xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

ds is a week shy of 4 months. he had croup first and then he got bronchilitis.

when can i see improvement?


should i ask to get a chest xray? he started prednisone on monday for croup - by thursday his barking breathing was gone but replaced with a very wet cough and he was hving a hard time breathing...so he was diagnosed with bronchilities. were doing the nebulizer every 4 hrs with xopenex and every 12 hrs as a combo of xopenex and pulimcort.


im getting a bit nervous bc he cant keep formula down - the dr said to give him pedialyte mixed with a soy based formula. he still throws that up but tolerates 3 oz of pedilyte every few hrs. his cough is still awful and his breathing still has wheezing. he has terrible stinky (Sorry tmi) diarreah and is not really eating - just drinking pedialyte to keep him hydrated. - he also been sleeping alot and had a low grade temp twice in 3 days. (99.4)

his ped must think im a looney bc ive gone in every day and told its a virus and needs to run its course but how long should? should i just go in agian today and ask for a chest xray or should i just bring him to the er?

im so scared it may turn into pneumonia


eta: another tmi but may be significant when he sneezes lots of boogers come out. first they were clear now they are yellow

Message edited 1/24/2010 8:51:22 AM.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

anyone?

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

Im sorry your baby is sick! My DS has asthma so I'm familiar with the nerve wracking feeling you are going through. I also have asthma myself so I know how scary it is. The good thing is that his cough got loose and, while grose, it's good that boogers are coming out when he sneezes. It's better to have it out of him then in him.

I wouldn't ask for a chest Xray unless you felt that you could hear him wheezing. When you watch him breath, is he pulling from his belly? Does it look like he is struggling to breath even after the neb treatment? If so, call the dr. If he is bettr after the treatment but seems to need it after 3-4 hours, then that's more on the normal scale. But, it should improve.

You can also give him motrin/tylenol for his fever.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

I hate to say it but it sounds like he may have a stomach virus too
I would call your ped again!

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

just b/c of his age i would call the ped again and tell him all the symptoms. i would list them on paper before i call so i can make sure i tell them everything (b/c once they start talking i tend to forget to mention a thing or two)


oh...and yellow buggers are not necessarily a sign of something bad (infection) b/c when the mucus sits in the nasal passage is when it gets like that.

i work in healthcare and specifically with breathing problems so if you have ANY questions FM me
i hope he feels better

Message edited 1/24/2010 10:38:26 AM.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

My DS had RSV at 10 weeks, so I know how scary this is. The fact that when he sneezes his boogers come out is a good thing -- it means he is getting it out. The yellow is nothing to worry about either -- its just old stuff coming out. Do you use a cool mist humidifier? That helped with us. We also did the nebulizer every four hours -- fun times. My DS lost his appetite and some weight. It had me very worried as well, but he did put it back on. I think the not being able to keep much down may be related to all the mucous in his system -- that upsets the belly. If you are worried bring him to the ped as much as you need to. Don't worry about what she/he thinks. I don't know if I would risk going to the ER because he could pick up something else there. I hope he feels better soon. I am so sorry you are going through this.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

DD#1 is a chronic Pneumonia kid, I can tell you that even if he has it, they will probably not change much in the way of treatment. So it may be better to not expose him to the radiation. My DD seems to get very little relief from the xopenex and pulimicort.(we do it anyway) They usually give her an antibiotic and it has to run its coarse. She usually ends up coughing for weeks.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

I would see a specialist - both Pulmonary and GI. Asthma and reflux can have a strange circular relationship where one instigates the other - often triggered by a virus. The product of which is one miserable little baby. (If you would like the contact info for the specialists, message me and I'll send it. They are in the same practice and can coordinate treatment.)

DS2 was hospitalized at 3 weeks old with pneumonia. His breathing hadn't dramatically changed before we took him to the hospital. The only indication that there was something wrong was a temp over 102. In a 3 week old, that's scary.

We have been through the ringer with DS2 (who has a lot of other medical problems as well). One thing that I learned very quickly is that you have to trust your "Mommy Radar". You know your child best and if something isn't right - even if you're having a hard time expressing what that "something" is- follow your instinct.

Personally, I would rather the doctors think that I'm a neurotic nutjob and have the tests done than wait.
HTH, and again, feel free to e-mail me if you would like some info.
Christa

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

As long as the kid is peeing and holding down the pedialyte I'd ride it out. Some respiratory viruses can take 1 to 2 weeks to fully run their course. Also, it sounds they're getting over a respiratory bug and now with the vomiting and diarrhea caught a stomach virus.

A weeks worth of symptoms is hardly enough of a reason to go any specialist. While it's true there's a linke between GE reflux and asthma usually the course is more insidious over a month or more. From the story this kid has had one bout of respiratory stuff followed by vomiting AND DIARRHEA (not associated with GERD).

There have been neumerous studies that have shown no relationship between the color of sputum and whether an infection is viral or bacteria.

Hope that helps...

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

To help the diarrhea you could try probiotics. You can get drops(try Whole Foods or a vitamin store) or give 6 oz of yogurt with live bacteria every day. I noticed a difference just giving my kids yogurt but others swear by the drops.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

thank you everyone! i just spoke to my ped again and i am so thankful to go to this practice!

she didnt make me feel like a nutjob for calling again. shhe wants to see ds tomorrow again. she said sometimes setbacks can happen. we discussed a chest xray one of the days i went last week so she wants ds to get it done early in the am now that hes wheezing again.
she said depending what the xray shows she may start him on antibiotics.

she does not think the ER is necessary unless he continues to wheeze after a treatment or wheezing gets really bad. i dont really want to expose him to any bacteria/viruses unless its absolutely necessary.

thank u for helping this worrying mom out!!!

Message edited 1/24/2010 1:57:42 PM.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

Posted by DRMom

To help the diarrhea you could try probiotics. You can get drops(try Whole Foods or a vitamin store) or give 6 oz of yogurt with live bacteria every day. I noticed a difference just giving my kids yogurt but others swear by the drops.

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

Posted by WNA01

thank you everyone! i just spoke to my ped again and i am so thankful to go to this practice!

she didnt make me feel like a nutjob for calling again. shhe wants to see ds tomorrow again. she said sometimes setbacks can happen. we discussed a chest xray one of the days i went last week so she wants ds to get it done early in the am now that hes wheezing again.
she said depending what the xray shows she may start him on antibiotics.

she does not think the ER is necessary unless he continues to wheeze after a treatment or wheezing gets really bad. i dont really want to expose him to any bacteria/viruses unless its absolutely necessary.

thank u for helping this worrying mom out!!!

Re: xopenex and pulmicort - what should i do?

yes...I should have mentioned that...my DS was also put on antibiotics and that is when he really started to show improvement. It took a good 10 days for him to seem really good again. Hope your little guy feels better soon!