would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

Ive always been one to kind of take the long list of side effects a medicine has with a grain of salt. DD was put on singulair yesterday for allegies/asthma. Her Dad (we are divorced) did research on it last night and sent me all sorts of links to forums and testimonials that this med caused their child to have behavior issues, emotionally issues, etc. (tempertantrums, ADHD type behavior, etc etc) On the bottle it does say can cause mental/emoptional changes, He is livid and doessnt want me to give it to her again and to send her directly to a specialist. (her ped wanted her to try it for 6-8 weeks and if it didnt work THEN see a specialist)

thoughts?

Message edited 5/6/2009 7:02:25 AM.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

I try to weigh the pros and cons. If the "cure" is worse than the illness, then I wouldn't use it. If the benefits outweigh the costs, then it might be worth it.

My insulin causes hard lumps in my arms where I inject. Yes, it sucks, but the medicine saves my life, so I can put up with side effects. If a cholesterol med dropped my numbers by 5%, but caused heart problems, it definitely wouldn't be worth it....

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

Since you know the "side effects" unless it was a life & death situation I would go see a specialist first. I don't like the fact that your ped wants to "try" and see if it works.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

I could see my DH feeling the same way. Knowing what the medicine is for and your experiences, I would use your own judgment about whether or not the medicine could wait a week or so and take her to a specialist. Also, I would make sure he is present to ask/discuss any concerns about the medicine so that it doesn't fall all on you.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

My son was put on singulair over a year ago. Hes 4 years old. I had the same exact concerns when i read all the side effects. But my son was also suffering TERRIBLE from allergies, so bad he ended up in the hospital last year with a brochiospasm. So we started the singulair. He has never had any side effects and his allergies are ALOT better.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

Posted by mooshyboo

Posted by GoldenRod

I try to weigh the pros and cons. If the "cure" is worse than the illness, then I wouldn't use it. If the benefits outweigh the costs, then it might be worth it.

I agree!

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

my DS was on singulair for over a year. we tried it for his asthma, which is the other use. i didn't notice any behavioral changes, but i also never saw any improvement with his asthma so we finally decided to just stop using it. i think if you google alot of things out there you're going to find some person sonmeplace who had a bad reaction to it. if you do this for every little thing you're going to make yourself nuts. if the doc thinks it might work and alleviate symptoms try it. if you see something you're not happy with, stop the medicatio and try sometihng else.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

I am skeptical with any medicine, period. I never liked to take anything myself unless it was 100% necessary (including antibiotics) and I am the same way with DS.

I would probably take your DC to a specialist.

Message edited 5/6/2009 8:23:29 AM.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

I would go to a specialist.

Since we first found out about the asthma, we have been to 4 different peds. Each one was all over the place. Some underprescribing, others over...some quick to give me samples as though the pharm salesman just walked out the door.

Went to pulm, put us on a good track. A little more doses each day then what I find necessary...pulm agreed. So we use maintance meds daily, and emergency meds on a needed basis. Also on an allergy med, suppose to be twice a day...I only give it if pollen, tree, grass count is high.

I HATE the meds. I fought them. Right now his bedroom looks like a hospital room. Completely sterile. Everytime we walk into house, he is stripped of "outside" clothes and thrown into tub. Not every bath is soap and shampoo...but just a dip to reset and get allergens off of him.

There is no sense killing yourself to buy hypoallergenic things and put floors down if your kid is running around with the allergens on him, speading them around on bedding.

No windows open. Do you have any pets?

We are on a gluten free diet. He had a wheat allergy, but the more I am reading, gluten and wheat sort of play a role in asthma.

I ordered this infred light that goes into AC duct that is suppose to kill allergens.

It you do have carpets, invest in a great vaccum. That makes all the difference.

I am trying to do everything I can in hopes that his maintance med could possilbly go down to one time a day from 2. I also worry about over abuse of the emergency meds. We give it on the first cough.

I worry about his teeth with these meds. The poor kid, I am probably brushing away his gums.

The temperment is very hard. This week he was on an oral steriod, I definitely noticed a difference. So irritable. A real cry baby and he isn't a crier.

I tell the dr I hate the meds, he tells me breathing is important. So, there I have it. DH is sooooo concerned with the fact that pulmicort kids tend to grow 1 cm less each year then they would have for every year they are on it.

My worry is trying to make a roid rager a good boy. He is good, but is it too much stress on him to stay good? Is he going to have black rotted out teeth? Do we even know the real Josh anymore since its almost a year on drugs? I also hate paying each month for them.

so, sorry so long. go to a specialist. these drugs are serious, and great as long as correctly prescribed

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

I had the same thoughts (and concerns about the possible side effects) and this was my rational for putting DD back on Singulair.

When the article first came out about the suicide of the boy that was taking Singulair came out, I went to my DD's pulminologist and insisted she take her off Singulair and put on Pulmicort. Our pulminologist tried to talk me out of it - gave me all of her data and experience with Singulair over the years and left the decision to me. Horrible mistake because my DD couldn't breathe she was coughing so much after being on Pulmicort. I used the Albuteral (rescue meds) more during that time then I did since she's been dx with asthma.

After discussing with our allergist, pulminologist and ENT we got this advice, and for us it made the most sense. If my DD was a 13 year old girl and I was worried about her emotional welfare - I would take her off Singulair and make another medicine (or medicines) work. Since she is 3 and doing wonderfully on the Singulair, why change it?

's

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

It's hard to weigh the risks and benefits sometimes, and especially so if this is your child. I was put on medication for lupus last year that can cause vision problems, even blindness! This freaked me out, and I didn't want to take the meds initially, but after talking to the doctor, my eye doctor, and researching the subject, and seeing my physical health deteriorate to the point where I thought I was close to being unable to care for an infant, I decided I needed to take it. It did resolve my lupus symptoms beautifully, and while I continue to take it, I would like to try going off it and some point.

So, talk to your doctor again about your concerns. It would probably pay to see an allergist also and get another opinion. Then read up yourself, but be careful of the source. Then you need to make a hard decision--it's never easy.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

virtually every drug (even OTC) has some pretty freaky side effects.... all the good, bad, and ugly are on those contraindication sheets. What they seldom disclose is the likelihood of those side effects.

Every FDA approved drug provides benefits to the patient with risks that are reasonable. (a headache med can't cause a lot of heart attacks, KWIM?)

If DC really has significant allergy problems, odds are high this medication might help. usually, a physician will prescribe the med with the least side effects first.

It really boils down to a matter of trust between you and your ped. If you question his/her judgement, get a 2nd opinion... Don't get scared by all the side-effects. Most of the time, the severe side-effects don't happen. If DC does get an intolerable side-effect, just stop taking the pills and call the dr.

Re: would you get alarmed if a medicine your child was put on had a lot fo side effects..some of which a lot of parents found true? also..WWYD?

Thank you ladies.

Sometimes its so hard coming up with a decision that both ex DH and I are both comfortable with..

I called the ped.and requested the referral to the specialist. If the specialist still recommends the singulair I will hope that ex DH realizes its best to give it a try, or..maybe specialist wont even suggest singulair. who knows...Im so stresed. Sometimes its hard making a decision like this. Thanks for reading and for your suggestions and input.