Montelukast and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Ysm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 9, 2021

Montelukast for Allergic Rhinitis "I tried this drug at the recommendation of my doctor to try to stop the constant mucus running down my throat. After a week with no improvement, I stopped taking it. It did nothing for my problem. Plus, it caused anxiety issues, which I couldn't risk getting any worse."

• Ksu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 17, 2018

For Asthma "I have been taking montelukast for three months. I persisted with the vivid nightmares, irritability, anxiety, and depression because it was so effective for my asthma. Family, friends, and work colleagues noticed my mood change and my inability to be happy. The weight gain was another unwanted side effect. The prolonged and worsening side effects have forced me to stop taking it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 10, 2013

For Asthma, Maintenance "My doctor put me on this, hoping it would help a chronic cough that I have had for the past four months. While I think it is helping, the side effects are just too strong for me. I take the medication at night since it makes me tired, but the sleepiness lasts all day. However, I am not getting much sleep because I keep having strange dreams that wake me up all night long. On top of that, I have started to have anxiety."

• Mar...
• May 4, 2017

Montelukast for Asthma, Maintenance "Now, 67 years old, my health plan only permits generic montelukast medication (generic Singulair). I had a very bad experience with this medication. Suffered insomnia, anxiety, and, being with insomnia all night, went into a deep sleep. When my daughter arrived, I had a memory lapse, and being questioned by my daughter, I was giving incoherent replies. After being questioned for a while, I regained consciousness of my daily routine. I imagine I had a blackout experience. Now I'm trying to get original Singulair since I did use it before when I was younger and had none of this experience. I did quit taking this generic form of montelukast medication since the next day after quitting, I slept very well. I will try to purchase Singulair in its original form."

• Ang...
• May 21, 2016

For Asthma "My daughter is 7 years old, and she had been taking Singulair for 4 years. It worked great. But for the last 3 months, my daughter started having extreme anxiety issues over little things, to the point where she wasn't herself. Saying things like nobody loves me, I am a bad kid, you should just get rid of me. She was having tantrums, outbursts of disruptive behavior, major mood swings, and crying hysterically at night. I researched and researched what was causing this behavior and came across side effects of her meds. It was worth a try, even though it could alter her health, but her mental health I was way more concerned about. By the 5th day of her being off the meds, she was back to her normal, loving, and positive self. I will never give it to her again."

• Mel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 11, 2019

For Asthma "I experienced horrific side effects from this drug. After about 4 days of taking it, I developed anxiety and depression, body aches, and an extreme feeling of tiredness. I stopped taking it right away, but I had flu-like symptoms for the next 5 days or so, where I could not even get out of bed. I'm now on day 9 off the drug, and am slowly getting back to myself but still feeling quite tired, sleepy, and anxious."

• Kel...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 13, 2020

For Asthma, Maintenance "This medication, montelukast, stole 4 years of my son's life. My son was on this medication from the age of 3 to 7 years old. He came off 10 months ago when we finally made the connection with the troubles he was having. He suffered the most horrendous nightmares and hallucinations. He spoke about death all the time. Severe anxiety, night sweats, always paranoid, hyperactivity. He hated his own face. When he first came off the drug, he also developed facial tics from withdrawal and bouts of up and down behaviors. This lasted for around 4 to 5 months. We finally feel like we have our happy little boy back. If I could get those four years back for him, I would in a heartbeat. PLEASE DON’T TAKE THIS DRUG. The benefits do not outweigh the risk."

• Foo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 3, 2018

For Asthma "I took Montelukast for 9 days before bedtime. I was having frequent common colds, so my doctor prescribed me Montelukast as an alternative to Levocetirizine. My asthma is not so serious as I only use the Revolizer and not the inhaler. I'd advise everyone to not use this med as it has some serious side effects. After taking the first few tablets, I started feeling anxious, and I experienced breathing problems. I visited the doctor, and he said that I shouldn't have any breathing problems as my lungs were fine. Then I checked for the side effects of Montelukast and found out it has a lot, so I consulted with my doctor, and he removed Montelukast from the prescription. It's been 5 days since I dropped that drug, and I still feel anxious and have difficulty breathing at times. Reading others' reviews has helped, and now I'm just going to wait till this anxiety goes away. I just hope that it goes away, this anxious feeling is getting on my nerves."

• Nik...
• September 10, 2016

For Allergic Rhinitis "My 12-year-old son was presented Montelukast in February 2015 for allergies. It helped really well with controlling reactions, and I was happy with it. In September 2015, I started noticing that my son was becoming anxious about everything. He stopped playing out with his friends, going to youth clubs and scouts, and we even had tears when he had to go to school. He developed a separation anxiety with me and began to have bad night terrors and sleepwalking EVERY night, sometimes more than once. The last straw was when he developed a phobia of being sick after a tummy bug to the point that he was avoiding eating in case he brought it back up, he lost 7 pounds in 4 weeks. He's now under a mental health service for support. This drug has ruined our lives!"

• Gat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2020

For Allergic Rhinitis "I can't believe that montelukast was the reason I was feeling so depressed, anxious, even my legs so shaky. I didn't understand why I was so moody and trying to isolate myself from my family. After reading the reviews for this medication, I realized I wasn't alone. I'm going to stop this medication today. Please stop taking this medication if you start developing anxiety or depression and ask your doctor for something else. Good luck, everybody!"

• Chu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 12, 2019

Montelukast for Allergic Rhinitis "After 1 dose, I woke up at 3 a.m. with severe chest pains and diarrhea. I could not hold my urination until I made it to the bathroom. Finally, I fell asleep with my adjustable bed raised to sitting. The pains stayed throughout the night and more pains today. The chest pains subsided. Today, I am nervous, anxious, and still in bed at 6 p.m."

• Ddr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 15, 2018

For Asthma "I went on montelukast three weeks ago. I have had no prior mental difficulties, anxiety, or depression. Three weeks later, I’m experiencing agitation, anxiety, nightmares (which I haven’t had since I was a child). I’m a 52-year-old woman. I’m irritated, and my thoughts race. As far as those racing thoughts... I seem to get obsessed on a subject, and I can’t stop googling, looking, checking, and doing something related to that topic! Every day it’s something new to obsess over. A close friend who is a psychologist looked at the side effects of montelukast and said CALL YOUR DOCTOR. NOW. She also gave me the phone number of a psychiatrist. I called both my pulmonologist who prescribed and the psychologist. Ugh. This stuff works wonderfully, but quite seriously, I’d rather just cough and have asthma attacks."

• Jes...
• June 9, 2019

For Asthma, Maintenance "I’ve been taking this medication, montelukast, since I was 7, and I am now 19. Since taking it, my asthma has been average. The mental side effects, in my opinion, outweigh any good effects it has had on me. I suffer from bouts of anxiety attacks and increasingly dark thoughts. It makes me aggressive. I find myself having severe mood swings. Every time I take a break from it, I find myself feeling better, but as I begin to take it again, I have another mental episode. I feel this drug needs more labels of warning and should not be prescribed until more research into the medical effects has been done."

• Mat...
• June 17, 2013

For Asthma "This review will not completely apply to most people as I am bipolar II and am extremely sensitive to some kinds of medicines. It normally takes me a very long time to fall asleep (sometimes until dawn), but once I am, I stay asleep and get plenty of rest. On Singulair, I once couldn't fall asleep until about 12:00 in the afternoon after going to bed at 11:00 pm the night before, and I would often wake up multiple times while sleeping. My anxiety was much higher, I was significantly more depressed, and my previously very well-stabilized mood was once again destabilized. I also had some water retention, weight gain. Was absolutely amazing for my asthma though, so I guess that's something. Really wish it played nice with my sleep and bipolar."

• Jud...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 5, 2017

For Asthma "When my asthma drug was discontinued, I started taking montelukast with horrible side effects! For a week or so, the asthma improved, and I was very happy, but then I slowly developed some type of breathing problem unrelated to asthma. My breathing was very heavy, and I had chest discomfort and could barely walk to the bathroom. Feeling of extreme anxiety and felt like I was suffocating. I tried to do controlled breathing for hyperventilation in case this was the problem. I don't know if the drug caused me to hyperventilate or if it caused such anxiety that I hyperventilated on my own or if it was some other kind of breathing difficulty. I stopped the drug, and it took about 3 weeks for symptoms to leave permanently."

• jba...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 1, 2019

For Asthma "My daughter is 4 years old and developed these behaviors over the course of 18 months. We were not informed about any of these side effects, and no monitoring was done either. Extreme fear, eczema, vivid nightmares, extreme fear of sleeping, facial infections, sleep disturbance, bedwetting, burning genitals and eyes, anxiety, depression, aggression/hostility, attention problems, bad dreams, hallucinations, hearing voices, irritability, memory problems, headaches, sore throat, cough, stomach pain, skin infections, runny nose, itching genitals, confusional state, crying inconsolable, difficulty concentrating, difficulty drawing, intentional self-harm, irrational fear of the dark, growling and hissing. We assumed all this was normal behavior for our, at the time, 2-3-year-old daughter. I wouldn't recommend this drug at all without proper monitoring."

• Coc...
• December 3, 2016

For Asthma, Maintenance "Was prescribed for asthma to get me off my inhaler so often. It worked, but I gained 6 lbs in 5 days and started having random nosebleeds and waking up with lots of joint pain. Then I stopped sleeping more than 4 hrs a night, and I was taking it before bed. The days were filled with anxiety, brain fog, and confusion. Too bad because it really did help control the asthma. I stopped taking it. I'd rather cough than be in constant pain and crazy."

• Fio...
• March 26, 2017

For Asthma "I'm a 34-year-old who has had asthma for years. Over the past 12 months, my asthma has become increasingly difficult to manage and was severely impacting my sleep and my day-to-day life. As a result, the doctor has been trying some new medication. After just a couple of days on 10 mg of this medication, my asthma had significantly improved. Then the side effects started. I lost hearing in my ear and had loud ringing in my ear. I was sleeping nonstop, couldn't concentrate or retain information, and was suffering from terrible anxiety, which I have never experienced in my life. I felt like all I wanted to do was sleep and never wake up. I have never felt so awful in my life. I stopped the medication that night and immediately felt 100% back to normal."

• sam...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 22, 2019

For Asthma "I have taken this medicine for about 2 years. I do not know if it has helped me because my asthma is not bad all the time. I do know that I used to have bad panic attacks when I was young (62 now), and they went away. I have had several surgeries in the past two years, so I thought my anxiety was due to my health issues. Today again, I had an anxiety attack and suicidal random thoughts for no reason! I finally read all the side effects for my meds. The only one that has these psychosis word warnings is this one! I am mad. I will go off it tomorrow. I don't need to take something confusing me and making me psychotic. Beware of this medicine!"

• sad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 9, 2016

For Asthma, Maintenance "My 16-year-old daughter has the typical exercise-induced asthma that many of her teammates have and has used an inhaler for a couple of years. Her Dr. advised us to start using Montelukast. We were a bit wary because of the possible side effects, but her Dr. convinced us. About 2.5-3 months later, all of a sudden, she started experiencing the awful side effects they warn you about: racing heart, sleeplessness, panic, sadness, hopelessness, and anxiety. After a couple of days of this, we finally read the pill bottle and immediately stopped. It has been a week now, and she is better, but still working through the anxiety. Please do your research and ONLY use this medication if you are completely sure you won't experience these side effects!"

• Ton...
• April 30, 2018

For Asthma "DO NOT USE SINGULAIR IF YOU HAVE HAD PAST PROBLEMS WITH DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY. Here's my story. I was put on Singulair when younger, so I decided to ask my GP to put me on it again (22 now). It helped with my asthma a lot, but I had to stop after 2 weeks as I was getting bad dreams and had heard that to be a side effect. So I went back on the inhaler and decided to only use Singulair when doing vigorous activities. I took one yesterday, and the dreams came back, and I also woke up today in a bad mood. I decided to take another pill today to keep the asthma under control while working, and within an hour I was easily irritated, depressed, and anxious. This continued, and these emotions amplified until I was extremely angry. At the time, I didn't know what was going on, so I got even more emotional and ended in a dark downward spiral. I've dealt with depression in the past, so I just assumed it was 'one of those days.' It wasn't until I googled Singulair and mood that I realized it was the Singulair."

• Kel...
• August 3, 2017

For Asthma "I give this half a rating. I have chronic asthma, and after nearly dying from an asthma attack, I was prescribed Singulair along with Symbicort. This medication has absolutely helped me. I've been on it for over 3 months now. It really does help reverse the effects of asthma. Unfortunately, it gives me some of the worst anxiety I have ever experienced. I tried taking it in the morning, but the entire day I would feel unbelievably anxious. If I take it before bed, I have the worst, most vivid nightmares. This medication affects everyone differently, of course, my only advice is to try it out for yourself."

• Tom...
• May 25, 2020

For Bronchospasm Prophylaxis "Singulair was helping my breathing while I was continuing to use it, but I wasn’t okay at all, and I just figured out that around 15 days since the last dosage, after 7-8 months of using 10 mg, I had hard breathing, headache, feeling nauseous, insomnia, sleeplessness, shaking, and a rapid heartbeat. But the big problem was my mental issue, so my mood changed negatively, and I had depression and anxiety. However, after the hard time visiting many doctors to find the problems, I found that after reading people's experiences over multiple websites, it’s the Singulair. Plus, it returned me back to the past, around 5-6 months ago when I had stopped taking it. I remembered I went to the emergency room and had several side effects until I took it again, once a day before sleeping. I am not recovered 100%, but for sure I will be okay very soon since I quit taking this pill, and I hope everyone is okay. Please ask a qualified doctor before using it and make sure to know the side effects and when to use and stop."

• NAa...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 20, 2016

Montelukast for Asthma "I have been taking Singulair for almost a year now or more. I usually don't dream, so I haven't noticed any unusual nightmares. Seriously, I can't tell if my anxiety is because of Singulair or not. I am anxious by nature, and this semester is really stressful and can drive anyone crazy! I usually think about life, death, why we are here? and this kind of stuff. DOES THIS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH SINGULAIR? I really want to find an answer for that. I recommend Singulair when you don't have any other choice, but if you have one, then absolutely choose it. Singulair is bad but effective."

• Bet...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 4, 2016

For Allergic Rhinitis "Within days of starting this medication, I became a different person. Anxious, depressed, hopeless. I thought the world had turned against me for some reason and couldn't muster the strength to get dressed in the morning. But the worst part, if you can imagine something worse than constant anxiety, was the fear. It was like being afraid for your life every minute. I began checking the door locks 5 or 6 times because I feared being murdered in my sleep. It was when I was making plans to set up my bed in the closet did I finally have the moment of clarity that this wasn't rational thinking and something was very wrong! Stopped taking Singulair and was back to cheerful, sunny, optimistic, confident self in 2 days. Never again!!!"