Last week Brandon and I got sick with a pretty bad cold. It was one of those chest colds that ended up with lots of coughing and runny noses (we went through a few boxes of kleenex between the two of us). Brandon got it pretty bad in his chest and was having a hard time breathing. Thursday night he was up three different times throughout the night, which for Brandon is NOT normal at all (unless it's to sneak some video game time). I was starting to think that I probably needed to take him into the doctor the next morning when he was laying in bed with us, wheezing and coughing. I finally decided to take him in Friday morning and when the doctor listened to his chest, he almost immediately called him an asthmatic. They gave him a breathing treatment in the office and he sounded a lot better and so they sent me home with our own nebulizer and prescriptions for all the medicine he would need. It was a very interesting appointment, and by the time I got home I just wasn't sure about how I felt about the whole asthma thing. It doesn't surprise me that he could have asthma (it runs in both of our families) and really if that's what it is, that's fine. I think what surprised me was that it was like all of the sudden Brandon has asthma. We've never had problems in the past with him and he gets one bad cold here and now he's an asthmatic. And, if you know Brandon, he's one big ball of energy that just goes and goes and goes from the time he wakes up in the morning until he falls asleep at night. I guess we would have noticed something in his behavior if he was having a consistent problem with breathing before now.
I was ready to take the machine back to the office and just let his body deal with being sick, but then after I realized that his breathing had gotten a lot worse from the time he had his treatment in the office and when I picked up his medicine we were probably doing the right thing. So, this weekend, Brandon has been doing breathing treatments 3 times a day and is on a steroid, predisone, to help reduce the inflammation in his lungs. He's doing better breathing-wise, but I am still trying to decide if this is really asthma or just a really bad cold.
I guess it's better safe than sorry, right?
9 comments:
Hi Ronni,
I just found your blog from the Fund's blog. It so fun to see your pictures. You must be loving Chicago! You guys have been doing a lot of moving lately, haven't you?
A few years ago Bryce got pneumonia and then suddenly had asthma but it was only induced by a cold. Luckily he outgrew it within a couple of years, but the nebulizer treatments always really helped. If Brandon does have it hopefully he will outgrow it too.
I'm glad that the breathing treatments have helped him! Hopefully it will get under control soon! It sucks when you can't breathe! :)
Don't mess with asthma. I'm hardly ever affected anymore, but this winter I exercised outside when it was really cold, and had a bad attack. I finally went to the doctor, who almost sent me straight to the hospital. I had a fever of 104*, was coughing, couldn't breathe, and felt terrible. They sent me home with a nebulizer and prednisone, too. It helped a ton (thanks to mom, dad and Whitney's persistance!!). Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon!
Asthma isn't something to mess with! Whitney would get it almost every time she got sick! Of course, she got it without being sick too, but with some people a cold, bronchitis or other sickness can trigger it. It's good you had him checked and he does look cute in the photos you took! Hopefully he won't have much problem with it. By the way, how's his skin?
I agree full heartedly that you don't mess with asthma! Take it from one who knows how awful it feels to struggle to breathe and the relief I get from nebulizers (and prednisone on occasion!) I'm so grateful for modern medicine and technology! I know others who only get it when they're sick and no other time. Poor little guy! I hope he feels better soon!
Spencer and Carter are very prone to have an asthmatic reaction to a bronchial infection/chest cold. My doctor wanted me to put Carter on a steroid, but I wasn't convinced. When either of them get really bad colds, mostly Carter now, I whip out the inhaler and use it till their better. But I don't give him puffs and stuff when he's healthy, because like you- I haven't noticed any change in his behavior when he's well. So, I'm glad Brandon's doing better, and who knows? But at least you do know it's working and you can decide what to do later.
...I bet he loves the breathing with the nebulizer. Boys and gadgets, right?
It must have been wierd to have him be diagnosed. If he really does have asthma he'll be fine and be able to do what ever he wants. We once watched a guy climb Mt Everst with asthma!! Coll Huh?
Poor Brandon! -What great pictures- you're getting so good with your camera! I hope he's feeling better soon!
Hey Ronni, Caden has the same problem. His asthma is always induced by respiratory illnesses. It really doesn't inhibit him at all because it's not exercise induced and he doesn't have allergies. He does have to take a "maintenance" medicine every day throughout flu season called Flovent but as long as he's doing that, he doesn't have any trouble. I hope Brandon feels better soon! Good luck!
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