I know some of you have mentioned having behavior issues with your children after starting Singulair and Zyrtec. We've been on Zyrtec for a few months or so with no problems, other than it's not fully helping her allergies.

We started Singulair 3weeks ago or less. Outside of the extreme insomnia when taking it at night, DH and I have started wondering if it hasn't affected her behavior as well now that I'm reading more and more about this. She is such a good girl normally, with few behavior problems and overall more mature than her age. In the last few weeks (you might remember another post I had about the tantrums recently) she has behaviorally gone way downhill. I thought it was just that she was about to turn 3, but now I'm second guessing. The last 3 days especially have just been awful! She is SOOO disrespectful, so mouthy, attitude for everything and the simplest thing doesn't go her way and she becomes irrational to say the least. After having the sleeping issues, now I'm wondering if the Singulair hasn't affected her behavior as well. In addition, she LOOKS tired often and tries to drop off to sleep at odd times of day, but then has trouble sleeping during a regular nap. She's also waking early, which of course could be a phase. All of this could be a phase, but honestly DH and I are looking at each other like "What the $@%#?" Absolutely NOTHING is changing her behavior at all. She also started peeing her pants (also on another post) and completely disregarding it since we started the Singulair. When I put it all together, it really makes me wonder if it's not med-related. I don't want to make excuses, but this is a HUGE turnaround from the child we know and love.

When/if your child experienced problems on Singulair (or another allergy med), what kinds of things did you observe? Was it just more frequent tantrums? Little/no response to consequences? Crying/frustration for no reason? ALL experiences would be appreciated. I would like to call the ped tomorrow if possible, but by Tues. at least and see if we can switch to something else. We're leaving for vacation next weekend. Big TIA!

By Amecmom on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 02:47 pm:

Deanna - My son has trouble with a lot of allergy meds. We found that they work for a little while and then he has behavior issues or they just don't help the allergy.
I have not had issues with singulair. Zyrtec makes him nuts. Claritin does nothing for him. Benadryl makes him sleepy. Rynatan seems to work for a little while and then we have minor behavoir issues - nothing too bad. Allegra seems to work ok, but I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop behaviorally.
The ONLY thing I've found that helps and does not get into the bloodstream is Nasonex. It works well for him and no behavior issues.

I saw that he had little impluse control, frequent emotional outbursts, over-reacting to everthing, hyperactivity, even some depression like symptoms.

I suggested that what was going on w/ Natalie might be meds related. It's happening too much and all at once to be just a phase. Also it the meds are throwing off her sleep, then sleep deprivation could be causing the behavior issues. Talk to the doc and see if you can't try something like nasonex. Something that cannot affect her behavior because it does not get into the bloodstream.

I've used the Nasonex with Helen, who is younger than Natalie - and had no problems.

Good luck - and hang in there!
Ame

By Reds9298 on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 05:50 pm:

Thank you Ame. >"It's happening too much and all at once to be just a phase."< I think that statement is what has really made me re-think what we thought was a phase.

I'm making a mental list: Her defiance seems to be getting stronger and stronger. She throws a never-ending tantrum for ANY consequence or verbal reminder. She overreacts anytime she's in trouble (big or small). She's peeing her pants frequently. Not sleeping well. On the other side, she sometimes is so silly she's falling over herself and this is NOT normal for her. (She's not a rowdy, physical kid.)She's stopped listening almost completely. Seems tired but naps are short and rises earlier in the morning with 2-3 wake-ups in the night.
All this is not every minute of the day, but it's definitely A LOT throughout the day.

By Cheerio on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 07:09 pm:

Deanna, at six, I wouldn't say my DD was having tantrums, but she would carry on anytime you tried to discipline her. Any punishment would result in at least a half hour screaming and crying fest over it. She was completely disrespectful and always talking back. She would fight with her older sister constantly if she didn't get her way. She bothered my 10 month old every waking moment despite repeated requests to please leave the baby alone. She has always had a stubborn personality, but the Singulair magnified it a 1000 times! The ped said to stop it and give it a week. He also said that sometimes the behavior gets worse after stopping the medicine. Thank god that didn't happen. It was a true godsend after we got her off of it. My DH and I were amazed and so happy to have the old DD back. She has done really well on the Allegra. It's twice a day and I have noticed no problems with it. She's been on it for almost a month now. We've never tried Zyrtec as our insurance didn't cover that one for some reason so I can't compare Allegra to it. Definitely call your pediatrician. I originally thought it was the Claritin because I have had other moms tell me they've noticed behavior issues with that one too. But my Ped wasn't one bit surprised with the Singulair. I got the impression he hears the complaint quite often. I'm not sure how long Singulair has been around, but I would guess that it has taken a couple of years for some parents to start complaining about it and having the docs finally figure it out.

I just reread your post and the stopped listening completely statement sums up the behavior of my DD too while on Singulair. I'm not sure why it works for some kids and not others, but please voice your concerns! Janet

By Mia on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 07:36 pm:

The symptoms you described are EXACTLY like what our son experienced. Huge tantrums, disobedience with a 'who cares' attitude and not listening and not seeming to hear us (so frustrating!), emotional melt downs or over-reaction for no reason we could figure out, touching everything, into everything (hyper?), trouble settling down. We were starting to walk on eggshells around him, never sure how he'd react, we tried everything we could to understand and help him.

We were at wits end until I posted here about his behavior - and then happened to read another post about problems with Zyrtec. Bingo! We took him off and it was like a miracle, we had our little boy back. And it was very quick, too, just 2 or 3 days max.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 08:55 pm:

Oh my goodness...definitely the behaviors you both described. I'm not sure she stopped screaming/crying about very much this evening. It is relentless, walking on eggshells as you described. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

She didn't have any behavior probs on the Zyrtec (which she is still currently taking). We're dropping the Singulair as of this morning - that was her last dose. I actually feel sad seeing her such a mess. That's the only way to describe it because it's so opposite of who she really is. I think we're going to just stay on our Zyrtec as we have for the last few months and if she has an allergy spell over vacation next week we'll just deal with it with Benadryl as best we can. I will call the ped in the morning and see if they will call me in something else (They were wanting her on Sing. AND Zyrtec. She had 2 allergy spells over 2 mths. on the Zyrtec so they said it wasn't working well for her and added the Singulair.) I don't think they will add anything without seeing her (which ticks me off) but I honestly don't know if I can get her in this week before we leave on Friday morning.

It seems that after reading a lot about these allergy meds that I haven't seen much of anything negative about Allegra. Maybe I will ask about it. I REALLY appreciate you sharing your experiences!!!! There's a good possibility that we're not crazy and our child isn't possessed.

DH doesn't want me to even call in about it, just to stop the Singulair. He doesn't like the idea of her being on 2 meds at once regardless. The Singulair definitely helped her allergies but this behavior is just terrible all the way around.
Thank you!!!

By Reds9298 on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 08:57 pm:

Mia - I reread your post and we've been noticing hyperactivity in the evenings especially and "into everything" which is not her norm at all. She's all over the place.

By Amecmom on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 09:35 pm:

Deanna, if the allergy symptoms are mainly nasal, I would really consider asking the doc about an inhaled med like nasonex. You might be surprised at how well it controls the symptoms. I was.
Ame

By Debbie on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 11:06 am:

Both my boys are on Allegra. The Zyrtec stopped working for them, so we switched them to Allegra last year. It works great. I like it because it is a twice a day medication. If they are not having problems, I give it just in the mornings. If allergies are really bad, then I give it to them twice a day. It is working great and we have had no problems with it.

By Reds9298 on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 04:10 pm:

I got a script for Allegra today and so anxious to try it! I hope it works, allergy-wise and behaviorally. Thanks for all of your input!

By Tripletmom on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 08:28 pm:

I hope this works and you get your little girl back {{HUGS}}Its mind boggling to have a med change your baby that much.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 08:57 am:

The girls use Allegra and Nasonex. They both have seasonal allergies.. I have never had a problem with either of them..

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 09:11 am:

The ped had mentioned Nasonex if needed, but said it was hard to do nasal sprays with 3 year olds. Although Ame isn't having trouble, and Natalie has always been really good about taking any kind of medicine, so I'll keep it in mind if she needs something else. I really hope the Allegra works and we can just forget about it!

This is officially the beginning of her second day off of Singulair. No Zyrtec lastnight, so nothing to make her sleep over the Singulair that is still in her system. Awake at 2am and hasn't slept since. Totally wired. I'm wondering how long it will take to get her back completely. The behavior has already improved, so hopefully the sleep will follow VERY soon?!! I'm exhausted to say the least. I finally got her out of bed around 4, put in a video, and slept on the couch as much as possible. Needless to say, I've been cursing the creators of Singulair!!!! Natalie has just turned upside down since she's been on it, in almost every way.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 09:18 am:

It may take a while because the med have made her establish a new pattern of behavior. We had the same problem after a long illness Helen had. She was healthy, but she'd established different sleep patterns and could not re establish good ones. We actually had to - under the doc's advice - do a regimen of Atarax (like Benadryl) to get her sleepy at the right time. After a few weeks, we weaned her off and she's been sleeping great ever since.
I'm not suggesting that you should do what we did - I'm only saying that it may be a while before you see good sleep again. It helped me to put Helen on an exact schedule of meals and naps and bedtime. The routine kind of let her know it was time to wind down.
Good luck.
Ame

By Mia on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 01:58 pm:

Poor baby! Both of you! It may take a while for all 'side effects' to disappear but you should see significant changes in her behavior by tonight. I'm glad you found the source of her problems.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 03:52 pm:

I would say definite change in behavior so far, pretty much withing 24-36 hrs of stopping the med. I'm hoping that by the end of the week, sleeping will be back on track. (Fingers are crossed.) I'm keeping her naps the same and bedtime the same within a half hour, so maybe that will help. She woke around 2:30am or so, but I still put her down close to her regular nap (noon instead of 12:30 usual time). Funny thing is that she goes right to sleep at bedtime, sleeps until 1-2-ish, then is up. You can tell that she's frustrated.

This is rough for Momma! We've always been those lucky people that had a good sleeper from day one. Now I'm feeling it!
Thanks for the well wishes.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 05:51 pm:

Been thinking about you both. How's it going?
Hope you're both getting more rest.
Ame

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 09:40 pm:

Thanks Ame! We've been on vacation so I haven't been able to check in. MAJOR improvement in every way! Sleeping, behavior, the whole nine yards. I'm so relieved to be rid of Singulair! So far the Allegra seems to be keeping her free of allergy symptoms, so we're keeping our fingers crossed. We're both getting more rest now!

By Amecmom on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 11:34 pm:

Yeah! I'm so happy for you. Hope the vakay was great!
Glad to hear the good news.
Ame

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 11:57 pm:

Yay!

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 09:35 am:

I am so pleased. It really pays to be a mom who checks things out and complains, instead of just taking the doctor's word as scripture.

By Cheerio on Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 10:57 am:

Isn't it scary how a medicine can change a person that much! I am so glad you have your DD back. It was like a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders too when we stopped Singulair. Allegra is now my favorite allergy med! I honestly think Claritin caused some of the same symptoms too for our DD. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

By Nicki on Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 12:57 pm:

I'm so glad she's doing better! We haven't had to resort to allergy medication with Lara yet, but thanks to threads like these, I'll be better informed.
It must be so nice to have Natalie feeling like herself again!

By Mia on Friday, June 22, 2007 - 06:12 am:

We've been using prescription Clartin since we stopped with the Zyrtec, but I'm going to ask the doc about Allegra now. My son uses the Claritn treatment for eczema control - does anyone know if Allegra helps with that?

I'm really glad your dd is back on track and that Allegra is working for her (I'll keep my fingers crossed for you). I know how very relieved you must be... and can you imagine what a nightmare your vacation would have been before?