergy troubles, and I worried for his asthma. I tried increasing the frequency of his allergy shots, but to no avail. Finally, I tried the sing. again recently. He developed the worst facial tics! They were more severe than I'd seen. There seemed to be an association with the singulair use. But, he'd also returned to school and may have been stressed with the new year. At any rate, I took him off of the sing. completely. The tics are gone for now. We will see what happens. If you are dealing with Tourette's and your child is on singulair, I'd like to hear from you.
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Hi,
I am the Mother of a 6 year old boy who has been on Singulair since he was 3 years old. Now that I am reading this I realize that his facial tics as well as compulsive hand washing all started around the same time. He was off of the meds for over a month because I couldn't afford them, and a few weeks ago I started giving it to him again. Now he is smelling his hands all the time and has a very obvious facial tic. I am more confused now, by fluke I decided to google the possibility of the medication causing the tics. He is seeing a Psychiatrist next week and I was certain we were going to get a Tourette's diagnosis. I am feeling very sad and alone and would love to talk to you. Please feel free to email me at mcintosh78@hotmail.com. Thanks and good luck to you and your family.

Hannah wrote:

<quoted text>
Have the tics gone away? I just took my son off Singulair due to tics. I am hoping it stops.

Hi, just wondering if your son's tics went away once you took him off of Singulair. I have a 6 yr old on Singulair with several tics right now. Wondering if I should discontinue use of the medication. Thanks.

I know this is an old post but my 11 yr old was just diagnosed with tourette syndrome and has used singular seasonally. I would like to talk to you. My email is jellybelly_36@hotmail.com.

Linda M wrote:

My 10 year old has been on Singulair since he was about 3. He also was recently diagnosed with Tourette's. He is also has a fairly negative outlook and is quite stubborn. Getting to sleep is also a big issue for him. After hearing about the possibility of mood problems associated with sing. use, we kind of wondered if this may be at the root of his mood issues. We didn't think about any connection to Tourette's. He'd been on it so long, that this is all we've known of him, really. So, it was hard to blame a drug. We took him off the singulair this summer and his tics seemed to subside. Then, this fall he had terrible allergy troubles, and I worried for his asthma. I tried increasing the frequency of his allergy shots, but to no avail. Finally, I tried the sing. again recently. He developed the worst facial tics! They were more severe than I'd seen. There seemed to be an association with the singulair use. But, he'd also returned to school and may have been stressed with the new year. At any rate, I took him off of the sing. completely. The tics are gone for now. We will see what happens. If you are dealing with Tourette's and your child is on singulair, I'd like to hear from you.
<quoted text>

Wondering about your child. Similar problems please contact jellybelly_36@hotmail.com. Thank you.

Angie M in Canada wrote:

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Hi, just wondering if your son's tics went away once you took him off of Singulair. I have a 6 yr old on Singulair with several tics right now. Wondering if I should discontinue use of the medication. Thanks.

Hi--my 12 year old son was only on Singulair for 5 weeks. We took him off when he started having some side effects. I was hesitant to even let him try Singulair because I'd heard about side effects like mood changes, anxiety, depression, ect. I was on the lookout for these and agreed to let him try it because his seasonal allergies were so bad. After about a month of taking it, my son started making a noise in his throat. I realized it was a tic and looked up "Singulair tics" on google. Came up with ALL KINDS of articles and message boards with parents talking about Singulair causing tics, specifically VOCAL tics! I couldn't believe it! I was watching for mood changes and depression. I had not read anything about tics being a side effect of Singulair.(Our pediatrician poo-pooed my concerns.) We of course took him OFF the stupid stuff and he said he "felt so much better." Looking back, he had been a little more melancholy while on Singulair. He wasn't as social and wasn't sleeping well.(He's normally one of those kids who is either at a friend's house or has a friend over. Not so while taking Singulair. He didn't seem to mind being alone.) His grades had started to go down while taking it, also. Right when he started taking Singulair, I even asked his teacher to tell me if she noticed him acting differently because we were starting him on a medicine that could have some possibly severe side effects. After he was on it a couple weeks, she did tell me he seemed "spaced out" at school. NOT normal for him, a straight A student who normally has no attention problems. I reported his side effects to Merck and the FDA. I had it noted in his medical records that he took Singulair and which side effects he had. So, as of today, he's been OFF Singulair for one month. All the sleep problems, oh, and stomach aches--he had those--are gone. He's back to his normal, social butterfly self BUT the tics remain. I am hoping he doesn't have neurological DAMAGE from taking Singulair!! He has never had a tic before in his life. Please let me know if any of you have had a similar experience with your children and if the tics go away eventually. I've been giving him supplements like B Complex and Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc. Don't know what else to do. Please email me at pollybeasley@sbcglobal.net if you have any tips. Thanks.

Angie M in Canada wrote:

<quoted text>

Hi,

I am the Mother of a 6 year old boy who has been on Singulair since he was 3 years old. Now that I am reading this I realize that his facial tics as well as compulsive hand washing all started around the same time. He was off of the meds for over a month because I couldn't afford them, and a few weeks ago I started giving it to him again. Now he is smelling his hands all the time and has a very obvious facial tic. I am more confused now, by fluke I decided to google the possibility of the medication causing the tics. He is seeing a Psychiatrist next week and I was certain we were going to get a Tourette's diagnosis. I am feeling very sad and alone and would love to talk to you. Please feel free to email me at mcintosh78@hotmail.com. Thanks and good luck to you and your family.

T-town mom just want to wish you good luck with your son. Read everything you can to help form
your opinion.

So my son took Singulair for 2 weeks and developed tics- a tourette like sydrome- Maybe it is tourettes! he never had any behavior like this ever. Anybody else experience this? I've reported it to Merck and plan to report to the FDA after our Neurology appt.

Angie M in Canada wrote:

<quoted text>
Hi, just wondering if your son's tics went away once you took him off of Singulair. I have a 6 yr old on Singulair with several tics right now. Wondering if I should discontinue use of the medication. Thanks.

Yes- TAKE him off! My 5 year old was on for 2 weeks and now off almost 2 weeks. He is blinking, nodding his head and doing crazy stuff with his fingers. He is still doing it. I'm afraid this drug has damaged him. He never had anything like this prior to Singulair. I've reported it to the company- next to FDA after our Neuro appointment.

Hannah wrote:

<quoted text>
Have the tics gone away? I just took my son off Singulair due to tics. I am hoping it stops.

The same thing happened to my son too. I took him off the Singulair, they seemed to go away and then they came back. I have a neuro appt. this week.

And who's investigating the FDA? They licenced this poison. They gave it a safety OK. The FDA has licenced every faulty, fraudulent pharma product that has every maimed and killed. The FDA IS NEGLIGENT and cannot be relied on to protect consumers from Pharma criminals.

I know your post is very old but I am wondering if your child improved once off the singulair?