A Queensland woman tried to take her life just days after she was prescribed asthma medication Singulair.
Nicole Taylor said she was left devastated by the reaction to the asthma medication that is often prescribed to children.
The 25-year-old nursing student noticed she became depressed after taking the generic version of the asthma medication Montekulast in October last year.
Health minister Greg Hunt has asked for an urgent review about the side effects of the drug after dozens of families, including an 18-year-old girl who took her own life, came forward with their own Singulair horror stories.
Nicole Taylor, 25, tried to take her own life within a week of taking the prescribed asthma medication Singulair
Ms Taylor, a nursing student, slumped in to deep depression within a week of taking the pill – leading to an attempt on her own life.
‘Very quickly, within two or three days, I was just getting more and more depressed and I couldn’t figure out why,’ Ms Taylor told Nine.com.au.
‘I was staying in bed. I had no interest in doing anything. And I wasn’t showering or looking after myself at all.
‘Then suddenly, I was like, I want to die.’
The medication often prescribed to children has had a urgent review about the potential side effects
Sara Hozen, 18, took her own life last year after taking Singulair for three months
Despite occasionally suffering with mild depression and anxiety, the aspiring cardiac care nurse said she often handled it without medication and was never driven to such a low point in her mental health.
She noticed the switch in her mood when she decided to go off all her medication including one that prevents a fatal reaction.
‘I’m on a lot of medication for a lot of different chronic illnesses. And there is one of them, where if I stop taking it, I would be dead within a week and have a cardiac arrest,’ she said.
In less than a week she was feeling back to her old self and pieced together what had changed in her lifestyle.
‘I was like, hang on, this is weird. What has changed lately? And that’s when I realised it was Singulair,’ she said.
Nicole Taylor was left devastated by her reaction to the asthma medication
Ms Taylor is one of dozens of cases involving the adverse effects of Singulair after one mother spoke out about the tragic loss of her 18-year-old daughter Sara Hozen.
Teenager Sara Hozen took her own life in May last year after taking Singulair for three months.
Since her Australian mother went public to raise awareness dozens of families have come forward to share horror stories, including a New South Wales doctor
She spoke out about her own eight-year-old daughter’s suicidal reaction to the medication and said the lack of education for doctors was ‘dismal’.
Health minister Greg Hunt has asked for an urgent review about the potential side effects of the popular asthma drug designed for children.
‘The Minister has asked the Therapeutic Goods Administration to conduct an urgent review and provide advice to the Government on this matter,’ a spokesperson said.
The medication is popular with children but has serious potential side effects, such suicidal thoughts, depression, nightmares and psychotic episodes in young children.
Figures from the TGA show over 200,000 prescriptions for Singulair, also known as Montelukast, were written from 2016 to 2017.
A spokeswoman for Singulair told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday it was working closely with the government.
‘In the ongoing review of the safety profile of montelukast, MSD has not identified any additional safety information in relation to neuropsychiatric adverse events to communicate to prescribers or patients,’ she said.
‘MSD is committed to working with government to provide relevant information about montelukast and its side effects.’
Potential side effects are suicidal thoughts, depression, nightmares and psychotic episodes in young children