To not agree with the nurse practiser's view that my DS has asthma and to think a diagnosis should come from a doctor?

[PolkadotCircus]

Soooo my v healthy but skinny boy 9 has had a nasty winter virus that he has had problems shaking off,symptoms involve a cough that won't go away.Loads of other kids and adults have had/got it here.

The same happened last year and our fab doctor gave him temp inhalers to calm his airways down which worked a treat and were never used again.

His grandad is the same(very skinny and some times gets a chest infection in winter it takes a whole to shake off) but still cycling 16 miles a day at 80.

Anyhow dtwin 1 keeping dtwin 2 awake so tried to get an appointment with our fab GP but because he is so fab it is nigh on impossible so was offered an appointment with a nurse which I reluctantly accepted as all I wanted were temp inhalers and ds better ASAP.

Anyhow after a very lengthy appointment when his puff was measured,history looked at,records filled in,weighed etc she finally gave us some inhalers.Puff was poor(errr yes he has a virus and a temp) and we were told to come back for a follow up asthma review.I said but he doesn't have asthma only to be told well this happened last year etc,etc.

So we went to the review puff beyond normal now and very good,virus over so no surprise.Nurse then said as he had asthma she'd like to see him again,keep him in her records,how many inhalers did he have etc,to keep him topped up when tight in the chest etc etc.

I said very firmly he doesn't have asthma and never gets tight in the chest.She then asked if he had eczema or hay fever.He had eczema as a baby and gets a bit sneezy in the summer ahhhh then they are linked so he does have asthma.Me-no he doesn't he just gets a cough he can't shake some winters.
I don't want asthma on his records unnecessarily.We politely agreed to disagree.

So aibu to think a)he doesn't have asthma and b) a diagnosis should come from a doctor.

To be honest I don't believe she gave the NP a chance.

But he was just in the midst of a nasty virus all on the computer,I went for treatment of said virus particularly the cough,which said nurse didn't even discuss or seem to be interested in.Not his dizziness,weight loss,loss of appetite,concentration,whiteness etc.

None if my questions re what I could do were answered.

I read a book once. Luckily there was a doctor on hand to help me with the long words. Soon I hope to be able to do so without moving my lips.

So how is it you go in for dizziness,weight loss,horrendous virus,bring run down and come out with asthma?

Would nobody question that?

Serious question OP, what happens if you go the GP and he disagrees with the nurse practitioner? Whose advice will you take then?

If you have difficulty with breathing it uses up an awful lot of calories, so it isn't uncommon to lose weight with undiagnosed asthma. The dizziness could be caused by lack of oxygen in the blood - again caused by undiagnosed asthma.

Are there no other doctors at your practice that you can see?

Well he has all the virus history,saw him several times previous and is highly qualified so my gp or are nurses now more qualified and should I be ignoring said gp who has always been fab in the past?

So the gp? Is he the one who had failed to act on the dizziness tiredness weight loss etc?

Good luck blubberguts* I'm sure you can do it. Keep positive

ime inhalers can last a fair length of time if used symptomatically in someone only prone to the occasional need. So if his previous one had run out tretemnt for his cough was either prolonged or frequently acute ie indicative of an underlying asthma issue.

Not on that day Bun,didn't want him missing yet more school.Normally you can see a locum but because he is normalky skinny and said doc knows him he kind of knows what is healthy skinny for him and what isn't iykwim.I kind of like continuity with this particular dc.

Give nurse a break and stick with GP in this circumstance I think would be best all round. Nothing anyone here says will convince you that a nurse is capable of dealing with this. Mumsnet sometimes deserves it's bad press as a bastion of middle class snobbishness based on some of the stuff I've read here.

No the gp treated virus with antis,we were trying to go back as he was still ill but practice was snowed under so had to see nurse.

Liz he last had the inhaler last year or the year before,few puffs for a fortnight.

Wow Claude - you really don't know what a nurse practitioner is do you! They are extremely qualified and specialised in particular areas such as respiratory. And even if op had 'just' seen a nurse they would have more experience, qualifications and knowledge then simply a tick list. Yes they may have a guide list but so might a gp.
Op the weight loss, paleness etc is most likely from the persistent cough he's been struggling with. Why are u so bothered his notes will say asthma? It needs managing kids don't need inhalers once a year just because?!? That's not normal he clearly has a particular vulnerability on his chest which he may grow out of. You attitude is very bizarre and people on this thread are nearly all saying the same thing to you?

You don't need antibiotics for a virus so that's a waste already if he need inhalers to get through a cough every year there is clearly a problem

But anti biotics dont treat viruses do they?

Did the nurse not have access to your ds's notes, PolkaDot? The nurse practitioner in my practice certainly had access to my full notes when I saw her the other week.

Claudedebussey - your attitude stinks, and you have displayed stunning ignorance and prejudice about nurses and nurse practitioners.

Soooo why don't we need any more inhalers or course of action?

So all nurses are infallible,the proper experts and we no longer need to see gps,ok I get it now.

If love to here back from you op once you've been to the GP - I suspect if he back up the lowly nurse and agrees its asthma you won't be back. GPs sometime go to their specialist nurses for support you know? We aren't living in the 40s when nurses were just hand maidens of drs! And no I'm not a nurse but jeez the attitudes on here are irritating!

You are right, Wheresmycaffeine, antibiotics cannot cure viruses. They are over prescribed by some GPs, under pressure from parents who will not believe they are useless for viruses - and this is a direct cause of the rise and rise of multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA.

Well he got anti bs,all 3 did for whatever hideous flu type thing we all had.Raging temps hard to control,dizzy spells,off food etc.

Because not all asthmatics needs inhalers 24/7 I would expect when you go back for your check up the nurse will go in to your sons care in more detail.
And no one is infallible - except perhaps you gp!!!

Std I don't like Antibs hence my suggesting a tonic which just got laughed at.Dd also had blood in her wee with the same thing and needed further strong anti bs on top.

My gp don't one to give out anti bs flippantly,I was amazed all 3 got them this time.

It was a nasty thing,zi don't know the correct term.

Oh don't be so stupid, OP - no-one has said that GPs are no longer necessary - just that, if a nurse practitioneris a specialist in a particular area, she may be better placed to diagnose asthma than a GP, who, by the nature of his job, has to know a bit about many conditions. For example, a midwife may know more about normal pregnancy and birth than a GP.

Saying things like that makes you look ridiculous.

Im confused as to why you were given ABs for a virus which clearly haven't been working. Gp hasn't done anything about the other symptoms and your angry at a nurse.