Singulair - Woburn, MA

This may be too little too late, but check out parentsforsafety.org or askapatient.com for more info on this drug.

My son was born healthy and normal but had some inhalation of fluid which caused him some respitory distress when he was born, soon being days afer my daughters common cold gave him RSV disease and asthma due to complications. I struggled with many doctors office trips , several hospitalazions and a daily fights nebulizer vs angry toddler. last year when he had just turned two they gave me singular for him. He started to show some improvement as far as asthma but diarhea started soon after as well as severe irritability . It took me several months to connect the moods and the singulair but when I removed him from it in a week or so it stopped. He suffered several other small side affects as well. I would not use it again but that is just me. I would suggest you google side effects of singulair in children I found some useful info I wish I had known before I gave it to him. Good luck.

My three year old has been on it since last December and he has not had any problems. I am also on it and have never noticed any side effects. I don't think there is a med out there that does not have some side effects listed, but to me the risk of side effects was much better than the asthma attack that he had. I think even if you go for another med there is going to be risk of side effects. Good luck!

Hi E.,
Maybe give it a try but be vigilant? We took our daughter off it because she was having restless sleep/nightmares and--more frightening--blood blisters. The inside of her elbows and backs of her knees and her wrists started looking like she had scratched them till the blood had formed under the skin. They went away as soon as we stopped the med. That said, I know it might also work with no side effects, so I'd hate to dissuade you unnecessarily.
Best,
E

Hi E.-

I totally understand your concern. My four year old daughter, who is asthmatic, was prescribed Singular the DAY AFTER the results of that study suggested that it lead to depression and suicide in teenagers. Yikes.

My doctor's opinion is that the risks of NOT taking the drug outweigh the possible effects of using it. My daughter is also taking Pulmicort, which is a steroid, (daily Sept through May) via nebulizer. She was prescribed both as preventative measures because she has required emergency room visits nearly every time she gets a cold!
She took the summer off (without any problems) and just began her regimen again last week and I'll be honest-I've noticed that she tends to have nightmares while on Pulmicourt -although we're going to try to get her to take it earlier in the day to see if it helps. We haven't noticed any different symptom from Singulair so we're crossing our fingers and hoping it all pays off with an ER free winter.
The good news, and your doc has probably told you this already-is that young kids can and do grow out of this type of asthma.

My advice is if your child's asthma is severe, Singulair could keep you out of the ER this winter. Monitor her behavior and talk to your doctor about anything you find abnormal. I hate the idea of giving such young kids such powerful drugs, but as I said, the alternative can be ER visits with super powered steroids and no one wants that!

Best of luck!
J. W

You can always take your child off of it if you notice side effects. I took my son off of it because he was very moody, full of rage and rying alot on it. Once off he was a fun, happy boy again. Meds are different for all kids. Good luck.

Hi E.!

My 7 year old son has been on it since he was 2 and a half and it's worked wonders for his asthma. And we have yet to notice any side effects. So, yes, I recommend it (but DO keep an eye out for any side effects and take it from there)

Good luck
M. M
45 year old mom of an energetic 7 year old boy