one SINGULAR sensation (not)?!. . .FDA probing link between Singulair and suicide. . .

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,

Very timely. My allergist just prescribed Singular since none of the other allergy meds have gotten my allergies under control. I've been on so many that I don't even remember the names of them all these days. So, I put a call in to see if this is truly a major concern or just more media hype over an issue that has affected such a teensy number of people that it's really just a non-issue.

Robert

[ka jowct]

I've been seeing a doctor for several months regarding chronic sinus congestion. Singular was prescribed but I passed. Not sorry I did now.

As you continue to suffer from your allergies, you might want to revisit that decision. I've been taking it for years. It's one of the best meds I've ever been prescribed. It helps tremendously with my allergies AND my asthma, and I have experienced no side effects. My neurologist told me that there is some evidence that it helps migraine sufferers, so I have added incentive to take it.

That article leaves a LOT out and seems to be designed to scare people. The possible "link" to suicde is based on reports of 3 or 4 people who happened to be taking it who also happened to commit suicide, out of the millions who take it:

FDA spokesperson Susan Cruzan said reports of suicides by "three or four" people who were taking Singulair prompted Merck to clarify suicide warnings on labels and patient information sheets in October 2007.

"When the company does that and we think there's a reason to look at it, we'll go back and analyze the data," said Cruzan, who stressed that the FDA cannot prove a link between the Singulair and the reported suicides. "We are going back to review all of the data to determine whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship."

Merck spokesperson Ronald Rogers said the company did update its labels after receiving reports of suicide among consumers who were taking Singulair. Because of the nature of these self reports, the company cannot determine whether there was any link to the drug, he said.

However, neither the FDA nor Merck recommended that patients stop taking Singulair, a drug that has proven very effective against seasonal allergies and asthma.

Doctors also see no cause for concern over the FDA's warning.

"We have hundreds of children on Singulair and have never heard parents make complaints about psychiatric side effects," said Leslie Hendeles, professor of pharmacy and pediatrics at the University of Florida Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. "Moreover, there is no mechanism for this reaction … We will be telling our patients not to worry about this."



My wife and I have been on it for almost 4-5 years for our asthma / allergies. Just got it refilled. However, over the last couple of months we have been very irritable and stressed. We figured it was due to a new baby in the house.

So you think that Singulair was OK for 4–5 years but now all of a sudden is making you irritable, just coincidentally when you are sleep-deprived because you have a new baby???

[spacescape]

I agree... It's most likely because we are sleep deprived... However, it concerns me because I've been little more edgy for the last couple of years and starting to wonder if this could be why. But, why wouldn't this have started a couple of weeks after starting to take Singular... So, probably just added stress in life.

Move along, nothing else to read here.