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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

572 replies

PolkadotCircus · 17/02/2013 08:15

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.

OP posts:
Spookey80 · 17/02/2013 08:36

I think it is better to have him monitored regularly, I.e a yearly asthma check, and when he attends it is documented that he is fine, only uses inhalers in the winter, than not to be followed up. It sounds to me like he has been getting good care,, but by all means discuss it with a doctor.

OHforDUCKScake · 17/02/2013 08:36

YABU sounds like he has asthma.

My youngest only gets it in winter when he had a virus.
That is typical of asthma.

Spookey80 · 17/02/2013 08:38

Also a diagnosis of asthma is often purely related to how well a person responds to treatment...

foxy6 · 17/02/2013 08:39

Dd was diagnosed with asthma by the nurse. I was back and forth with Dr for years getting no where when My parents told the nurse about it on one of My sisters check ups for her asthma. The nurse said I should see her with him and not dr, so I did and glad I did. Ds has mild asthma and very rarely uses his inhaler. His main trigger is dust so that's when he needs its on the twice a year bedroom tidy lol.
He coughs , always has done used to make himself sick coughing. When he was younger. That's why gp was no good constantly giving him different cough medicines.
So yes I think yabu

poachedeggs · 17/02/2013 08:39

I could have written your post this time last year.

Except that I have great faith in our nurse practitioner since I was referred myself by the GP, after I'd asked if I might be asthmatic, because "she's much more up to date on asthma" than he was.

I was very sceptical about DS being assumed to have asthma. It felt like a cop out and I wasn't satisfied that it was the was the explanation for his chronic cough.

Then he had two asthma attacks, out of the blue and during the night.

Terrifying, and thank heavens we had the paediatric spacer or it would have been impossible to give him the Salamol he needed to be able to breathe.

I was very contrite.

scarletforya · 17/02/2013 08:39

Yabu.

It sounds exactly like asthma. There are two kinds the wheezing kind and the coughing kind. I have the coughing one. I have never had an asthma 'attack' as commonly depicted where I can't breathe. It's not always like that at all. I'm fine in between and don't need inhalers but am supposed to use them to prevent it.

Why don't you believe he has asthma?

trixymalixy · 17/02/2013 08:40

YABU. DS has asthma. He doesn't wheeze either. I had no idea he was having a serious asthma attack as he was just a bit quiet and lethargic with a bit of a cough. Thankfully I had taken him along to my GP appointment and the GP saw that the skin at the base of his neck was sucking in and gave him a nebuliser and packed us off to a&e. I was sceptical and thought we'd be sent home but they triaged him, put him on oxygen straight away and whisked him through to a ward. He was in for a week.

He doesn't need his inhalers in the summer, but does in the winter.

I think the nurse knows a little bit more than you do.

BellaVita · 17/02/2013 08:40

Yalu.

DS1 doesn't wheeze either, he barks and coughs - mostly in winter. He still needs inhalers.

merlottits · 17/02/2013 08:42

YABU and clearly have a low opinion of nurses (or a high opinion of doctors!)
It's quite normal for some people to get 'infective exacerbations of asthma' meaning an illness triggers asthma. My DS (now 15) gets asthma symptoms every Winter around the cold/flu season.

But hey, what would I know? I'm just a nurse.

Original poster
PolkadotCircus · 17/02/2013 08:46

Apologies re spelling- IPad woes!

Blimey I had no idea.

The thing is it was the receptionist who decided to give us the NP appointment and just because she couldn't squeeze us in as half the town has this virus,it is a nasty one.

The gp never mentioned asthma and he is a paed expert(hence the bunfight to get him).

Will get a dc's appointment then as I'd like to go over the ins and outs and if he does indeed have Ashma I'd like a bit more info(we got none)and if it as serious as others suggest more than a yearly review.

It's odd as never once has our gp suggested DS had Ashma in fact he gave me inhalers last year for the same virus(cost me a fortune but did work,have never used them again,dp had a puff for this virus which worked for him too). Apparently cough mixture doesn't work and inhalers can calm airways down which they will now prescribe.At 45 I think I'd know by now if I had undiagnosed Ashma- I haven't.If inhalers are being prescribed more. I just hope over zealous use of Ashma labelling isn't going to happen.

OP posts:
Flojobunny · 17/02/2013 08:46

Nurse practitioners have many years of training and are probably much better trained than a GP in specialist areas like asthma. I don't see the problem in treating it like asthma and getting your DS regularly reviewed. I don't get why you don't what asthma on his records, unless you yourself judge parents with DCs with asthma. Maybe you think they are all smokers who live in built up areas in dusty houses who use to many aerosols around their DCs (did I miss anything?!)

WhichIsBest · 17/02/2013 08:49

Our GP suggested we give DD an inhaler but not diagnose asthma so it won't be on her record.
I did wonder why at the time.
Is there something bad about having asthma? Higher insurance rates? Can't join the army? Honestly I am curious and I hope the OP returns to explain!

Bunbaker · 17/02/2013 08:49

"I don't want asthma on his records unnecessarily"

Why? It isn't as if he has a criminal record. Why are you in denial? What makes you think that you are more qualified than a fully qualified nurse, who probably deals with asthma patients every day, to decide whether your son has asthma.

As others have already pointed out asthma doesn't always present itself as wheezing. If your son responds to inhalers then he probably does have asthma. DD developed it after a virus - viral induced asthma. She also gets breathless after vigorous exercise - exercise induced asthma. On a day to day basis she doesn't have it but still needs her inhaler from time to time.

Also, you are being unnecessarily rude to everyone who who suffers from asthma.

MousyMouse · 17/02/2013 08:51

flojo you missed hairy pets and dusty birds ;)

Bunbaker · 17/02/2013 08:52

PolkadotCircus If the inhalers cost you a fortune I assume you not in the UK?

Allegrogirl · 17/02/2013 08:55

YABU. I had 20 years of winter coughs. No sleep and coughing until I was sick. No GP ever mentioned asthma. Ended up in A&E at 22 unable to breathe. They were gobsmacked that it has never been diagnosed with my history.

It is now managed very well and I go to the practice nurse if I am having problems. I wish I had been diagnosed at 9.

Original poster
PolkadotCircus · 17/02/2013 08:56

It is re insurance rates.

I also don't believe in things being on records unnecessarily.

His twin had a load of heart investigations(he has a benign murmur),it is harder and more expensive to get insurance.

It is my job to protect their records as far as I can.

Oh and re the nurse sorry but my Gp is waaaay more informative,she didn't answer many of my questions (hence needing to,post on here)and to be frank I have gained more info with my gp in a 5 minute appointment than this 20 min appointment.I'm sure both can vary.

OP posts:
poachedeggs · 17/02/2013 08:58

Can I please point out that asthma, by definition, is an inflammatory condition of the airways. Your doctor saying the inhaler was "to calm down the airways" is meaningless. He it's using them to treat airway inflammation, and his wording doesn't exclude a diagnosis of asthma.

Original poster
PolkadotCircus · 17/02/2013 08:59

Bun. I am in the UK,the inhalers cost me a fortune when I had them last year for me(first time ever for a persistent cough).2x meds plus the diffuser thing=3 prescriptions,I pay for my prescriptions.Ds got his free obviously.

OP posts:
poachedeggs · 17/02/2013 09:01

Having seen my son, who I didn't believe was asthmatic, endure an asthma attack, insurance should be the last thing on your mind.

I understand you may not be in the UK, but I am asthmatic and triggered by animal allergens, and I am a vet. My income protection policy is stratospheric but that's much preferable to limping along, potentially scarring my lungs and risking an attack.

It can be fatal!

DrRanj · 17/02/2013 09:02

I have asthma and I only get wheezy when I have a cold or I am around cats. My airways are more sensitive than normal, therefore I have asthma. Exactly like your son. Asthma has a spectrum of severity. Not all asthmatics are thin wheezy weedy kids, like you seem to believe as you seem to see it as some kind of stigmatising condition...

poachedeggs · 17/02/2013 09:06

I've just seen that you're in the UK. I'm completely at a loss I'm afraid, YABIncrediblyU.

kelda · 17/02/2013 09:06

The lack of the word 'asthma' on his medical notes isn't going to fool the insurance company if he has a history of needing asthma related illness and medication.

NewAtThisMalarky · 17/02/2013 09:08

I havd asthma and it has not meant I pay more for insurance. When I applied and was asked she said 'I'll note it, but it won't affect your premium'.

I think you are overreacting. And many people with childhood asthma grow out of it.

As for costing a fortune - in the subsidised healthcare system in Sweden, two inhalers cost £90. I suspect you paid nowhere near that.

Please don't take chances with your child's health. The consequences of untreated asthma can be very serious indeed.

trixymalixy · 17/02/2013 09:11

Asthma will only have an effect on insurance rates if your DS ends up hospitalised. If I remember correctly the question was have they been hospitalised in the last 6 months with asthma? When I had to say yes to that it made a difference of about £10, after that it didn't. Millions of people have mild asthma. sticking your head in the sand about it is more likely to end up with him being hospitalised and then making a difference to insurance costs.

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