Anyone had experience of their child having an extreme change in mood when taking Montelukast?
My child has taken it for years but within days of taking a new brand they appear to have sunk into a deep depression, they are crying, anxious not sleeping or eating.
I've spoken to their consultant who has agreed they need to stop taking it. (It may just be a coincide?) Just wondered if anyone had been through the same/similar & whether it did resolve once the medication was stopped?
If you do a search for Montelukast (also known as Singulair) on Health Unlocked it will come up with a number of posts relating to Montelukast about the side effects some children and adults suffer from.
Equally a Google search can give more information on the side effects. The paper insert in the pill pack itself will list side effects also.
Unfortunately it seems to be one of those medications that can work well for some, and then become intolerable, or be that way from the outset of starting use, especially in children,
You say that your child has changed since starting a new brand - different brands of the any generic medication can be an issue for some adults and children also. Is it possible to source the original brand? Your pharmacy should be able to advise you on that.
Or stopping the Montelukast may be necessary as advised by the consultant.
Good luck
Thank you for your reply. I was very aware of the side effects and luckily it has been tolerated well for 6 years, so it was quite a shock for a new brand to give such awful side effects so quickly. The original brand has sadly been discontinued.
Google is great but there are some horror stories on there about long term effects, so I was hoping for reassurance from people who had been through similar. I will have another look on here using the search facility.
Take care.
Ah, sorry, you already knew most of that then. Let’s hope someone comes along with some helpful information. I’ve found Montelukast very helpful over some years, and I really hope this doesn’t happen to me either. Fingers crossed for you 🤞
Yes but it was to do with the ingredients. And we are talking 15 years ago! He always reacted badly to colours and E numbers and became angry and really not himself on them. Migraines were an issue too. He changed to Zafirlukast and was fine but believe that has been discontinued now. As a family we are not great with drug reactions and my other son became quite depressive when on antidepressants for anxiety. All resolved in couple of weeks off the tablets. Good luck with sorting things out. Take care
Thank you for replying, sorry to hear your sons have been through a similar situation. It's good to know that the side effects resolved within a few weeks. Must be very difficult for you and your family deciding whether to try medication or not after reading the possible side effects. Take care.
Hi my lil one was prescribed it it worked well for asthma but due to side affects o stopped it. Asthma flared up it was re prescribed within days side affects back. Coincidentally he had an exacerbation and was in hospital before respiratory appointment and all commented on how he couldn't keep still was teary, agitated not sleeping an hyper one min then fatigue the next and said tiny percentage of young children have a "reaction" which presents like this and they stopped it. This was over the jubilee things are much better, but struggling to control asthma an still a bit emotional. X
Thank you for replying I'm sorry your lil one has suffered too. It's good to hear that the Drs acknowledged the Montelukast can cause that reaction but not great that your lil one is still emotional.I hope they find something to control your son's asthma better too.
My son was in & out of hospital for years but has been quite stable this year so I'm hoping stopping the Montelukast doesn't impact that.
Best wishes xx
Hi, yes my son went on it for quite a while when he was about 3/4 years old and became extremely aggressive and emotional and it was horrible. It was only when we started to take him off it (one day off and one day on) becuase we suspected that the drugs were a big part of the problem that we noticed that the days he didn't take it he was like a different child.
The whole experience was horrific, and the side effects are downplayed considerably and are much more wide spread than is let on - which is why this drug was recently given a Black Box Warning by the FDA in the states: fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-a...
When my son was put on it the consultant told us not to worry about the comments on forums online - I wish we had listed to the parents and not the so called medical professionals. It is not just the immediate effects while on it, the side effects can continue to some degree after stopping the drug - as is the case with anything mind altering.
I was in A&E again (in the UK) with my 3 year old daughter just 2 nights ago after she had an asthma attack brought on by a Croup virus and the Dr in A&E suggested I put her on Montelukast and I refused straight away, so instead I'm upping her daily brown inhaler (QVAR) to get over the winter.
I get that this drug is a life saver for some people, but it should be taken with caution and the first sign of any behavioural changes I would stop - although you can't just stop, you need to ween off it under your Dr's advice as it is quite strong.
Thank you for your reply, I'm sorry you've experienced this too. My son stopped taking montelukast under the supervision of his consultant & asthma nurse. His severe symptoms have resolved thank goodness but he's still very clingy, anxious and has to work hard at keeping dark thoughts out of his head.
When he first started taking it we were warned about aggressive behaviour rather than emotional 🙁
Like you it has recently been recommended for my daughter (with no warning of possible side effects)& I've said no.
I hope both of your children are doing ok.
I have been fine till I was given a different make which had unpleasant side effects including mood so I gave it up but then I asked for a different make from my pharmacy which I am just about to try. So the conclusion is if this make of Montelukast is fine it’s the company producing the drug which is at fault. So it’s trial and error I suppose. Never believe all generic drugs are the same as some are cheap rubbish. Good luck 😉
I have been told with other meds they are all the same but it’s not entirely true as in the past I have had the same problem with other stuff and so have others I have spoken to. It was suggested to me that while they go for the cheapest make they are actually inferior or unreliable. It’s the same case with some of the inhaler meds and other stuff. As it’s really up to your pharmacy who make up the pack for you to collect I would suggest asking round different pharmacist who are in good cases more knowledgeable on meds than the doc. Good luck as I have decided to return to using my Fostair inhaler more and look for an alternative to Montelukast which there is. I saw it mentioned on here but I’m afraid I can’t remember it’s name .
hi my son had a similar reaction after having been on it for a couple of months . He wasn’t sleeping . Severe mood changes and was hallucinating. I thought at first it was bereavement and Covid but then realised it coincided with taking this medication. In America there is a warning in the packet about not giving to children who may be anxious as can cause severe mental health problems . We stopped it but it’s still having affects .
Montelukast Withdrawal
Trial of Montelukast 
Alternatives to Montelukast
Counter-productive Montelukast treatment?
Coming off Montelukast 
