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Singulair Side Effects:DESPERATE, PLEASE HELP!

I AM ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE FOR ANSWERS FOR MY DAUGHTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHE IS IN TEARS MOST OF THE TIME AND BEGGING FOR ANSWERS FROM SOMEONE !!!!!!!!!!!  PLEASE HELP  Let me add that she is NOT in tears because the Singulair has made her depressed, we heard all about that in the news.  She is in tears because of the agony she's in because of how BAD her arms and legs feel all the time!!!!!!!!!!!!
My daughter is on Singulair and just finished a short course of Prednisone. On her 4th day [last day] of Prednisone, her legs and arms started to feel very weak and heavy and numb[she said they felt "thick"]. They almost felt like she had been working out and needed to stretch them.  She now has a feeling of pins and needles and numbness in her hands and feet, calves and thighs and her feet feel very cold. UNDER SINGULAIR SIDE EFFECTS THAT YOU MUST TELL YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT RIGHT AWAY IT SAYS:  A FEELING OF PINS AND NEEDLES OR NUMBNESS IN ARMS OR LEGS!!!  She called her doctor, told him this was happening and he said "OK".  That was it, nothing more!!!  She went to see another doctor, told him, and he acted like he had never heard of such a thing and just dismissed it!!!  Is she to assume that it is not serious and that it will just go away on its own?  It is NOT going away and seems to be getting worse!   Advil helps a little, but she is SCARED TO DEATH THAT SINGULAIR HAS DONE SOMETHING SERIOUS TO HER. What should she do? She is having trouble taking care of her 2 small children, I go to her house every day to help, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, especially seeing her in such agony!  PLEASE, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO TURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Avatar universal
when in doubt about drug interactions talk to your pharmacist he will listen and give you better advice.
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Avatar universal
I had no idea! I also have some type of muscle misfiring that causes HUGE TREMORS!  NEVER thought about it being asthms related. Figured it was from all my ruptured discs, surgeries, & bad genes. I live no quality of life & not a single doc can help. Only put me through barbaric & torturous procedures & under anesthesia (which is TERRIBLE for ur brain, body, & life).  I guess I will die never knowing what is truly wrong.
If I wrote all my med diagnosis, most of u would be grateful & blessed. Life has been nothing but a hell for me since my 1st memory @ age 1.  I have a high I.Q. & was successful @ life.  Now, I just want to go home to God & Jesus Christ, my king. I really wish all states had the right to die program.
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Avatar universal
If you've developed any unusual symptoms shortly after beginning singulair ie worsening of asthma symptoms, heart palpatations, mood changes, irritability then you can bet your life it's the singulair. My 7 year old son was put on it for his asthma and hay fever/ allergies. For the few months he was on it he ended up in hospital twice because his asthma got so bad (he'd never been hospitalised before). His behaviour changed dramatically both at home and school - he was constantly angry, reactive and very often explosive and he began uncharacteristic physical risk-taking. He experienced aches and pains in his arms and legs which he'd never had before. It took me months to realise it was the singulair, but within two days of taking him off it, his constant aches abated and his mood softened.

If you google singulair and behaviour you'll find several websites dedicated to the horrendous effects it's had on many children. Because of so many reports to the FDA, the drug company had to include irritability and mood changes in the side effects.

I encourage any readers out there who've similarly awful experiences to report it to the FDA - MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form (3500)

Corticosteroids of any kind ie prednisone and nasonex are also well known for causing muscle aches and mood changes. Antihistamines can also cause muscle aches as well as restless leg syndrome.
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Avatar universal
*I WISH A DOCTOR WOULD WRITE IN AND COMMENT ON THESE POSTS - WE COULD REALLY USE SOME ADVISE HERE !!!!!"

I have heard from enough people who have had these same side effects on Singulair about their arms and legs hurting and feeling numb and tingling that I would ask her doctor if there is anything else she could try. From what I am learning there are other things to try that don't have these side effects!  ALSO - PREDNISONE CAN CAUSE TERRIBLE MOOD SWINGS, and MENTAL CHANGES!!!  It happened to me and I was only on it for about 2 weeks with bronchitis. The next time I got bronchitis really bad my doctor wanted to put me on Prednisone and I said no because of the mental changes it caused in me. and he very angrly snapped, "You want to get better, don't you?"  That is the way they thing, they don't care about the side effects. If your doctor won't admit to these side effects you really should find a new doctor.  It is not fair for you little girl to go thru all these side effects along with her asthma.  My prayers are with you and your daughter.  
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Avatar universal
I am so happy for your son.  I can not understand why doctors don't seem to know about [or acknowledge] these side effects.  I HATE the way they look at you like you are crazy!!!  I will tell my daughter not to give up hope and to keep searching for a new doctor and new medicine.  Thanks so much.
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Avatar universal
Hi there,

I had to take my now 11 year old son off Singular due to the same side effects your daughter was having.  It was just too much for him to handle and he was becoming so frustrated and upset about the numbness and pain, he could not sleep properly for days on end.

We now have him on a much better regimen.  He takes Symbicort and additional Flovent as his asthma is quite bad.  We tried him on all kinds of meds but these are the only ones that he seems to  tolerate well.   He also was able to cut down on the Prednisone significantly after starting these new meds.

He carries Ventolin and Epi Pens on him all the time as he has been intubated before,  as have I, - both for Asthma.

I had to take him to a very specialized Asthma Clinic to have him assessed and set up on a new program.  Now he goes there every 6 months to see the lung specialist and a respiratory therapist.  They check his peak flow charts, do breathing tests, listen to his lungs and answer any questions he has.

He has not had to go to hospital for over 8 months now !

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Avatar universal
I have used cromolyn. It does work well. I tried it with intal and had no positive effect. Intal is just cromolyn through and inhaler. I used the same cromolyn through a nebulizer and it worked so much better. The cromolyn did not feel as stong as singulair and needed repeated dosages through out the day. A good suggestion. A very gentle medication that does work very well for some. I am not sure about long term usage of cromolyn longer than 2 years. You would need to talk to the doctor about long term usage. There was something I thought on the information sheet about long term usage over many years. But I could be wrong, it was a while ago.
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Avatar universal
My heart goes out to you and your little girl.  I can't imagine that she is having the same problems my daughter was having.  THE NUMBNESS AND TINGLING AND PAIN WAS DRIVING HER NUTS!!!!!!!  And I'm sure your little girl doesn't know how to explain these feelings to you.  Are her meds helping her breathing?  If not, I would find another doctor. There are other things to try besides Singuliar.  There is someting called Cromolyn (Intal) that I think is very safe for children.  Please check into it.  
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467604 tn?1214938733
My daughter is and has been on the same meds and i has complained about her legs and arm hurting all the time.since she started taking these meds at age 2 now she is almost 7.the doctor has checked her and found nothing wrong.her doctors also said that they have never heard of this problem and told me NOT to take her off her meds.My husband is not on these meds at all and he just found that he has bipolar and he honestly has the same pains.so i am not sure if it is her meds or maybe she has bipolar she does have the signs.but in my opionon i think it may be meds..she is on singuliar,preds,flovent,albuteral and a few more..i know this did not help but you are not alone.my daughter is only 6 and dealing with this pain
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Avatar universal
I know of one person who had blood pressure changes/problems while on singulair or the combination of singulair and something together at the same time. Either way blood pressure did not return to normal until they discontinued cingulair and it worked out of their system. I wonder if a change in BP may have added to this side effect? This could have been an isolated side effect, dunno. Just wondering if her BP and pulse was normal while on cingulair?
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Avatar universal
I can't thank you enough for your words of encouragment!
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Avatar universal
Remember, drug companies just want to make money. They couldn't care less about your daugther's health as long as she keeps using their product. I must say that most doctors would not know about this relationship unless they did some research. It is listed in the prescriber's literature along with many other pages of fine print. Every person responds differently to a medication or a combination of meds and severe symptons such as what your daugher had, should never ever be ignored. I'm glad she's off of singulair and her symptoms resolved. I do not suspect that they will ever come back unless she's back on those meds.
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Avatar universal
How did you learn about this relationship between Prednisone and Singulair?  All her doctors would just ignore her when she mentioned the awful feelings she was having in her arms and legs!  I even called the company that makes Singulair and they played dumb. When I mentioned that these side effects were listed on their web site they said the were just reporting side effects that people called in with.  I thought that was really irresponsible!!!  

Her pulmonologist took her off Singulair (said she didn't need it!  Go figure!)  Her strange numbness and pins and needles in her arms and legs lasted for a few weeks and then just went away.  Thank God!  Would it just go away if she does have Chung-Strauss Syndrome?  She feels pretty good now, her doc is treating her for sinus drainage and possible wheat allergies.  
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Avatar universal
JazzyMom,

There is a relationship between lowering or stopping prednisone and taking Singulair that can cause Chung-Strauss-LIKE symptoms. Your daughter should not take Singulair is she has developed these symptoms because they can be dangerous. She needs to get her medication switched from Singulair (Leukotriene Inhibitor) to another med (not a leukotriene inhibitor) depending on what she is using it for..whether it's asthma or allergies. There are plenty of meds out there, don't wait unitil it's too late.
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Avatar universal
SherBear,  
Thank you so much for the info. She does, unfortunately, have some of these symptoms.  I pray it is not Chung-Strauss because it can be fatal!  Thanks again, at least you have told us more than the doctors!
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Avatar universal
I'm no doctor but when I started taking all this stuff for asthma and all those side effects were listed I look up the things that could cause them.  You might have your daughter checked for Chung-Strauss Syndrome.  You can look up the info. at http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/churgstrauss.html.  I hope she feels better soon.  My prayers are with her.
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