amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 My ds has had asthma since he was 6-8 months old. It was not officially called asthma until he was 3. My poor little man has a cold with a sore throat and cough (i know, could be any number of things, but unless he needs the dr, im calling it a cold!). Part of his asthma action plan includes getting xopenex on board 3x per day when he is sick with anything until it passes, plus a week. It has been quite some time since he has been ill for more than a day and we are out of xopenex (i have albuterol inhaler and spacer for emergencies). I called the ped who was ok with calling in some meds, which is great. However, after spending a lot of time with pulmonologists, other docs annoy me a bit. This happens with all non-pulmo docs we have seen. They ask what the xopenex is for if he is not wheezing, then why xopenex over albuterol, then still do not understand why we treat without wheezing. Wheezing is simply one possible sign. An itchy chin, moodiness, hyperactivity, low peak flow readings, purple around eyes, etc are also possible signs and symptoms that more meds should be on board daily care for a while. Ds just does not wheeze. His peak flow is very low right now because his throat hurts. So i monitor with other tools that the pulmo trained me with- LOOKING at ds, using a pulse-ox reader, and a stethoscope. Just give us the meds. If i feel he needs more than i can give, i would not hesitate to head to the ER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Indeed. Ian's one of my sons rarely wheeze. But we do cough, get really tired (lack of proper airflow will do that!), and so forth. If I start wheezing - that's a bad bad sign. I go from wheezing to gasping for air pretty quick. I'd hate to have a dr who insisted that if I wasn't wheezing despite all other indicator I'm not getting good air flow, then I don't need medication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I believe I have undiagnosed asthma, ever since I was a kid. One of the reasons my parent never pursued it was because I'd cough, not wheeze. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 :iagree: My daughter has asthma and has never wheezed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I believe I have undiagnosed asthma, ever since I was a kid. One of the reasons my parent never pursued it was because I'd cough, not wheeze. :glare: :001_huh: That's nuts. Some times I get coughing fits so bad I can't walk across the room because their is barely space between coughs to breath. It's exhausting. And the meds are no picnic. I get bad headaches for a couple hours after using an inhaler. Then the jitters hit and make me nauseated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I appreciate knowing this information--I was unaware. My 11yo daughter developed asthma last spring, but it seems to have been a seasonal thing that happened in response to a particularly allergenic spring. She hasn't had a problem in a year, but she still carries the inhaler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 So true! My asthma has to be REALLY bad for me to wheeze. But low flow, exhaustion, etc are totally clues. And yes, getting sick is a HUGE trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Yay! Xopenex went through with no problems. I hate to use albuterol when he already has a sore throat. I have to make ds's yearly pulmo appt so i can just keep going through him. Cough as the only symptom is usually cough varient asthma. Go get yourselves checked out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I have severe asthma and have never wheezed. My peak flow drops, my chest hurts, I get tired, my oxygen level drops dangerously low, and I silently suffocate. No wheezing, ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kengjw Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 My ds 6, has what we believe to be "cough variant asthma" and maybe they call it "silent asthma" as well. He would start coughing after a cold. At first I thought he had allergies but then I realized the pattern and finally took him to a dr few weeks ago. He had no wheezing at all but he sure coughed a lot day and night. He was on an inhaler and his cough stopped completely after few days. Julia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm constantly appalled at the lack of asthma knowledge among peds and other health care workers. Don't they get this training in school? They can't teach their patients if they don't know. If I had a nickle for every time I come across someone who should know or should have been told about "coughing asthma..." Ds was diag'd with reactive airways til he was about 6, just because the dr didn't want to have asthma on his record. WHat the heck? I finally went somewhere else (a well-trained ped recommended by a friend with immune-deficient and asthmatic kids) and was amazed by the difference in care, and by the results. It burns me up to think of all these under-treated kiddos out there. Breathing is pretty dang essential, don't you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Another non-wheezing asthmatic kid here. Coughing, exhaustion, low peak flows, even bizarre mood changes. He didn't even wheeze when he had pneumonia, with significant retracting, before we knew he had asthma. Just not a wheezer. Chris in VA, we are in No VA, too, I'd love to know the name of your doc who really "gets" it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Yes, our doc calls this "quiet asthma." Elegantlion, that little niggling cough, especially at night, is a common symptom. A low peak flow meter reading, and/or an inconsistent one over time, should be a sufficient indicator for meds. But insurance companies don't like to give you xoponex if they can get you to take albuterol, it's expensive. I did a few go-rounds with our provider and our doc finally wrote them a letter saying the Rx was for xoponex only, not a generic albuterol substitute. Unfortunately, it's all about the money. My copay still is higher, but least I can actually afford it when it's needed ($26 covered, $150 not covered). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Another non-wheezing asthmatic kid here. Coughing, exhaustion, low peak flows, even bizarre mood changes. He didn't even wheeze when he had pneumonia, with significant retracting, before we knew he had asthma. Just not a wheezer. Chris in VA, we are in No VA, too, I'd love to know the name of your doc who really "gets" it! Ah, sorry--this was in Dallas before we moved 10 years ago. Our doc here isn't all that great with it, but thankfully, ds' asthma moderated greated over the years and isn't really a problem anymore. Now if I could find a decent cardiologist for him, I'd be very, very happy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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