Asthma ?, looking for some guidance long

Pookieson · April 2013

First, DD has an appt in a couple hours, just want to make sure I cover all of my bases.
DD has had a persistent cough that is worse after she is physically active and at night. She has woke me up four times this month with an incessant cough. She has an appt this morning where I will ask for a pulmonary function test and perhaps another allergy test (she had one when she was two). My question for you asthmatics is: When were you diagnosed? What are you symptoms? What other tests (if any) would you recommend I mention to the doc? What signs and symptoms would you be sure to report?
(I am in nursing school, we just went over asthma and I've been convinced she has asthma for over a year now, but docs have been reluctant to diagnose and treat her. They all just say they are recurrent upper respiratory infections. I just switched docs, so I'm hoping I can at least get some tests)

Her history: She was born premature at 28 weeks. She has frequent lung infections including croup, bronchitis and many, many upper respiratory infections. She's had pneumonia once. She was prescribed a nebulizer during her pneumonia. Usually, when these coughs flare up I put normal saline in her nebulizer and use a cool mist humidifier and that helps A TON. However, it hasn't helped today AT ALL. She's was coughing every 30 seconds or so, I gave her ibuprofen around 40 minutes ago and now she's coughing every 5 minutes or so. She coughs persistently after exertion and she *always* develops a cough when sick that lingers for at a month. She wakes me up probably 2 times a month coughing. She has horrible allergies that are treated daily with allergra and flonase. When her allergies flare up, her cough is much worse.

Does this sound similar to any of you? Am I on the right track requesting her be evaluated for asthma. The last doc brushed me off and said, "most asthma is diagnosed by 5 and over half is diagnosed by 3...she's already 6...she has a cold. She gets a lot of colds. You need to teach her better hand hygiene."

I know hand hygiene, but thanks...for nothing. She is missing a ton of school because she can't go when she is coughing every 30 seconds and she's so exhausted in the morning it's ridiculous. I thought about asking about starting allergy shot treatments. Has anyone had any experience with this?

kmbryant2413 · April 2013

I was diagnosed at age 2. I agree on pushing for the pulmonary test, that's how they found out I was asthmatic. I absolutely would push for another allergy test as well, limiting my allergen triggers helped my asthma a ton when I was young and was too busy being a kid to pay attention to the symptoms.

Some kids grow out of it. Some don't. I still have it, although after I hit puberty it seemed to get a lot better. If you do not think a diagnoses is correct, challenge it! My mom fought tooth and nail to make sure that I was diagnosed correctly with what she KNEW was asthma.

Good luck to you, and I am so sorry that your DD is having to go through this! It's long and frustrating, but with the right medication and lifestyle changes, can be completely manageable, even for an active child

minskat30 · April 2013

I'm no doctor but I don't think I was officially diagnosed with asthma until around 5...I always had trouble running and with stamina, often was sick as a child (including pneumonia), had many, many allergy attacks (often accompanied by large, red bumps all over my body), etc.

Does your daughter wheeze a lot (even when not sick)? I was constantly wheezing more than I was coughing as a child with my asthma. I don't think you are out of line to suggest an asthma test now that your daughter's lungs have developed. I also "second" an alergy test...they are very advanced now with blood typing and not just the skin tests.

Pookieson · April 2013

Thank you so much ladies. I'm hoping I get some answers today. I feel so bad for her She just looks miserable. The cough has slowed down quite a bit. I thought about asking about singulair too. The air purifier is a great idea. Believe it or not, her symptoms improved slightly when we moved to our current home because of the lack of carpet. I just feel so helpless Whatever she has, hopefully someone can help her out. She can't function like this. It is so horrible. Oh and Linger...2 years of antibiotics???? Holy crap! I would have been pissed to! That's a ridiculous amount of antibiotics and to not even try a PFT??? Ugh. Soup, I think I will ask for the allergy test too. She had one at two which showed ragweed, pollen, mold and dust. Maybe she has a new one or they are more severe than we realize. If it's not asthma, I wonder if allergy shots would be something to employ, I'll ask while I'm there. She won't like that, but in the long run, I think it may be something worth looking into.

kmbryant2413 · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_asthma-looking-for-some-guidance-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:95cb8d30-4fcb-45e6-a10b-a726d0fbc1f0Post:fec90eb8-259a-4bd9-83dc-7d27201b2bd8">Re: Asthma ?, looking for some guidance **long**</a>:
[QUOTE]Thank you so much ladies. I'm hoping I get some answers today. I feel so bad for her :( She just looks miserable. The cough has slowed down quite a bit. I thought about asking about singulair too. The air purifier is a great idea. Believe it or not, her symptoms improved slightly when we moved to our current home because of the lack of carpet. I just feel so helpless :( Whatever she has, hopefully someone can help her out. She can't function like this. It is so horrible. Oh and Linger...2 years of antibiotics???? Holy crap! I would have been pissed to! That's a ridiculous amount of antibiotics and to not even try a PFT??? Ugh. Soup, I think I will ask for the allergy test too. She had one at two which showed ragweed, pollen, mold and dust. Maybe she has a new one or they are more severe than we realize. If it's not asthma, I wonder if allergy shots would be something to employ, I'll ask while I'm there. She won't like that, but in the long run, I think it may be something worth looking into.
Posted by Shannon1401[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Shannon, in a month or two I will keep you updated. I had an allergy test around 3-4 and they just told me what I was allergic to and to avoid it. Now, 20 years later, I am getting another one (on the 29th) and starting allergy shots after it. I pray that it improves my asthma and regulates me, especially with the 5k I have coming up! I'll let you know if it helps my asthma at least. I am well aware that everyone is different.</div><div>
</div><div>Allergies develop and worsen all the time. I was not allergic to bee stings as a child (per the allergy test at 3-4), but I got stung last year and nearly died. So THAT was a development. I say as long as your insurance can handle it, I would test every 4-5, especially when she starts hitting puberty, yada yada. People change all the time. It sounds like you've got a clear picture and your childs best interest in mind :) Any time I am in a house with less carpet it's like a miracle for me :)</div><div>
</div><div>ETA: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice: When I am having a pretty bad attack I pop a benadryl, even if I am on allergra/claritin/one a day allergy. It helps slow me down so I don't panic, and relaxes all my airways/kills potential allergy triggers in my chest. So if the nebulizer and humidifier isn't helping, perhaps a bendryl might lessen the symptoms a little. Just my two cents/personal experience.

</div>

Pookieson · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_asthma-looking-for-some-guidance-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:95cb8d30-4fcb-45e6-a10b-a726d0fbc1f0Post:a5b79e18-fc15-4737-bc53-2318ed3d1f4f">Re: Asthma ?, looking for some guidance **long**</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm no doctor but I don't think I was officially diagnosed with asthma until around 5...I always had trouble running and with stamina, often was sick as a child (including pneumonia), had many, many allergy attacks (often accompanied by large, red bumps all over my body), etc. Does your daughter wheeze a lot (even when not sick)? I was constantly wheezing more than I was coughing as a child with my asthma. I don't think you are out of line to suggest an asthma test now that your daughter's lungs have developed. I also "second" an alergy test...they are very advanced now with blood typing and not just the skin tests.
Posted by minskat30[/QUOTN

No, she hardly ever wheezes. She did some with pneumonia and a tiny bit with asthma, but you could only hear it with a stethoscope. She just coughs and coughs and coughs. then she'll get a little better....and cough and cough and cough. Story of our lives.

Pookieson · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_asthma-looking-for-some-guidance-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:95cb8d30-4fcb-45e6-a10b-a726d0fbc1f0Post:6c79a812-834f-47c9-b5b6-851bbf01ff89">Re: Asthma ?, looking for some guidance **long**</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Asthma ?, looking for some guidance **long** : Shannon, in a month or two I will keep you updated. I had an allergy test around 3-4 and they just told me what I was allergic to and to avoid it. Now, 20 years later, I am getting another one (on the 29th) and starting allergy shots after it. I pray that it improves my asthma and regulates me, especially with the 5k I have coming up! I'll let you know if it helps my asthma at least. I am well aware that everyone is different. Allergies develop and worsen all the time. I was not allergic to bee stings as a child (per the allergy test at 3-4), but I got stung last year and nearly died. So THAT was a development. I say as long as your insurance can handle it, I would test every 4-5, especially when she starts hitting puberty, yada yada. People change all the time. It sounds like you've got a clear picture and your childs best interest in mind :) Any time I am in a house with less carpet it's like a miracle for me :) ETA: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice: When I am having a pretty bad attack I pop a benadryl, even if I am on allergra/claritin/one a day allergy. It helps slow me down so I don't panic, and relaxes all my airways/kills potential allergy triggers in my chest. So if the nebulizer and humidifier isn't helping, perhaps a bendryl might lessen the symptoms a little. Just my two cents/personal experience.
Posted by kmbryant2413[/QUOTE]

I hope the allergy shots work for you. I have mild allergies (some sneezing and a stuffy nose) but watching DD with her allergies and this coughing...I feel for anyone who has to go through that. She is just miserable and my heart breaks for her. I usually get this when I tell people she stayed home from school, "You kept her home....for allergies???" uh yeah, she's hacking all day long, not sure she would learn anything anyways because she can't hear, but it's cool you decided to get all judgey on things you don't understand. ugh...people.

kmbryant2413 · April 2013

Also: You said you put normal saline in her nebulizer. Ask for an albuterol saline for bad attacks (or combivent, whatever she is on) in conjunction with a rescue inhaler. Does wonders for me when my rescue just isn't enough.

J&K10910 · April 2013

Here's the thing that kind of sucks. You've already gotten so much resistance. There is a chance that your daughter could have asthma, have the PFT not show it, and then you're really going to have a hard time. I'm not saying you shouldn't push for a PFT, but you should know it's possible. It happened to me. Luckily, my pulmonologist said that with my symptoms and the fact that steroids and Singulair made things better, I likely DID have asthma and was willing to give me the diagnosis (getting the dx makes it much easier to get medications covered under insurance). But that was something that no other doctor before him was willing to do.

I would ask your ped for a referral for an allergist and a pulmonologist. Even if she DOESN'T have asthma, it would be good to talk to a specialist about what's going on. And they're going to be better at diagnosing and treating than your ped, because it's their specialty.

Also, I was diagnosed with "Reactive Airway Disease" when I was 15, and finally got my asthma diagnosis when I was 25.

gailpete · April 2013

DD was diagnosed at 11. When they do the PFT, also have them do it after exercise. The one they did for DD at rest was borderline normal, but then the Dr had her run up and down a flight of stairs a couple of times and did it again. There was definitely a difference, and she was diagnosed.

I'm sorry your DD is going through this and hope you can get it under control soon.

Pookieson · April 2013

JK, that's what worries me. As of now the coughing has pretty much subsided and I'm thinking her PFT will be normal (or borderline) Hopefully they will do an exercise induced one as well. I will push for a referral. Whatever she has going on, it's enough that it's limiting her daily life. Poor kid can't even attend school. She's missed 8 days just this month. We pick up her work and do it at home so she isn't behind, but that isn't fair to her. She has been fighting since the day she was born and I'm just so tired of seeing her struggle with everything. If it isn't bronchitis, it's a cold, or she's fighting croup or she just wont stop coughing. I'm hoping she lucks out (this one time) and can get an easy diagnosis. Even when she had pneumonia the doc was iffy about it. Her lungs were just a little bit diminished but not enough for concern but I pushed for a chest x ray. She had infiltrates in both lower lungs. She doesn't present things the same way "normal" patients do. She's my little difficult child

I'll let you ladies know how it goes when we get back. Thank you so much for all of your input, I was beginning to feel like maybe I was way off base and just being a helicopter parent. I know something is going on, I just hope they can get her some help fast.

Pookieson · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_asthma-looking-for-some-guidance-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:95cb8d30-4fcb-45e6-a10b-a726d0fbc1f0Post:95726dc1-6047-488f-942c-8952b12ccdcd">Re: Asthma ?, looking for some guidance **long**</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Asthma ?, looking for some guidance **long** : I can only speak from personal experience, but I always do miserably on those tests even if my asthma isn't actively bothering me at the moment. And I'm someone who does cardio exercises 4-5 times a week and leads a pretty normal life. I just don't have the lung capacity or function of someone without asthma. So just because her coughing has stopped doesn't mean the tests won't indicate asthma.
Posted by HoorayForSoup[/QUOTE]

Good to know! Hopefully we can get some answers! Thank you so much!

Pookieson · April 2013

Thanks ladies. We just got home. Her PFT was low normal, gave her an inhaler for "emergencies" and we were referred to a pulmonologist and an allergist because she is an ex-preemie. Said we should received a call in a couple of weeks. I had to really push for the referral. Thank you so much for all of your feedback!

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