Quoted from http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/investigative/fox-5-investigates-singulair-110810
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FOX 5 Investigates: Singulair
Updated: Tuesday, 09 Nov 2010, 12:40 AM EST
Published : Monday, 08 Nov 2010, 11:38 PM EST
By TISHA THOMPSON/myfoxdc
WASHINGTON - Kids so out of control, you can’t take them to church, the movies or even the mall. The problem may not be the kid or even their parents, but instead a popular drug prescribed to millions of kids across the country.
Singulair is drugmaker Merck’s number one selling drug, bringing in $4.6 billion last year. Doctors call it a miracle drug because it keeps kids with severe asthma and allergies out of the emergency room.
But there are a growing number of parents who say the risks associated with the drug could outweigh its benefits.
For kids with asthma, there’s nothing more exciting than running, especially when you’re trying to catch your big sister.
When he was just two years old, Willy Epperly started taking the asthma-allergy drug Singulair.
“We thought it was just a normal ‘terrible twos’ kind of thing,” said Willy’s mother Melissa.
She says in the beginning, it was subtle.
“By the time he got to pre-kindergarten, he was pushing children. He was yelling at the teacher. He wasn't sitting still. He wasn't following directions,” said Melissa. “I was literally afraid he was going to be kicked out of school."
Even Willy, who is now five years old, felt something wasn’t right.
“I got really mad at my body,” he said. “I tried to stop my body from doing bad things. I told it to stop, but it kept on doing it.”
When doctors told Melissa her son might have ADHD and might need even more medication, she decided to re-read Singulair’s packaging and discovered side-effects had been added in the years Willy was on the drug. Aggressive behavior, hostility, hallucinations, night-terrors, tremors, irritability, anxiety, depression and even suicide.