Saturday, November 25, 2006

Iggy is a NIGHTMARE on Flovent

11-month-old Ig is a demon on Flovent. Man, I thought that kid was a bad sleeper before...on Flovent, he has learned how to scream. So now, when he wakes up at 3:00AM, he doesn't just cry....he shrieks for more than an hour.

He was tenacious before, now he's downright impossible when he gets his mind set on something. (For example, he started self-feeding on Thursday...now I'm not even "allowed" to feed him.)

Good thing he's still so snuggly and cute!!

And yes, I can bitch and moan about it til the cows come home, but ultimately, I'm happy the medication exists that can help my child BREATHE.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Oz is OK

The pediatric pulmonologist tells me I'm as good as an ER. When Oz was having a flare this morning -- so much coughing he couldn't even speak -- I started doing nebs every two hours. I alternated Xopenex and DuoNeb and called her office for backup.

By the time we got to her office at 2:30, he was hardly coughing anymore. By the time we left, he was singing in the car all the way home.

Still doing nebs every 2-3 hours today, and we'll reduce to every 3-4 tomorrow.

But first, we'll see how tonight goes.

BTW, did I mention I've barely seen my office in the last week? I've been working from home since Iggy got sick last Monday. Only *slightly* stir crazy. :-)

Iggy's on Flovent

Forgot to mention this in the last post...but yes, my 11-month-old is now on Flovent 44. Not surprising considering:
  • He was born in respiratory distress and spent his first 24 hours in the NICU
  • He turned blue when he was about 4 months old (he was fine)
  • He has had three illnesses involving serious coughs in the last 9 months, including the one last week

And to my friend who was asking about an alternative to Pulmicort, ask your doctor about Flovent and QVar, which are both in metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) rather than administered via nebulizer. Much faster, easier, and child-friendlier.

Giving thanks...for Flovent and Nebulizers

Thanksgiving's almost here, and - like last year - Oz has RSV again. At least I'm pretty sure it's RSV. We're leaving for the peds. pulmo. in 20 minutes, so I'll know for sure later.

So...yea. Once again, I'll be rushing home from my plate of side dishes (hi, lifelong veg) to administer nebulizer treatments every 3 hours around the clock.

But really, I am thankful. I'm thankful that after over four years of dealing with asthmatic babies, I finally feel like I know what I'm doing. I fearlessly administer Xopenex at the first sign of a cough, and add DuoNeb every 3 hours if things start going south. I no longer feel compelled to go to the ER every time someone's cough spirals out of control. I don't even need to see the PP *every* time one of the boys is sick.

Don't get me wrong -- I still go when we need to. I just don't PANIC anymore.

I'm also thankful that not one of my boys has required hospitalization since 2002. Let's hope I can be thankful for that again next year. :-)

...one final note: Apologies for the two month hiatus. So busy with work and three kids, and big B's Asperger's Syndrome has consumed a good deal of my maternal concern. There may be another blog in that one.