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If I have (mild) asthma and had pneumonia less than 2 months ago and now...


PeterPan
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have a fever again and the pulmonologist canceled your appt for today, when would decide to go to Urgent Care?  Sigh.  Yeah.  It was 101, and now it's going back down.  Runny nose (clear) for several days and tightness, now a fever, body fatigue, and not clear.  Not neon yet.  Let it go a day?  Give up?  

 

When the office called to cancel, they said urgent care was it since he's out.  Cheaper and closer anyway.  Is this something that could clear on its own?  It's just whack, because I wasn't sick for so long, then I got the flu, which turned into pneumonia.  I think it might be stress, as that has been going on the other two times.  We caught the pneumonia really early the 2nd time.  I just don't want to get in there and have them say why are you here, and I don't want an antibiotic if this will just go away, sigh.

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Adding: breathing is ok with inhaler.  Cough is croupy sounding with just a little mucus. I think if it were one step worse I wouldn't even wonder.  It's right on that line.  Ironically my appt today was to x-ray to make sure I was clear from the last round.  :(

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Yes, I would go.  As you probably know, pneumonia is easier to catch the more times you have had it.  Anyway, since you have mild asthma, I assume you don't have a nebulizer at home so a treatment at the urgent care may help you.  Also, have you had a flu shot?  Do you think it could be flu?  If so, Tamiflu could be prescribed and you would want to take it since pneumonia from influenza is very serious.  Do you suspect it may be bacterial?  If it is, antibiotics would help.

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I don't know.  This thing started as a cold.  Could it just be a cold?  Or at least I would call it a cold.  Running nose, sneezing, non-productive cough (the asthma) and increased bronchiospams.  Now the runny nose has stopped and it has gone into my lungs.  It's the fever and body aches that concern me.  I don't think it's the flu, because that's what I had 2 months ago with the previous pneumonia.  That was no cold symptoms, fever, in bed, and within 3 days into obvious pneumonia.  This really comes across more like a cold with the way it started.  I even wondered about allergies (dust) because we've been cleaning out my MIL's house and brought some of the things here.  But nobody else is complaining of dust.

 

Hadn't thought about a nebulizer.  Would that help make sure it doesn't turn *into* pneumonia if it's not already?  But you wouldn't have a fever with a cold, even when t settles in, right?  Or could you?  

 

Ds' ABA person will come soon, so then I'm free to make a choice.  I may just call them and ask.  If it's just a cold, I don't want to be silly.  I just don't think a cold alone should give you a fever and make you hurt all over.

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Ok, Mayo says body aches and fever *are* possible with cold, which I didn't realize.  Says if it goes more than 101.3.  We were right on that line, and it went down. Yeah, it was literally 101.3.  But I think it has gone down some.  

 

So it sounds like I need to keep doing the inhaler. If I *had* a nebulizer (I have no clue what that is) I'd probably do it now.  Is that a scrip kind of thing? Urgent Care won't do everything.  That's why they referred me to the pulmonologist. Is it something you can just go to Walgreens and buy and then like put oils in and breath them or something? I have no clue.

 

It does make sense to me that keeping my airways open will make it less likely to get an infection.

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It delivers the albuterol much more effectively.  Is your mucus colored and what color?  If it is clear, I would only go in if my asthma was bothering me.  Not only can they do a nebulizer treatment but they can assess you and see if you need steroids to help your asthma (like a Medrol dose pack or a prednisone dose pack).  I have received those at times as has my daughter though both of us are now considered to have either moderate to severe asthma.  

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I'd go. My husband had childhood asthma that he eventually outgrew. Many years ago he was very sick, but didn't go to the doctor until he almost passed out while exercising. Turned out he had penuemonia and likely had also had another bout a few months earlier. After that his asthma returned, and he will likely have it for the rest of his life. The doctors said the untreated pneumonia scarred his lungs.

 

A nebulizer is a machine you can buy or rent and you need a prescription for the medicine that goes into it. Often it can be more effective than an inhaler at getting a good dose of medicine into the lungs and opening things up. They could do a treatment with it at the urgent care.

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If I were you I would get standard high strength OTC cough meds at the drug store and wait a day or two to see whether the mucus gets worse.  Because I hate going to UC and either not getting treated or just getting referred.  But then, I have a primary care physician who knows me well enough to get me IN when I say I need it, so it's less risky for me to hold off.  I don't pull the fire alarm often but when I do it's because it's serious.  So I know I could email her and say, I have these symptoms, I think it's pneu again, feels just the same, mucus is colorful, I think I need antibiotics, or at least a chest xray, and she would arrange whichever one she thought was best, OR a phone appointment to figure out what to do that same day.  

 

Based on what you have said, you might have pneu that resisted the antibiotics somewhat and was exacerbated by the fresh cold (likely) or you might have a reinfection (likely), but you might also have bronchitis, which feels similar, doesn't show up in chest xrays, but needs antibiotics to heal, and really knocks you down.  IME, you have to have been sick for 7-10 days and not be improving to get antibiotics for bronchitis.  If that's your reality, you should be able to describe it to your doctor and get either a presciption or an appointment.  

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OhE, gently, it really sounds like you might want to be on some maintenance meds (like pulmicort or flovent or advair) through this winter season. It makes an ENORMOUS difference in how easily I recover from minor colds.  Keeping the inflammation down in my airway tissues gives them a chance to clear and heal as opposed to just reacting to inflammation overload (which is what albuterol does as a bronchiodialator).

 

If I were you, I'd go in.  It sounds like you might have a secondary infection starting.

 

Also, do you have known allergies that you aren't addressing?

 

Finally, did you start elderberry the second you thought you might be coming down with something?  I'd hit it hard now and in the future. It's a natural anti-viral and it sounds like your body is having a hard time.

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Know anything about spacers for inhalers?  Do I need a nebulizer at home for emergencies? It's saying here if you use one it makes your administration better, which can reduce the need for a nebulizer. I'm trying to figure out if this is something I can just go to the store and buy?

 

Amazon sells a spacer. I heard either Walgreens or CVS just started carrying them.  My asthma dr., who I think may be slightly off in his statistics, said:

 

albuterol just inhaler = 1x efficacy

albuterol with spacer: 7x efficacy

albuterol through nebulizer: 30x efficacy

 

He was yelling at me at the time for using my nebulizer instead of going to the ER, but my point was that the nebulizer kept me from a $3K ER bill.

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I strongly prefer the aerochamber made by Monaghan, fwiw, as my spacer.

 

Looks like CVS is carrying it, at least online: http://www.cvs.com/shop/home-health-care/other-daily-living-aids/respiratory-therapy/monaghan-medical-aerochamber-plus-z-stat-avhc-with-comfortseal-mask-medium-prodid-549525

Edited by kbeal
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No advice about lung issues, but one other possibility is sinus infection. 

 

Hydrate like CRAZY. More than you think you could possibly need. Cold symptoms + fever burn through fluids, and we've had a few illnesses that just never quite resolved for weeks until we went nuts with fluids.

 

Hoping you feel better soon!

 

Amy

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So would pharmacies have the spacer in stock if I get the doctor to prescribe it?  Or is online with CVS the only way to get it?

 

My son used to have asthma (he's outgrown it now), but we were able to pick up his spacer at the pharmacy as soon as it was prescribed.  We used Walmart pharmacy.

 

Hope you feel better soon! 

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Our prescription insurance covered most of the cost of the device, we got it via prescription back in ye olden days.  Most pharmacies carry a few in stock, but sometimes you have to wait overnight.  GoodRx says that they are $37.24 at my local walmart.

Can you call your doctor's office and ask them to send in a RX for the spacer for you.  It's really something they should have prescribed for you when you got the inhaler.  Like, I think less of them because they didn't prescribe a spacer for you. ;)

 

It appears that CVS is allowing you to buy it without a RX and some stores are carrying it in stock on the shelf. So, it may have crossed over to no longer needing a RX.

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Good news!  The pulm office has them in stock and would have just given me one, but I'm far enough away that it's probably not worth the drive.  However I found a pharmacy that has the Aerochamber with mouthpiece, score!  So the pulm office will call that in, and I should have this critter!

 

And yes, I agree, that is pretty odd that he didn't bother to give me something that makes it SO much more effective, mercy.

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We got me some mucinex and are being really aggressive with the inhaler.  I'm finally warming back up and able to walk.  They never did get the spacer called in and filled, sigh.  I may just beg dh to go to that doc tomorrow and get it.  This is absurd.  I think if I had that 7X boost, I'd have a chance!

 

Next is to find the thermometer (which I brilliantly mislaid) and take my temp again.  It has been staying right at 101.3, which is really kind of wild. The Mayo site said that was where you flip over to heading to the doc.  To me the mucinex is loosening things up so I get a little more productivity from the cough.  I'm definitely feeling better than I was a few hours ago, but every time I take that temp again I get scared.  

 

Anyways, that's your update on where it's at.  I think what I'll do is keep taking my temps and then talk it through with the nurse at the pulm office in the morning.  She seemed nice.  

 

If you have a pulmonologist, is it normal to be seen by them if you have an event going on?  That doc, whom I've only seen once, was out today on emergency.  I wish they had said oh let's have you see another doc since you're sick, kwim?  I didn't press, because I thought I'd just go to Urgent Care.  But is it better to do it all with the pulm office once you have that relationship?  Ironically, Urgent Care is cheaper, way cheaper. You just don't get any follow-up or logic.  They just patch you up to survive. On the other hand, this doc #1 at the pulm didn't even give me a stupid spacer.  It makes me wonder what ELSE he was supposed to do that he didn't do, kwim?  

Edited by OhElizabeth
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Hope you're seeing some improvement tomorrow. I had such a good experience with Urgent Care when I had pneumonia that I wouldn't hesitate to go back. I had a PA and she spent a lot of time with me and was very thorough. I think pneumonia is something they see often enough that they know what they're doing--I'm assuming lots of that is with asthma patients too.

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Do you have a peak flow meter? It is best to take your peak flow daily and then when you see it drop you have additional, concrete info that things are deteriorating.

 

http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/asthma/living-with-asthma/managing-asthma/measuring-your-peak-flow-rate.html

 

Add that to the list of things the pulmonologist didn't mention.  

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Add that to the list of things the pulmonologist didn't mention.

Are there other options for pulmonologists? A peek flow meter and spacer are like asthma 101 things. Having theeds here at home and knowing when and how to use them (and when to go to ER ) has been wonderful. We also have a pulse ox thing to make sure her oxygen levels are good.

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I second the possible need to look for a better pulmonologist.  Sounds like this one you have now is not explaining things well, or even giving you the best care.  I also second the suggestions for proactive maintenance once you get over this so that no further damage is done to your system.  If your pulmonologist is not trying for that, get a new one if you can.

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Yes, your pulmonologist doesn't seem to be on the ball. But one thing I noticed when I first got asthma was that most health personal seemed to think you knew all about it since you grew up with it. I didn't.  I developed it in my 30s.  My dh also developed asthma as an adult.  I don't think it is as rare as some people seem to think.

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He explained NOTHING.  He listened a while, said it was asthma, said he'd do a scrip, said he wanted to keep me off Singulair if possible but that if I was still having symptoms when I came back in 6 weeks we would talk allergies.  No discussion of flow meters or spacers.  No caution about colds at all, even though we were going into winter.  I'm just sort of horrified now.  Last night I could hardly even walk!  I was out of breath the evening before while trying to exercise.  That's freaky. 

 

I'm doing much better this morning, btw.  I'm still watching it, but my temp has finally gone down below 100.  With the mucinex, my cough is now just kind of a normal cough, not that croupy pneumonia cough. I'm getting hopeful I may recover!

 

This was a pulmonologist at a hospital, so I assumed he'd be whiz bang.  But I was desperate and just using a nurse referral line, kwim?  There is literally only ONE pulmonologist in our town, I kid you not.  I had to drive to the big city, and I just took who they said was available.  Now that I have the scrip and a start, I can be more picky.  I might be able to look at all the pulms in the practice there and find a more experienced one or one with a better rep.  The practice itself was convenient.  The pricing is ridiculous, because it's double the cost of urgent care.  Sigh.  Don't know why I keep harping on that, except it really bugs me.  Are there *private* pulmonologists who aren't in a hospital who would have more sensible rates? 

Edited by OhElizabeth
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He explained NOTHING.  He listened a while, said it was asthma, said he'd do a scrip, said he wanted to keep me off Singulair if possible but that if I was still having symptoms when I came back in 6 weeks we would talk allergies.  No discussion of flow meters or spacers.  No caution about colds at all, even though we were going into winter.  I'm just sort of horrified now.  Last night I could hardly even walk!  I was out of breath the evening before while trying to exercise.  That's freaky. 

 

I'm doing much better this morning, btw.  I'm still watching it, but my temp has finally gone down below 100.  With the mucinex, my cough is now just kind of a normal cough, not that croupy pneumonia cough. I'm getting hopeful I may recover!

 

This was a pulmonologist at a hospital, so I assumed he'd be whiz bang.  But I was desperate and just using a nurse referral line, kwim?  There is literally only ONE pulmonologist in our town, I kid you not.  I had to drive to the big city, and I just took who they said was available.  Now that I have the scrip and a start, I can be more picky.  I might be able to look at all the pulms in the practice there and find a more experienced one or one with a better rep.  The practice itself was convenient.  The pricing is ridiculous, because it's double the cost of urgent care.  Sigh.  Don't know why I keep harping on that, except it really bugs me.  Are there *private* pulmonologists who aren't in a hospital who would have more sensible rates? 

Yeah, I sympathize with the lack of options.  We actually don't have any pulmonologists in the immediate area.  One guy drives in once a month to see whomever he can squeeze in.  I don't really blame the guy for rushing people through.  There are a lot of patients to see.  The last time Mom went she didn't get seen until 10pm (she arrived at 5pm for her scheduled exam) and the guy had been there since early that morning.

 

You should start networking and see if you can find a private one but I don't know where you would start doing that.

 

:grouphug:

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Ok, this is terrible to say, but if the hospital is in a bad part of town, like not the best part of a big city (but it was close to us), would they have like the lesser or less-preferred doctors?  And if that hospital system has like 4 or 5 locations and some are in swankier parts of the city, then would the swankier parts of town get the better doctors?  Or do hospitals sort of interview and make sure all their docs got As?

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Yeah, I sympathize with the lack of options.  We actually don't have any pulmonologists in the immediate area.  One guy drives in once a month to see whomever he can squeeze in.  I don't really blame the guy for rushing people through.  There are a lot of patients to see.  The last time Mom went she didn't get seen until 10pm (she arrived at 5pm for her scheduled exam) and the guy had been there since early that morning.

 

You should start networking and see if you can find a private one but I don't know where you would start doing that.

 

:grouphug:

 

Oh my!  Well this practice wasn't like that.  It was with a hospital, and they were relatively on-time.  That would not have been acceptable to me to have a long wait like that.  The big city has LOTS of pulmonologists and lots of hospitals.  It's just in our town (not in the big city) where I can't even get in.  Sigh.

 

So I'm googling this some more, and it really looks like the pulmonologists, for the most part, are associated with hospitals.  It makes sense because they need the x-ray equipment and cat scans and stuff.  So I need to figure out if there's a more dependable doc in that practice (in a hospital, in a less affluent part of the town) or if I need to go maybe to a swankier branch to get a better doctor.  I just assumed that wasn't the case, sigh.  Like all people deserve reasonable care, not just rich people, mercy.

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Oh my!  Well this practice wasn't like that.  It was with a hospital, and they were relatively on-time.  That would not have been acceptable to me to have a long wait like that.  The big city has LOTS of pulmonologists and lots of hospitals.  It's just in our town (not in the big city) where I can't even get in.  Sigh.

 

So I'm googling this some more, and it really looks like the pulmonologists, for the most part, are associated with hospitals.  It makes sense because they need the x-ray equipment and cat scans and stuff.  So I need to figure out if there's a more dependable doc in that practice (in a hospital, in a less affluent part of the town) or if I need to go maybe to a swankier branch to get a better doctor.  I just assumed that wasn't the case, sigh.  Like all people deserve reasonable care, not just rich people, mercy.

:iagree:

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Wow, took a fresh dose of the mucinex, and now I'm really coughing!  So that's good, because we're getting it out.

 

I found a way to search multiple places in our area and limit by accepting patients, etc. There's a practice associated with a hospital (probably a better part of town) that has a CNP.  That's kind of interesting.  And they're so big, they have lots of people accepting.  

 

I'm realizing the hospital I went to wasn't listing people there, which is odd.  I'll have to go look more.  We'll get it figured out.  At least now things aren't so pressing and I can slow down and get somebody. 

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Wow, I'm looking this up on the website, and now it makes sense.  I'm just boring to them.  I have some mild asthma, nothing thrilling, and mild dog/dust/life allergies that aggravate it.  This place was like super high end, able to do really whiz bang things.  He may have just been bored with me, like why are you here.  All I did was what the urgent care said to, kwim?  

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Wow, I'm looking this up on the website, and now it makes sense.  I'm just boring to them.  I have some mild asthma, nothing thrilling, and mild dog/dust/life allergies that aggravate it.  This place was like super high end, able to do really whiz bang things.  He may have just been bored with me, like why are you here.  All I did was what the urgent care said to, kwim?  

:laugh:   I guess I'd rather be boring than interesting in the field of medicine.  Maybe this is a sort of good thing.

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So would pharmacies have the spacer in stock if I get the doctor to prescribe it?  Or is online with CVS the only way to get it?

My doc said in a pinch you could roll a paper about 6 inches long into a tube shape that has the same diameter as the inhaler mouth piece and use that as a spacer until you get a real spacer. Also I would definitely get a nebulzier and nebulizer meds. Having a peak flow meter is also useful. Plus if you are not onj maintenance meds then get them such as advair or flovent. Also, take plain mucinex to help prevent pneumonia when sick or having problems with mucus.

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If you are too boring for the pulmo and are looking for another doc, everything you mention is handled by an allergist, at least in our area, even at National Jewish (big time, nationally-known asthma hospital, though we don't go there anymore).  Plus the allergists here are quick to throw in some allergy testing and spirometry.  And usually the nurse/assistant will go over proper use of the inhaler with spacer to make sure you understand the technique before you leave the office.

 

I agree w/prairiewind that it may be worth considering maintenance meds like Flovent, e.g. if you are going to get pneumonia twice in a year or are having wheezing with every cold.  Something to talk over with the doc.

 

Whether you need a prescription for the neb machine itself will depend on your state.  They are much cheaper than they were 12 years ago when we first got one.  Plus, you can rig it up to inflate a pool.

 

FWIW, I got a new spacer for ds last time we were at the allergist and later got a bill that was huge for the stupid piece of plastic, like $75 or something (LOL I could get a neb machine for that).  I thought they were giving it to me out of the pharmaceutical stash but I guess not.

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For maintenance meds, I would avoid Advair if at all possible. It causes reflux in a lot of people, which exacerbates asthma. My asthma got bad after a move to a new city and I went on Advair. It got worse, they upped my dosage, worse again, ditto. Finally MIL mentioned some research she had read, I told my doctor I wanted to switch (to Flovent, I think), Doctor derided me roundly but finally agreed to the change. And wow, it was like night and day. Advair is the devil.

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Advair is the devil.

 

Advair caused my ds severe insomnia so we went with Symbicort or Dulera (other LABAs).  But, he had growth problems after a year on LABAs.  Flovent is less long-acting and generally less powerful.  Our old allergist when nuts when I begged to go back to Flovent (ds had a hospitalization and typically had terrible spirometry results) and would *never* admit that the LABA is why he didn't grow for a year.  So eventually we switched to a new allergist who got us squared away.  Ds is now doing really well on Flovent and we are finishing up allergy shots.

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Ok, this is terrible to say, but if the hospital is in a bad part of town, like not the best part of a big city (but it was close to us), would they have like the lesser or less-preferred doctors? And if that hospital system has like 4 or 5 locations and some are in swankier parts of the city, then would the swankier parts of town get the better doctors? Or do hospitals sort of interview and make sure all their docs got As?

The hospital here with multiple locations the Dr.s rotate where they are. so all the Dr.'s are at multiple locations throughout the week.

 

I will say the best care we ever got was when my son was in a hospital in a bad location. Like, the hospital locks its doors at dusk and you don't leave unless your life depended on it. He was there 8 days. I wanted him at the Children's hospital but my husband didn't want to question them (he was being transported from ER to hospital by ambulance). So glad I didnt get my way.

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My doc said in a pinch you could roll a paper about 6 inches long into a tube shape that has the same diameter as the inhaler mouth piece and use that as a spacer until you get a real spacer. Also I would definitely get a nebulzier and nebulizer meds. Having a peak flow meter is also useful. Plus if you are not onj maintenance meds then get them such as advair or flovent. Also, take plain mucinex to help prevent pneumonia when sick or having problems with mucus.

 

I know, with this hindsight, now having tried the Mucinex, I'm SO upset that he didn't mention this.  It was like MAGIC.  I think it might have saved me from pneumonia the other time, had I known.  I didn't know and wasn't diagnosed then, so it's not his fault.  But why didn't he TELL me any of these things this time? Oh well, at least y'all did.  

 

I almost wonder if he didn't want to overwhelm me?  I mean, I was really sick when I went in the first time.  The antibiotic was done, but I was weak and coughing a lot.  I probably wasn't up to dealing with a lot, but still he could have said SOMETHING.  Instead it was more like have a scrip, if you need singulair call.  I think I must not be intuitive on what NEED means, lol.

Edited by OhElizabeth
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The hospital here with multiple locations the Dr.s rotate where they are. so all the Dr.'s are at multiple locations throughout the week.

 

I will say the best care we ever got was when my son was in a hospital in a bad location. Like, the hospital locks its doors at dusk and you don't leave unless your life depended on it. He was there 8 days. I wanted him at the Children's hospital but my husband didn't want to question them (he was being transported from ER to hospital by ambulance). So glad I didnt get my way.

 

I didn't know that, but it makes sense!  That makes me feel better!  And you might be right, because the list of what they do in this office is pretty wild.  

 

 

If you are too boring for the pulmo and are looking for another doc, everything you mention is handled by an allergist, at least in our area, even at National Jewish (big time, nationally-known asthma hospital, though we don't go there anymore).  Plus the allergists here are quick to throw in some allergy testing and spirometry.  And usually the nurse/assistant will go over proper use of the inhaler with spacer to make sure you understand the technique before you leave the office.

 

I agree w/prairiewind that it may be worth considering maintenance meds like Flovent, e.g. if you are going to get pneumonia twice in a year or are having wheezing with every cold.  Something to talk over with the doc.

 

Whether you need a prescription for the neb machine itself will depend on your state.  They are much cheaper than they were 12 years ago when we first got one.  Plus, you can rig it up to inflate a pool.

 

FWIW, I got a new spacer for ds last time we were at the allergist and later got a bill that was huge for the stupid piece of plastic, like $75 or something (LOL I could get a neb machine for that).  I thought they were giving it to me out of the pharmaceutical stash but I guess not.

 

Hmm, that explains why he mentioned we'd talk allergies if I wasn't improving.  Like I figured out the allergies were making it flair, but he may have meant a referral, duh.  

 

Gonna go take my temps.  It feels like it's going back up. Well that's good!  Going back up was 99.1!  That's a good sign.

Edited by OhElizabeth
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Wow, I'm looking this up on the website, and now it makes sense.  I'm just boring to them.  I have some mild asthma, nothing thrilling, and mild dog/dust/life allergies that aggravate it.  This place was like super high end, able to do really whiz bang things.  He may have just been bored with me, like why are you here.  All I did was what the urgent care said to, kwim?  

 

I would give the doctor one more chance. In his defense, you hadn't had asthma problems before, were coming in because of a second case of pneumonia (not 5th or 10th), and there just wasn't evidence yet that this would be an ongoing and/or escalating problem. Now (with more evidence of problems) it is time to get more complete instructions on everything you need to know to take care of your lungs and  perform home care that will keep you out of doctor's offices, urgent care, ER's, or the hospital.

 

Glad things are looking better today.

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I know, with this hindsight, now having tried the Mucinex, I'm SO upset that he didn't mention this.  It was like MAGIC.

See, this is why I brought it up, because my docs never suggest cough meds.

The thinking is, asthma is caused by inflammation in your chest, and reflux, and allergies, and consists of constricted airways, so you address the reflux, allergies, and inflammation but you don't figure on cough medicine working.  

 

And in fact, it doesn't work by itself, but in combo with the other stuff it is often the difference between having horrible symptoms and having almost none, so it kind of gives you the space to heal, but since it doesn't heal you, they don't want you to just do that.  So now that you know that it helps, that's really good; just remember not to ONLY use that.

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I would give the doctor one more chance. In his defense, you hadn't had asthma problems before, were coming in because of a second case of pneumonia (not 5th or 10th), and there just wasn't evidence yet that this would be an ongoing and/or escalating problem. Now (with more evidence of problems) it is time to get more complete instructions on everything you need to know to take care of your lungs and  perform home care that will keep you out of doctor's offices, urgent care, ER's, or the hospital.

 

Glad things are looking better today.

 

Ok, then I'll take a deep breath (haha) and go back.  You're right that that's what happened.  He even said the same thing, like why did they refer you, that most people had bronchitis 3 times in 6 months before they got referred.  I'm like I don't know, the nurse practitioner at Urgent Care looked in my ears and said they were too clean and referred me?   :lol:   For real, he said my ears were too clean and it meant my immune system was low. 

 

 

See, this is why I brought it up, because my docs never suggest cough meds.

The thinking is, asthma is caused by inflammation in your chest, and reflux, and allergies, and consists of constricted airways, so you address the reflux, allergies, and inflammation but you don't figure on cough medicine working.  

 

And in fact, it doesn't work by itself, but in combo with the other stuff it is often the difference between having horrible symptoms and having almost none, so it kind of gives you the space to heal, but since it doesn't heal you, they don't want you to just do that.  So now that you know that it helps, that's really good; just remember not to ONLY use that.

 

The allergies are going to be a more involved question.  I have some wool rugs I know I react to, a small, low allergen dog, and of course dust in abundance.  But I dno't really want to get rid of my dog or the rugs, kwim?  The dust I'm cool with going, lol.  But I get what you're saying.  And I did read the Mucinex can make things worse for some people. I was just glad for me it was good.  Like you're saying, it at least made sense.

 

I let my health go for a year here, taking care of stuff for ds, and now I've got this mess.   :(

 

Adding: the mucinex makes me feel a little funny, so I would only take it for emergencies like this, not all the time. But I *might* be able to convince dh a housekeeper is medically necessary for the dust.   :lol:  :lol:

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Edited by OhElizabeth
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