If you are ever prescribed Singulair or the generic Montelukast be warned.
They come with a Black Box warning label. There are many side effects, mental effects can be severe.
The drug is for asthmatics.
Pollen counts are very high.
I bit off one corner of a square pill today so that I could breathe. An hour later I was sitting, feeling too strange to walk around. Would not have driven.
Could imagine someone with mental problems going over the edge after taking the drug.
Have taken it when necessary for years.
Will look for something else after today.
look for something else after today.

I've taken montelukast daily for years. Haven't had those issues.

When I was a kid, I suffered from asthma in a big way. I was fortunate enough to outgrow it for the most part. I do keep an inhaler around for emergencies. The big gun treatment at that time was something called “Isoprel.” It had to dissolve under the tongue. I remember it was exceptionally effective but it made me kind of spacey.

I Googled Isoprel and apparently it’s still around, but I never hear about it.

Anyone know why?

Meantime, Primatene is back after a long hiatus. I’m glad to see it. Primatene is effective, cheap, and readily available even when traveling. The prescription stuff was $$, wasn’t covered by Medicare, and never worked all that well.

There are prescriptions with the possible side effect of, "death." You can't make this **** up.

Sorry you had this experience, Chas, and hope you can find a substitute soon.

I took Singulair for quite some time without side effects (that I noticed). But since each person is different, IMO your reaction is a clear indication you need to find a different drug. Good luck Chas.

Interesting that you had taken it previously for years without a reaction yet had such a strong one this time. Makes you wonder what's different this time. Maybe you're taking another med that it interacted with?

Or maybe the manufacturer (if you took the generic) was different this time. There are cases where even though the meds are supposed to be the same, there may be differences in their action. Two examples I can think of are Valium/diazepam (when used in cats) and Synthroid/levothyroxine for thyroid hormone replacement.

Hope you find something that works and that doesn't have bad side effects!

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Interesting that you had taken it previously for years without a reaction yet had such a strong one this time. Makes you wonder what's different this time. Maybe you're taking another med that it interacted with?

Or maybe the manufacturer (if you took the generic) was different this time. There are cases where even though the meds are supposed to be the same, there may be differences in their action. Two examples I can think of are Valium/diazepam (when used in cats) and Synthroid/levothyroxine for thyroid hormone replacement.

Hope you find something that works and that doesn't have bad side effects!

I had bad reactions to Montelukast before, but not this bad. My asthma is allergy related. Allergies often get worse with age. I had a lot of allergy trouble as a child.