Breathing worse this week, montelukast side effects

[Mumoftwomonkeys]

Hey everyone, i was put on the brown preventive inhaler last year which worked really well in controlling my breathing problems but this week I'm struggling so badly!

I haven't a clue what sets it off, i don't seem to have hayfever symptoms as it's year round symptoms. I got rid of my feather pillows and found i could sleep much better so even stopped using my air filter. Still need to get rid of feathers downstairs but hopefully doing that this week.

Because I'm feeling worse i chased my gp for the montelukast tablets i was recommended to have by the specialist i saw. I took two and for two days could breath perfectly. However, last night i had really bad pain in my abdomen and so googled side effects and saw less the 1 in 10 have that. I'm very sensitive and always have side effects, so when i saw reviews saying don't touch this medicine and the mental health implications it can have, i felt so warey i didn't take my 3rd tablet and now i can't breath again - it's completely debilitating!!

Any advice at all on things i can do or any other medications i can try? Ive dabbled with antihistamines, i can't take piriton as have a horrible reaction, i can't remember if it's cetirizine or Chlorpheniramine that makes me really nauseas but haven't found one that works.

Didn't know where else i could ask for help?

Hope to hear from you,

Rachel x

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

If you’ve had montelukast and found it works then it’s worth trying it out. I find that side effects can flare up a couple days after starting a new meds but generally they start to calm down after a few weeks. Depending on how bad the abdo pain was, how long it lasted and if it responded to anything (paracetamol etc) then it’s prob worth trying again. If it was very severe, or if you try again and it happens again then you need to see you GP about it. If you’re still only on the first level brown inhaler in may be worth seeing if you can change preventer to a combination inhaler and see if that helps.

MH wise with monte, the issues tend to come/be worse in teens (who have all the normal hormone changes going on and are generally more likely to have mood swings like that) who aren’t aware that the MH issues made be a side effect. When I was on it (or when I’m on high dose steroids and have the same issues) I just kept an eye out. On monte I would have stopped the med if I got MH issues and returned to my GP (luckily the main thing I got was vivid lucid dreams) but on steroids I just have to keep telling myself it’s the drug. Lots of people do take the monte and don’t have MH issues.

Also if your issues only been going on for this week, maybe you are having a flare with a trigger (even if you can’t identify it) so a short course of oral steroids is all you need to calm it til the trigger has passed rather than a long term increase in regular meds...

Antihistamine wise have to spoken to your GP? Fexofenadine is usually a very good and low side effect antihistamine but only available on prescription

Hope this helps

[Mumoftwomonkeys in reply to EmmaF91]

Hey emma, thanks so much for your advice. I think ordinarily i would stick it out, id take some paracetamol or codiene and go from there, but I've ended up in hospital before with side effects and this year I've been on two other medications for other illnesses that have caused side effects, also as i suffer with anxiety it makes me extra cautious.

I think i will phone my gp tomorrow and ask for the stronger inhalers instead, like you said, and go from there.

Do you use or recommend air filters for night time? My breathing is always worse in the mornings and seems to calm down a little as the day goes on.

I have tried those antihistamine yes, maybe i will just try it again. Probably one of the ones that makes me ill would work, but i can't take them.

It's been one hell of a year for me so far with terrible illness, so this breathlessness on top is really rough.

Thanks so much, all advice is appreciated.

Rachel x

[Gwalltarian]

I take montelukast, one a day and find it very helpful but it does cause acid reflux in the stomach so I also take omeprazole to counteract that.