Pediatrician rant... I've had enough.

[purr]

In October, my now 4 month old came down with a really bad cough and wheeze. I took him to the ped and they said he had bronchiolitis and gave him a breathing treatment of albuterol and to come back the next day to see how hes doing. I took him back and they gave him another breathing treatment and said that if he doesnt improve we'll have to take him to Childrens in Pittsburgh. So he didnt get any worse, and he didnt have the flairing of the nostrils so we thought he was getting better.

Fast forward a month now.. he got the wheeze back. It never went away completely but wasnt constant like before. The nurse practitioner called the ambulance and took us both down to Childrens. He was not critical by any means and we spent the night and was released the next day after 3 breathing treatments of epinephrine (I think).

Took him to the ped AGAIN last week because the wheeze and cough is back. They gave him yet another albuterol treatment that does nothing for him and said we just got to wait it out.

WAIT IT OUT?????

I dont know if I should take him to another pediatrician - I seen 2 docs at the practics and a nurse practitioner. Hes gaining weight like mad but only has this stupid wheeze and cough. They labeled him "the happy wheezer".

Read that this can trigger asthma later on in life.

I dont like hearing him like this.. I cant do a damn thing about it and its really pissing me off.

/end of rant

[KitchenWitch]

1. Wait, I will PM you.

[xmas74]

2. Ask for a referral to a specialist.

It might be something that they cannot treat there. A friend's child had similar symptoms. She finally got the referral to Children's Mercy (took four months). They found out it was allergies and he's on medication now.

[purr]

5. I asked about allergies and they said they dont test until they're 2 :(

I have severe allergies and I always had a hunch thats whats going on with him.

[ChoralScholar]

13. My little one was tested for allergies at age 1.

So some places will do it.

[Tsiyu]

3. You need a pediatric pulmonologist

albuterol is generally given for asthma and reactive airways disease. RAD may be your son's problem. A simplistic explanation: Sometimes early scarring of the bronchioles ( due to infection) causes them to be more sensitive to later viral or bacterial infections. He should outgrow it, if this is the case, as his lungs mature.

Epinephrine used to be used only for croup in younger children, so don't know what the use is here.

All sorts of conditions can cause the symptoms you describe, from the common cold to Cystic Fibrosis. Is he in daycare? Lots of stuff like CMV and RSV floating around. Environment also could be a factor.

A good pulmonologist can sort it out.

Sounds like he's in great shape aside from the wheezing business, so chances are it's RAD. You may have to get a nebulizer and machine to administer treatments at home til it's outgrown, but it isn't life threatening.

Good luck to you and the Little One :hi:

[purr]

6. I'll call his ped tomorrow and get a referral to one.

I dont think its CF - he has NO symptoms. The only symptoms he has of anything is the wheeze and the cough and the occasional runny nose. Hes happy and healthy otherwise.

He doesnt go to daycare, but my 4 & 2 yr old goes to preschool and they bring home everything from homework to the bug of the week :). My 2 yr old had the rotavirus last year and then she picked up the croup from school a few months ago. She never was this sick until they started going to school.

I've picked up everything from them as well. I've been sick more this year than I have been in the past 5 years. I hope he outgrows it.. I dont like it at all. When I first took him to the ped he would cough so hard he couldnt catch his breath and that really scared me - he hasnt had an episode like that.

Thanks for your suggestion :) :hi:


On edit: We dont smoke in the house, BUT... we do have an addition going up and tons and tons of dust everywhere. I keep him out of the area where they're working but when it settles it looks like it snowed in here. In fact, in my addition, I'm not putting ANY carpeting and the only carpeting thats going to be left is in 2 bedrooms upstairs, the rest of the house will be hardwood. I also have a suspicion its allergies but they wont test him until hes 2.

[Tsiyu]

14. Yeah, those little ones bring home all the nice little germies!

I remember those days. My very youngest went through the same thing as yours. We had the pulmo-aid and all that jazz. He outgrew it and is a healthy, non-wheezer today. :)

[eyesroll]

4. That sounds less like "can trigger asthma" and more like "is asthma"

(at least, that's how my BF's daughter was...she's 3 and gets daily albuterol and pulmicort during the winter, as needed in the summer, but she's not had an acute attack in two years...)

Could you get a referral to a specialist, if nothing else to rule out asthma and other breathing disorders?

[purr]

7. I hope its not :(

Was it a constant wheeze? His disappears when he goes to sleep but when hes up its wheeeeeeeeeeeeezy.

I'm going to call tomorrow to see if I can get a referral to a pulmonogist. I cant believe his ped didnt even mention it.

[bleedingheart]

8. Having two asthmatics I can tell you from experience that what

you are experiencing is what I went through with my children.

BUT...it could be a small cold causing this problem.

I live near you I think...I will pm...

[purr]

12. Going to check now.. I never get PMs so I rarely check :)

[China_cat]

9. My youngest did the same.

Turned out he was allergic to milk. Took him off dairy and the wheeze went away and only came back when a teacher decided she knew better than I did and made him drink a glass of milk with his lunch. Try substituting soy (don't use rice 'milk'...not enough nutrition) and see what happens. It can't hurt.

Of course, this is only a suggestion that works if you are not breast feeding.

[LeftyMom]

10. If breastfeeding one can eliminate dairy from the nursing mother's diet

I had to do that with LK.

[purr]

11. Oddly enough, this started after I quit breastfeeding because

I had to go on medication that wasnt good for the baby and this is when it all started. I put him on Soy because my daughter was allergic to regular formula and had bad colic until I put her on Soy.

[Momgonepostal]

15. Soy is another very common allergen

I had similar experiences with my then 4 year old daughter. After the second bout, they did allergy testing and found out she's allergic to molds, soy, peanuts, egg white, wheat and citrus.

I agree with the others that it would be helpful to see a specialist. Good luck to you! :hug:

[InvisibleTouch]

16. Definitely have him checked for asthma.

Those symptoms sound a lot like allergic asthma. I had pneumonia when I was 4 or 5, and have had lifelong asthma thereafter. I suspect it wasn't properly treated and completely healed, thus the damage to the lungs that has stayed with me. Only in recent years have I really gotten it under control.

Be sure your son's condition gets completely healed now, or he'll surely have problems later. I won't go on a rant about problems and frustrations with the medical establishment, but will just say that sometimes you have to keep after them and don't let up until they take you seriously and you get results.

Good luck!