Singulair and weight gain

kittysquaw · Newbie Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 1

My 7 year-old son has been taking Singulair for about 5 months now. I recently started noticing a significant weight gain with him, especially around his belly. All of his clothes I bought him in September for school are skin tight on him. He's always been a stocky boy but about 3 weeks ago I took him to the doctor and his weight was at 90 pounds! I was horrified! I took him to urgent care for a sore throat less than a week ago and was even more horrified when he tipped the scales at 98 pounds! I asked the doctor if he knew anything about Singulair and if it causes weight gain. The doctor told me no and said that it's his eating habits- he eats too much. I told him that his diet has not changed and he hasn't been eating more than usual. He basically made me feel like a crappy parent for having a chubby kid and told me to stop letting him eat so much! I'm so glad I found this discussion! My suspicions have been confirmed. Singulair is the culprit of his weight gain. Now what to do? My little guy has started developing stretch marks on his rear end!

lrichie · Newbie Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

My 18 year old daughter started using Singulair in September. She began to experience swelling in her legs and arms. She also was very tired and complained of head aches and aches in her knees and back. She also gained 20 lbs. over the past 3 months. We were told that this was not a side effect of Singulair. After many medical tests to check her heart, kidneys, veins, etc. (All came back normal) I took her to a nutritionist who put her on a strict diet. During this time she continued to gain weight. She quit taking the singular 3 weeks ago. The swelling in her legs has gone done some and she feels a lot better overall but she has not lost the weight around her mid section. Has this happened to anyone else and how did you get the weight off?

Guest · Guest

i don't feel crazy anymore!! i am an asthmatic and have been on advair and singulair for a couple of years. since then, i have gained 30 pounds and cannot lose it. it's a constant struggle to even maintain it. it's nothing for me to gain 5pounds in 1 week if i am not extremely careful about what i eat. i am only 27, and i even went to a nutritionist and i eat healthier than i ever have. plus i started working out regularly, and still can't budge my weight. most of it is in my middle, and i get bloated very easily too. i had tried discussing this w/my dr (I thought it was d/t the advair) & he blew me off, said it's my age and such. i never stopped to think that it might be the singulair. still looking for the answer on how to control my weight, b/c i really need these meds to control my asthma....

teagal · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 7

Guest · Guest

I agree. I started taking Singulair and gained 20 pounds. It has been horrible for me to get this weight off. I stopped taking the drug. I also got horrible stomach pain and was very agressive.

Maggie A. · Newbie Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

The person who said that Singulair does not cause weight gain, is wrong. Perhaps you should not make such generalized statements for everyone. Perhaps in your case, it was eating too much while on it, but this is NOT the case for most people who gain weight on it.

However, this drug DOES act on a person's body like a steriod, though the doctors who gave it to my pre-teen daughter said it was NOT one.

She gained a huge amount, had the round moon face almost immediately, though iweight gain was not listed as a side effect, so I did not make the connection until I began to read message boards and numerous person who had the same reaction.

Then after the initial bloating up like a balloon (and she still comments that I should have never let th edoctor put her on this and ruin her pre-teen years due to taunting and teasing by other children) she developed a huge appetite (that she had never had before) and every time I turned around she was eating it seemed. Thus, then she DID gain more weight.

As soon as I realized that it might be the Singulair, I spole with our family doctor, and he said we would wean her off (he is actually the type of doctor who LISTENS to his patients), evne though he was not sure if it was the Singulair or not.

The moon face and a lot of the bloating and weight gain began to disappear immediately, but it took several years for her to lose the rest of the weight (because I would not let her "diet" diet at her age). She began drinking mostly water and watching what she ate.'

This was years ago. About 1 1/2 years she began taking BC pills, and the same thing has happened, but not as immediate.

I think some people are more sensitive to many drugs, so just because one person does not have the side effect, does not mean that it is not valid in many others.

Suzanne P. · Newbie Joined: 08 May 2008 Posts: 1

I have been taking Singulair since it first came out in 1998. I do have to say it has been a miracle drug for me, as it has helped control my asthma, allergies, exercise induced asthma, pretty much everything. I also take Advair and it has been a miracle too! Before taking both these drugs I was a mess, in the Dr.s in the morning for a routine check up, no problems on my breathing test, 90% oxygen levels, and then in the ER by 6 pm that night, being admitted for low oxygen levels and asthma.

At that time I was about 135 lbs and in great shape. I had been working out with a trainer and was very energetic. Now I am MUCH heavier and no matter how much I work out or how much I watch my "diet" I cannot lose the weight. I can lose 1-2 lbs, but that is it. I have been working out with a trainer, been on Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and nothing. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I saw this post and was amazed. I am going to see my DR soo and see if he can get me on something else and see what happens. I have also had some major mood changes and I wonder if that is the singulair too.

We will see. I will post an update as soon as I see my DR and figure this out. Please keep the posts coming and let us all know if you went off Singulair and lost the weight.

Guest · Guest

wow. I have been on singulair since '99 - I was 17 and 110 lbs. Now I'm 26 and 195. This finding just breaks my heart. I had changed medications so much when I was young that I never made the connection. I can't believe this stupid drug made me so fat. There is no other explination - I was always so skinny! I'm calling my doc tomorrow. Thanks yall.

Guest · Guest

hi all i been on singulair for two days, and i see my legs are geting biger, dont no about you all , but if you get 300 pounds you will still have a hard time breathing , no one no,s your body better then you, and i no mine, two days is all it took for me, i will not take it again.

Guest · Guest

Wow, I too have experienced a significant weight gain. I am 35 years old and always weighed around 100-105 lbs (pending what time of the month it is), but when I started taking Singulair I noticed that my clothes were getting very tight and I haven't changed my eating habits. Within a matter of a little over a month I gained a little over 10 pounds. And, like others, mostly in the stomach area, although my thighs and hip area did get a little larger also, but not as noticable as the stomach. I was able to breath a lot better on the medication and I was also taking it because I get severe nasal infections, which it helped out a lot too. But, I think I'll be going off the meds, because I don't feel comfortable with this weight gain, and don't want to gain even more. Also, the same as others, diet and exercise did vertually nothing for me.

Singulair and weight gain

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