UGH! DS #2 had an asthma attack last night (during dessert). It was so scary. He was dx with asthma this fall officially, but this was his first real attack. It happened on Christmas Eve as well- though not as bad. WHen it started, I yelled to dh to get the ALbuterol upstairs. It felt like an hour for him to get up and down. I just wanted to give him AIR (how simple is that?!) but I couldn't. It was awful. He has a bad cold- I think that was the big trigger- along with other allergens.... They gave him Orapred in the ER. He was WILD there. He has a tendency towards hyperactivity- but this was insane! I spoke to a friend who has an asthmatic kid who said this always happens to her too. He actually tipped over a half drunk cup of apple juice which was siiting in a puke bucket with a tissue in the waiting area, swipped his hands over the spill and.... LICKED HIS HANDS! AHHHHHHHH! Thank god he's on antibiotics for an ear infection! Is that the grossest?! He also was using his sheet as a sled to slide down the head end of the bed. I have to call the dr tomorrow to see what the next step is.... He's sleeping now. THat's a good thing (for mom and him!)

Oh- and then at church this am, he put his feet on top of the pew in front of him, fell like a scissor and SLAMMED his head on the floor- and then SCREAMED! DId I mention he is wild?! Who gets hurt in church, of all places!?!

By Yjja123 on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 04:40 pm:

BTDT
Albuterol can make a child even more hyper. My daughter was diagnosed with asthma 4 years ago. She has gotten better and we do not use a daily preventative but if she gets even a twinge of a cold she is back on it. We learned the hard way that colds can make asthma much worse. Speak to your doctor about the behavior as there are several different medications available. Flovent was the one that made Jessica bounce off the walls. It took a few different medications before we found one that didn't make her more hyper (and yes she typically is hyper on her own so having it worse was not a good thing).
(((Hugs))) I am glad your son is OK!!!
Yvonne

By Trisa on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 05:30 pm:

So glad he is ok. Wow what a time you had.
Hope he has calmed down a bit for you.
You must be tired.

By Palmbchprincess on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 06:49 pm:

I'm glad he's ok... I know how scary breathing trouble and asthma attacks can be!!

By Pamt on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 07:43 pm:

BTDT too, for my first DS's Christmas with a really bad ear infection. Those asthma drugs can really make you hyper. They haven't had too much of an effect on either of my boys, but I was on Seravent and albuterol briefly and I hated the way they made me feel----heart racing, very jittery and nervous feeling. And yes, asthma is scary stuff. We've been down that road too many times to count and colds are ALWAYS a trigger. Is he on any preventative medicine?? Hope he's better soon and has a calmer night---you too!

By Happynerdmom on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 08:38 pm:

"UGH!" is right! It sounds like a scary, tiring night. (Not to mention church this morning!) I'm glad everything is okay. Sometimes, you just gotta laugh...(or you'll cry, LOL!)

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, December 26, 2004 - 11:13 pm:

BTDT with a kid who hit her head in church. Sarah was big enough to stand hanging on to stuff, but was still quite tippy. She was standing and had her hands on my legs. She fell backwards and hit her head on the brick floor. Ouch. She screamed. I had to run out with her. She survived. Oh, did I mention this was during the scriptures and not during a hymn. I think the whole church heard her head hit the ground!

By Bea on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 01:09 am:

How is he doing now?

When my son was 4, he was attending a preschool in a church down town. I drove him there 3 times a week for his morning sessions. During Lent I decided to attend morning Mass before dropping him at school. I sat well in the back of the church so that this VERY ACTIVE CHILD would be able to move around and not disturb the other attendees. At the end of the Mass when the priest turned to give the final blessing he froze. I followed his fixed gaze, and discovered my son three quarters of the way up the column supporting the choir loft. That next Sunday when I brought him with me while I received communion, Father put his hands on my son`s head and prayed. Then he gave me an extra blessing. I guess he felt we both needed a little extra help. Him to survive childhood and me to survive him.

By Sue3 on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 08:37 am:

LOL,Bea. Laura , My son has asthma also.and yes,colds always makes it worse.
We did a visit to the ER when Zack was first diagnosed with it.
It is VERY scary when your child can`t breathe.Sorry you had to experience this.They checked Zacks oxygen level when we got there and it was very low.
They gave him medicine in a mask that he breathed into and abuteral.
The Dr. said he may experience some hyperactivity. I had no idea !
Just like your son he was bouncing off the walls!!To make matters worse ,my dear father was at a Hospice center and I had received a call from my Brother on my cell phone on the way back home from E.R that Dad took a turn for the worse
and I better get there right a way !
I could not get a hold of my DH (long story , grrr).
And I did not want to leave my son who was just diagnosed with Asthma with my oldest DD.
So I had to take him with me to the hospice center.All I can say was that is was not a pleasent visit.Dad was sort of comatose.
But , anyway ,Zack is on preventive meds and also has an vaporiszor thing ,Can`t think of the name right now ,LOL.
But it is used when the inhaler does not work well.Does your son go to an allergist ?
Like Yvonne said speak to your DR. about medications there are several different one`s.
I am so glad he is O.k. Asthma attacks are so scary !!! Hugs , Sue

By Yjja123 on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 09:51 am:

"also has an vaporiszor thing ,Can`t think of the name right now ,LOL.
But it is used when the inhaler does not work well"

I think you are talking about an enebulizer (spelling?) That is what Jessica has.

By Tunnia on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 10:03 am:

How scary! I am so glad your ds is ok.

By Sue3 on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 11:04 am:

YES ,Yvonne ! It is a nebulizer. Thanks.
I am glad that Zack has not had to use that in a while.Though I am glad that we have one,it has saved a trip to E.R a couple of times.

By Karen~moderator on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 12:06 pm:

Wow, sorry to hear about all that. 2 of mine have asthma, and I have asthma also. Jason had numerous trips to the ER as a young child, fortunately Jen never did. Neither uses meds now. I use Advair twice daily with Albuterol for rescue. And to echo everyone else, YES, colds/sickness definitely trigger! Also allergies will trigger, and something to think about is allergies to *less* common things, such as perfumes, candles, etc. My sister is visiting me and she has asthma, and we couldn't burn any scented candles or incense because they trigger hers. She can't even wear perfume anymore.

Maybe you could talk to his ped. about preventive meds such as Advair? I know the Albuterol, or the pill form, Proventil, TOTALLY wires kids up!

By Lauram on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 02:42 pm:

Thank you for your thoughts! I got a kick out of a lot of these stories! LOL! He's doing better now. Before the attack on Christmas night, he was on Flovent 110 (the higher version- 40 is the regular one), ALbuterol 4 times a day, Nasonex and Zyrtec- oh and Amoxicillin for his ear infection. He's been taking ALbuterol for quite some time. I don't see any difference in his behavior now from it- I did see it with my other son though. I'm thinking that the behavior in the ER was because of adrenaline from the attack?! I'm just shooting in the dark- but that's my theory about that. ANyhow, now he's on all that and Orapred too. the Orapred is making him VERY WIRED. It's so exhausting. He doesn't sleep- and he's STARVING. Luckily he's only on this for four more days. I called the dr this am. We're taking him in on Thurs to start trying to reduce the meds.

I think there were a lot of things going on that led to this attack. The cold was the big one. I think the candles on Christmas Eve might have triggered something, baby powder he got into on Christmas morning, very cold air outside, and his activity level (both the incident on Christmas Eve and Christmas happened after he was running around). We have to get this under control....

My other ds has mild asthma (supposedly). Actually he just gets really bad croup whenever he gets a cold or there is a change in season. He's old for croup though (7). He takes Flovent 40, but only when he gets a sniffle. Then we reduce it gradually. If he gets another cold, we kick it up. He only had to take ALbuterol once as a baby (liquid form). It made him REALLY hyper. BTW- my dad has pretty bad asthma. I'm sure that's where this is coming from genetically.

By Amecmom on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 04:33 pm:

Laura, My doc has been prescribing Xopenex rather than albuterol. It has fewer side effects including less hyperactivity. My son went wild after nebulizer treatments with albuterol, but the Xopened does not make him crazy.
Hugs!
Ame