Singulair and weight gain

moralez · Silver Member Joined: 15 May 2000 Posts: 258

I was diagnosed with asthma this January. I am taking 10 mg Singulair once per day and this is the only medication that I take. However, I have gained at least 15 lbs since I started taking Singulair. I am also experiencing strange dreams and have rash. Is the weight gain side effect of Singulair even though it is not listed as such?

melonie · Silver Member Joined: 15 May 2000 Posts: 244

Singulair is a medicine that helps control asthma in adults and young children. It should not be used for the fast relief of acute asthma attacks and it is used for long-term prevention of asthma. Singulair can be taken with or without food. Singulair side effects are usually mild and they vary depending on the age of a patient. The most common side effects from taking Singulair are headache, soar throat, ear infection, respiratory infection, abnormal dreams, abdominal pain, fever, flu etc. But, we have noticed that many patients taking this medication have problems with weight gain, like in your case. However, weight gain is not listed as a side effect of taking Singulair. Maybe your eating habits have changed since you started taking this medicine. You should go to your doctor so that he can examine you and determine what is the cause for your weight gain.

strongspirit · Newbie Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

I agree with Moralez, I gained weight taking Singulair and Zyrtec. My eating habits has not changed, in fact I ate less for a while. No matter what I did the weight did not go away, most of it was the around the waist and on my back. I thought my matabolism had completely stopped working, because even when I exercised, I seem to gain instead of losing.

Guest · Guest

I have been thin all my life. I am now on Advair and I gained 20 pounds and can't seem to lose it. I do not eat a lot, even less than before I was put on Advair. Does everyone have this problem with the steroids in Advair? I'm seriously thinking of taking it only once a day instead of twice or changing the medication. Thanks.

Guest · Guest

I was on advair for a long time. I didn't like the medication (the awful powder) and I noticed that the steriod in advair didn't cause me to gain weight but it did prevent me from losing weight. I now take spiriva and like it much better. It hasn't made me gain weight and when I tried I did loose a few pounds.

Guest · Guest

I was diagnosed 18 months ago with allergy induced asthma. Singulair was one of the medications that I was given to take. After a weight gain of 15-20 pounds, I discussed with my physician and was told that Singulair should not cause ANY weight gain.
Through a series of changing my meds around (not recommended), I have come to the conclusion that Singulair has been the cause of this extra weight. To prove my case further, I was very sick with a stomach bug recently and did not lose one pound during the 7-10 days that I was unable to eat solid food! As with others that I have spoken with, exercise and calorie intake (taking special concern to limit carbs and fat) has not in the least caused my weight to flux down as it should.

Steff · Newbie Joined: 13 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

I am on Singulair and have horrible cramps with bloating on my back and my mid section. I thought I had food poisoning or a stomach virus. I have been running and taking saunas to sweat the water retention out and it appears it was just the Singulair. It is horrible because I breathe well on it, but it is not worth the discomfort. Anyone else have this?

janek1 · Newbie Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Wow, I just read the post about Singulair causing bloating, stomach cramps and weight gain. I have been on Singulair for just over a month now. I have had this cramp in my left abdomen area constantly now. And I am bloating in the stomach too. I sometimes bloat up and look 3 months pregnant. I have also gained 6 pounds in a few weeks and have not really eaten any more. I have been thinking about going to a gastroenterologist because I was thinking maybe I had something wrong. My gynocologist checked for an ovarian cyst and I don't have that. I stoppd the Singulair 3 days ago because I ran out of the drug. I don't think I am going to start it back up to see if my problem resolves. If it does, then I know it was the Singulair and I won't have to see any other doctors.

AGARBUTT · Newbie Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

I have been on Singulair for a couple of years and I agree it does makes you gain weight. I try to drink a lot more water to counter act bloating and the feeling of dehydration that I usually experience. I also exercise every day for 30 minutes a day (trendmill, exercise bike or eliptical trainer to prevent more weight gain. I knew something was amiss when I was exercising every day for months and not losing a pound so I can relate to all of the posts.

Guest · Guest

Singulair is indeed the culprit. I do not take it everyday, but do the onset of a sinus infection. Within 3 days, I gained 6 pounds around my midsection and back. Although, I have been off of Singulair for about 4 weeks, the weight remains, no matter what I eat or how much I exercise. The fact is -is that this is the third time that this has happened. The first 2 times, I was not sure it was Singulair, so after a full year when the seasonal allergies kicked in again , I used Singulair, and guess what, here goes those 6 pounds again. Just because a medicine doesn't list a particular side effect, it doesn't mean that it does not exist. It only means that the patient did not report it to the doctor, or the doctor didn't report it to the pharma rep or some other pharmaceutical contact, or that the amount of the report side effects are too little to research. Question---did anyone on this forum report this side effect to the doctor or pharmaceutical company? It takes a mere 5 minutes to contact the company that is listed on the back of the prescription, but how many people do it?

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Singulair and weight gain

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