Need some help with Montelukast

[TinkerbellesMum]

Tink's been prescribed it for her asthma, but it says on the box "Take an hour before food or on an empty stomach." She's 23 months, she doesn't have an empty stomach, especially for an hour! She eats constantly. Even first thing in the morning she is straight in bed with me for her milk feed.

I started off not giving it to her because I didn't know what to do, but Mum said to give it because it's more important that she gets it. Does anyone know how important this instruction is or have any suggestions for getting it into her?

BTW she happily takes it, she'll ask for more. She loves taking her medication for some reason - Dalivit, Sytron, those pink tablets they dissolve in a syringe when she's had an attack... none of it bothers her!

Could you ring the chemist/any chemist shop, and ask them? They have better knowledge about ths type of thing than anyone - the Dr prescribes it but the pharmacist knows how it works.

They are usually brilliant and will tell you whether it is crucial or just to give it her however/whenever you can. HTH x

She sounds lovely btw! I wish mine would take calpol without a fuss!

LOL she loves Calpol! You should see them in the hospital when she takes her medicines and looks up for more or sucks a syringe after it's empty trying to get more! I told her the tablets were special sweeties because I didn't know how she would take to them as her first tablet and they're eaten like sweets - she's asking for more!

I thought I'd see if anyone on here has any ideas before I spoke to someone as it's not easy to make calls with her around, so I have to hope she has a nap.

My DD1 has been on this for about 7 years now. As you say when they are quite young it is very difficult to find a suitable time for an hour before food. Quite honestly we never really managed it, but it was and is fantastic and at one time we had a major problem with her asthma. Officially, you will probably be told it affects the rate of absorption or something but it definitely worked for DD on a non empty stomach!

Thanks chocaholic (love it!) it's nice to have another Mum's point of view.

Tink has what I call slow attacks, they're not full on attacks, she'll go a couple of days with a streaming nose and then spend a day slowing down till she's kneeling on my lap, resting her head on my shoulder and going into distress until by the end of the day you can count her ribs and can barely get her to look at you when you call her.

Reason I say all that is her nose has been streaming most of the week, the CM's kids have chickenpox which put her in hospital (3 nebs) when my brothers kids had it even though she rode it out. (oh yeah and after I found out about CM's kids I found out I was pregnant! ) So I'm expecting another attack to come on soon so I really want her to be taking whatever precautions she can.

it really does not sound as if her asthma is under control. I assume she has inhalers too? With my dd it was the coughing, every night so she couldnt settle at all.

They've been telling me until her last attack she was too young to diagnose (monthly hospital visits with an attack after each minuscule virus) but last time they said she's too bad not too diagnose. They think it's damage from being intubated so she will grow out of it.

It's only been a couple of weeks since she was diagnosed so I don't think it's got too work properly on her yet. She has a brown inhaler twice a day, they didn't say to give her the blue with it, but I was always told to take blue first as it opens the lungs so the brown gets in better so I'm doing that with her.