Montelukast

[Beruska3]

Hello everybody,

I cannot take steroids as according to my gp I might have allergy on them.(told last week) So she gave me montelukast 10mg to try and I had a terrible emotional outbursts suicidal thoughts and just felt like a psycho! It did help with asthma but I stopped yesterday and my mood improved. Like a night and day.

I'm very upset and will call doctors tomorrow.

Is there any other alternative I can try because I can't use any steroid medicine only blue inhaler and now montelukast is not ideal either. My asthma is annoying but not severe. Maybe less mg of montelukast??

Thank you.

I'm really frustrated and losing hope as to if I am ever going to get help with my asthma. My doctor said I am a hard case and asthma nurse uk never met anyone sensitive to steroids 😥😔

Have a lovely day

[twinkly29]

I think you need to ask your GP to refer you to a consultant. The symptoms you described last week could well not be your asthma but one or more conditions that appear similar. A consultant will be able to diagnose properly which bits are asthma and which are something else (if that's the case). They will also be able to look into a potential intolerance to steroids which needs doing properly, not a GP just surmising that that might be happening. If you really are intolerant to steroids, you should be under a consultant anyway because things may be more difficult to manage. If there are other conditions going on, then these need picking up because they will not respond to asthma meds and need a different approach. So you need the next level of care to unpick the different bits and find meds for your asthma that are right for you - the GP may not be able to initiate other things.

[Dizzart in reply to twinkly29]

I take Montelukast do you know what it is please and can it cause depression etc what do you think would value your reply as it’s hard to tell if one has natural ups and downs or if it’s the drug ? 🤔

[twinkly29 in reply to Dizzart]

Hi! Emma's post here has a great section on Montelukast (scroll down and you'll find it) which (lazily!) saves me repeating it:

healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...

Some people find it does or can affect mood but many people have no issues whatsoever. I would imagine many more find it ok or they wouldn't use it so widely.

It would be common to have ups and downs, caused by so many different things in everyday life and particularly so after the last 18 months. Also I would be trying to think about positive vs negative effects and things overall - of course no-one should force themselves to suffer unnecessarily but it would be about finding a balance and working out what the priority is - a bit like persevering with a few initial weeks of side effects starting a new inhaler in order to be on something that is a a big positive in terms of asthma control - which wouldn't be great (the first few weeks) but is definitely not the same as someone having truly severe side effects that mean a medication must be stopped.

Talking it through with your nurse or GP (or the Asthma UK nurses) might be useful for you?

[Dizzart in reply to twinkly29]

👍🏻😊

[ck101 in reply to Dizzart]

I’ve seen other threads where people have stuck with it for 3 months and the symptoms of depression etc went away. It had a negative effect on me and I dropped down to the 5mg kids dose and thing improved a bit. I’m not taking it anymore though and seem to be doing ok on Becotide.

[Dizzart in reply to ck101]

👍🏻🤗

[Troilus]

Maybe Spivira Respimat? It doesn’t reduce inflammation but it does relax the airways for 24 hrs. And yes there is a lower dose Montelukast- used for children.

[Hidden]

I agree with twinkly29 if your GP “thinks” you may have an intolerance to steroids you need to be referred to respiratory and an allergist so it can be investigated properly. Has your GP said why they think you may have an allergy to steroids? You could ask to try zafirlukast as an alternative to montelukast this is taken twice daily rather than once so might suit you better. As twinkly29 has said the hospital will investigate for other possible causes for your symptoms so that they can trial other meds and rule things out. Have you been put on omeprazole for possible acid reflux? It is possible to have this and not have symptoms? There’s also theophylline that they could try if your coughing a lot which relaxes your airways, but this has to be at what they call a therapeutic dose so you’d have blood tests whilst they find the correct dose for you so they can adjust it appropriately - your GP can prescribe these things for you to try whilst waiting for a referral, but if they’re concerned you may be allergic to steroids then I would be pushing for an urgent referral as you need to be seen sooner rather than later. Hope you’re feeling better soon

[Poobah]

Definitely ask your GP to refer you to an allergist specialist and an asthma consultant who specialises in asthma treatments for patients with a steroid sensitivity. Unfortunately, Montelukast can have awful side effects for some patients. The fact that you respond so badly to both steroids and Montelukast is a red flag that a specialist is needed.

All the best.

[Oxygena9]

Sounds terrible, hope you are better now 🤗

What about trying Singulair? I was told it do the same help, but different side effects. Singulair cost more, I think Montelukast is a kind of copy of Singulair.

[twinkly29 in reply to Oxygena9]

Singular is the brand name, montelukast is the generic drug. Like Ventolin and Salbutamol are the same thing - Salbutamol is the generic drug name, ventolin is a brand name for that drug.

[Oxygena9 in reply to twinkly29]

Thank you for answer and information I have tried both Singulair and Montelukast, and the Singulair 10mg works better for me.

[twinkly29 in reply to Oxygena9]

Some people do find that a particular brand (and not just of montelukast) works better - it shouldn't be the case because essentially it's the same thing as the generic drug, but it definitely does happen!

[Oxygena9 in reply to twinkly29]

Yes, is a little strange. I asked in the pharamcy what the difference is, because the price was so low on the Montekulast and the pharmacy told me in the Montekulast it is different suppliment /like support suppliment - cheaper suppliment. But the main medicine is the same of course.

It is a jungle to find out what works sence we're different people 😜 The side effect from the Montekulast was so bad for Beruska, it is so terrible when that happens 😔.