I feel so down... ds is wheezy again

[emkana]

He's had one good week now, without AB's.
Just one blooming week.
It was so lovely to see him completely well.
But dd2 has had a cold since Tuesday and I knew really that it was only a question of time before it would "get him".
Still I was hoping against hope that he might not get it.

Next Wed is the appointment with the lung specialist - I so hope that that will move us forward somewhat.

[emkana]

[Yorkiegirl]

Message withdrawn

[USAUKMum]

Know how you feel emkana. DS diagnosed with asthma in Aug. In Sept he was finally sleeping through and running and laughing......then got first cold at end of Sept. Now we've had 4 so far. Two in the last week with a cold he just can't breathe as well, so have to up to maximum inhalers and he wakes a lot in night

Hope you appt next week goes well.

[bubbles4]

spoke to you before about this , sorry to hear hes poorly again,good luck for wed and let us know how you get on

[7up]

sorry hes so unwell again. hope you get some answers on wednesday. this winter weather gets to the best of us let alone the weaker ones

[emkana]

Thanks for posting.

Ds has been on the preventer inhaler now for four weeks and I was just hoping that it would - well, prevent, I suppose. But I guess it can't stop you from getting chest infections? Don't know.

Also keep thinking that the antibodies through the breastmilk should help him, but alas...

[singersgirl]

Sorry to hear that DS is chesty again, Emkana. DS2 was older than your DS when his wheezing became problematic (13 months or so), but he needed nebulised bronchodilators with every cold - so he was having them every 4-6 weeks or so, because he got every cold going. This was despite being on 3 sorts of preventer.

I guess the preventers kept him out of hospital -mostly, though not always - and minimised the severity of the attacks, though it didn't always seem that way. I used to dread meeting other children with streaming noses, because I knew it meant that in a few days' time (usually 3 days after the start of a cold) DS2 would become unwell, potentially seriously. I was a fanatic with that anti-bacterial handgel stuff at playgroups, though I can't say it made any difference.

So this is really just a message of solidarity to say I know how it is, and the preventers probably are doing something and helping him breathe, even if it doesn't seem that way.

In DS2's case, the wheezing with colds has lessened considerably since he turned 3. I'm sure the lung specialist will have lots of useful advice for your situation. Good luck in the meantime - it must seem like such a long wait.

[singersgirl]

Oh, and DS2 ended up being breastfed till over 2, because I wanted to give him all the boosting I could...

[emkana]

Thanks singersgirl, as always it's really good to read about your experiences.

[emkana]

So was your ds using three sorts of preventer at the same time? Which ones were those? (I'm intrigued that you can use more than one!)

[emkana]

bump in the hope that singersgirl might be around

[emkana]

bump again

[Nemoinapeartree]

aww emkana hugs to you..as YG said it is cold season and DD has been struggling this week as have I with the weather being funny and also lots of colds going around..hoping the lung specialist has some advice for you.

[emkana]

thanks nemo

I just feel so sad sometimes - last week ds was so well and it was lovely to see him smiling and making progress developmentally - now he's ill again he's just sleepy most of the time and not so smiley

[Nemoinapeartree]

it is horrible to watch them get that little bit of normality especially if your eldest has never had problems[ my ds is rarely sick but dd gets everything and anything]. Frustrating doesnt even cover it!!

[emkana]

[singersgirl]

Oh, sorry, Emkana, only just seen this, and sorry DS is still unwell. It is completely crap when they're struggling to breathe, isn't it?

DS2 is still using 3 sorts of preventer every day, though I'm not sure he needs them all now. I don't know whether they are all suitable for babies.

He takes Flixotide 1 puff twice daily (fluticasone) which is an inhaler steroid, and a stronger one than the budesonide (Pulmicort) they usually start with. He also takes a Singulair tablet once daily(montelukast, which is a leukotriene receptor agonist, and I believe acts on only one of the asthma pathways, so isn't as effective as a higher dose of steroid). Finally, he takes Serevent 1 puff twice daily(salmeterol) which is a long-acting beta-agonist, which is another less effective preventer, but designed to minimise the steroid dose. When he was younger, he used to take bambuterol paediatric syrup, another long-acting beta-agonist, but that's not available in the UK.

They can take higher doses of the Flixotide if they need to, but the idea of the add-on medicines is to reduce the steroid intake.

Hope some of this is useful, but I'm sure your chest specialist will know all the up-to-date stuff for babies! When we moved to our current GP's practice, to be honest, I just turned up and said "This is what he's been having. What do you think?" and they said "OK. We'll carry on giving it".