What should I ask consultant re repeated pneumonia?

[strawberrycornetto]

We are seeing a consultant this afternoon for my 11 month old DS who has had continuous chest infections since October. He was referred after being admitted with pneumonia/collapsed lung in November but we are seeing a private consultant as the NHS were so slow. I have obtained copies of his old x-rays and have a record of dates/medication to take along with me.

I have been really worried about lots of things (asthma, immune issues, CF (although I think he should have been tested at birth), heart problems...) I have so much going round in my head and am not sure what I should expect from the appointment.

Has anyone seen a consultant in these circumstances? Any suggestions for what I should ask? I am planning to write down questions and take a pad with me, but I also know I get a bit intimidated and tend to be afraid to ask what might be a stupid question.

Thank you.

Will he think I am a neurotic googler if I start asking all those questions? (Obviously I am, but I don't want to give away my dark secrets !!)

Try not to be intimidated, it is their job and you are paying very good money to see him or her. I really hope your little boy gets better, it must be so worrying. best of luck

I have

You sound like you are doing the right thing writing stuff down and taking all xrays / medication details.

I'm pretty sure if it were something like cf you would know about it already.

Similarilly serious heart probs would have menifested themselves in other ways

Pls try not to worry

I would approach this appt with the view that you are presenting him the info and he is there to give you more insight. Main questions would be asking whether it is seperate cases of pneumonia. It is a bugger to treat so may well be it never truly went away and lurked about and popped back. You would expect to see same areas affected on x ray. Which side is it? Right side pneumonia can often indicate aspiration (where food / secretions are inhaled into lung rather than stomach) This is more likely if yr child has other problems - low muscle tone, feeding issues. Am pretty sure you'd have an idea if this was the case also. Just mentioned cos this is reason for my dd's reacurrant pneumonia.

HTH. All the best

ds1 had double pneumonia at 11 weeks after contacting rsv and we were warned of the dangers of asthma etc due to scar tissue, so i appreciate where you are coming from. (he is 7 now and has had no lasting effects to date)

i would do as Fio suggests and make a nice long list - don't worry about asking stupid questions, they will have heard them all before, and no question is stupid - it just means that no-one has given you the information you need.

make sure you get your money's worth

When my dd was ill, dh and I did write a list of our worries and questions. It helped us to be prepared and ensured that we didn't forget anything at the appointment.

They will not think you are neurotic, just wanting to cover everything. Tbh I wouldn't have cared if we were seen as neurotic, you are the one living with the worries and it is good to get answers to the questions you have.

Thank you, that does make me feel better. I will write them all down and tell DH to make me ask them.

DS has food allergies and eczema so I am tending towards thinking he may have asthma. I will ask if they can rule out other more worrying things though. I am also sure he's ok, but you know how it is when you start worrying about your LOs.

Pixie, from what we were already told, I think it was one case that didn't clear up, but I am interested to see what today's x-ray shows. From memory, I think it was the right side, and he does suffer with sickness which we thought was reflux but I now think is related to his milk allergy, but which hasn't really cleared up completely now he's on special formula.

Thanks for the messages. The appointment was really helpful. Today's x-ray was completely clear thank God, so the doctor thought that unless he gets another big infection, there is no reason to suspect an underlying concern, which is really good news.

He was prescribed ventloin and singulair and we are going to go back in 3 weeks to see how he's getting on. I feel very relieved that the wheezing and coughing is being taken seriously but I also feel reassured that hopefully nothing is terribly wrong but it will get found if there is. He gave me a chance to ask my questions and gave sensible answers.

glad it went well x