they are both the same or at least chemically equivalent. singulair is the brand name ; montelukast is the generic name. they can be used interchangeably in treating allergies. i was on singulair for about 15 years without any effects to my liver. my normal yearly physical exams include blood work and my liver numbers were always in the normal range. in the summer of 2012 my insurance decided to change my singulair prescription to montelukast because it's cheaper (how nice of them! ). everyone said it's the same exact thing as singulair but for some reason i was apprehensive and just didn't trust this new medicine. in february 2013 i had my yearly physical and my liver numbers had sky rocketed way beyond the normal ranges (they look at 2 numbers ast and alt). even though i'm not a heavy drinker the doctor had me stop all alcohol for 6 weeks and then i was retested. the results were exactly the same as before so alcohol wasn't the culprit. the doctor wanted to send me to the hospital for additional tests including to check for hepatitis to see why i was exhibiting liver damage. i asked if i could try fasting from montelukast for 6 weeks first before undergoing a bunch of other tests and the doctor agreed because he said i wasn't in danger. however he didn't think montelukast was the cause. i had a feeling it was montelukast because nothing else had changed in the last few years other than that. after 6 weeks of not taking montelukast i was retested and my liver numbers dropped by half! my ast was back in the normal range and my alt was just above the high normal which is nothing to worry about. therefore i was right it was the montelukast that was causing my liver damage. this medication may be cheaper but it's more detrimental to me physically and isn't worth the savings to me. they are similar but are not exactly the same. supposedly the active ingredients are the same but the inactive ingredients are different. i have been on singular a year and recently switched over to the now available eqivalent montelukast. i have noticed an increase of sweeting and tiredness since switching over to the generic. i am going to stop taking the med for a few days to see if it is the new generic that is causing my symptoms or something else. has anyone else experienced these symptoms since switching to montelukast? i have just been changed over without notice when i was on singulair i hardly used my inhalers and didnt wake at night. been on these montelukast for about a week and i am waking at night to use my inhaler and using it more often through the day which i wasnt before i would like to know the same thing. i have tried to use the montelukast 2 times now and both times i ended up with a sinus infection. with the second one i ended up in the emergency room with severe pain on the right side of my head. i am not even a headache person. so much for saving money. it is back to singulair for me.
what is the difference between singulair and montelukast. im afraid to use montelukast sod. what is the diffrence? there has to be thats why its cheaper i have really bad allegies.