Couple Blames Singulair for Boy’s Suicide
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Apr 02 2008 at 7:19 AM
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A Queensbury couple alleges that their teenage son committed suicide after using the allergy drug Singulair.

Cody Miller took his life on August 4, 2007, just 17 days after started using Singulair for his allergy problems. The couple says that Miller was an active 15 year old boy.

Miller was using Allegra initially for his fall allergies. But his pediatrician made the changes later. Thus, Miller started using Singulair, an FDA approved drug that is used by millions of people for treating asthma.

“He was damn sure of the drug and really comfortable on the phone saying he is going to be better off with this drug. That is why I filled the prescription,” Kate Miller said.

Kate said she was very attentive to her son’s well being because Cody was their only child. Kate went through Merck website and she could not find any red flags so they were baffled when Cody started acting out of character after using the drug.

“From the second week after started using the drug, he was not getting good sleep. Then he started sleeping for long periods of time. He showed a kind of frantic behavior afterwards,” Kate said.

Cody hanged himself 17 days after started using the drug. Doctors asked about the drugs he was taking and Kate said it was nothing but Singulair.

The manufacturer of the drug says they've been alerting doctors and pharmacists regarding the potential side effects. However, a NewsChannel 13 investigation has found the drug maker's notification program was weak and ineffective.

On 2nd October, two months after Cody’s death, Merck has updated the warning for Singulair by including suicidal tendencies and actions.