Pulmicort or the Devil????

[hmw]

I'm SO glad that clinic acknowledged that this can happen. It's SO frustrating when something is so obvious to us (i.e. our child is throwing tantrums and not sleeping or oh my screaming to die and doing flips off the swing...) and they are completely ignoring a connection. We were fortunate in that it was a mild response that went away, but it was obvious because her going on the med was repetitive (every time she got congested we switched) so it was a 'reproducible' effect and obvious to both by dh and I by day 2/3.
<br />
<br />If it turns out she really needs an inhaled steroid to help keep her off Prednisone in future, you may want to consider asking about Flovent. Emily did NOT have this side effect at all with this one, and it comes in a couple different strengths. Inhalers come with spacers as well as mask adapters so even babies/toddlers can use them.

 

[crickit715]

thanks harriett, i may ask about the flovent! they decided to put her on the pulmicort because she had such a severe "bronchial" reaction to the cold she caught (turned into croup, etc...). they said she has what is considered a "high asthma component to cf", so they wanted to keep her on the pulmicort throughout the winter to help keep the inflammation down in her upper airways in case she catches something else. i was surprised they didnt lower the dose or try something else instead of taking her off completely, but i am very happy to already see the results of her not taking it yesterday..she slept ALL night for the first time in quite a few nights!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[crickit715]

thanks harriett, i may ask about the flovent! they decided to put her on the pulmicort because she had such a severe "bronchial" reaction to the cold she caught (turned into croup, etc...). they said she has what is considered a "high asthma component to cf", so they wanted to keep her on the pulmicort throughout the winter to help keep the inflammation down in her upper airways in case she catches something else. i was surprised they didnt lower the dose or try something else instead of taking her off completely, but i am very happy to already see the results of her not taking it yesterday..she slept ALL night for the first time in quite a few nights!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[crickit715]

thanks harriett, i may ask about the flovent! they decided to put her on the pulmicort because she had such a severe "bronchial" reaction to the cold she caught (turned into croup, etc...). they said she has what is considered a "high asthma component to cf", so they wanted to keep her on the pulmicort throughout the winter to help keep the inflammation down in her upper airways in case she catches something else. i was surprised they didnt lower the dose or try something else instead of taking her off completely, but i am very happy to already see the results of her not taking it yesterday..she slept ALL night for the first time in quite a few nights!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[stringbean]

Just one tiny word of caution...

Pulmicort and flovent are both corticosteroids and could bring on the same symptoms. My daughter started with Advair, switched to Flovent, and then Pulmicort. She couldn't handle any of them. Advair was a lot of hyperactivity, sleeplessness and mood swings; Flovent and Pulmicort was all that plus the rage.

Last spring when the pediatrician said my daughter's cough wasn't bronchitis, it was asthma I just panicked. We had a long chat about medications and she finally prescribed xopenex (infant dose, even though she was eight years old) using a nebulizer. That worked beautifully. Harriet, you are oh so right -- it's wonderful to have a doctor that truly listens to the patient's experiences!

<i>Every child is different, so your daughter may do very well on flovent</i>. But since both of our daughters suffered that one-in-a-million side effect, I just wanted to mention this...

 

[stringbean]

Just one tiny word of caution...

Pulmicort and flovent are both corticosteroids and could bring on the same symptoms. My daughter started with Advair, switched to Flovent, and then Pulmicort. She couldn't handle any of them. Advair was a lot of hyperactivity, sleeplessness and mood swings; Flovent and Pulmicort was all that plus the rage.

Last spring when the pediatrician said my daughter's cough wasn't bronchitis, it was asthma I just panicked. We had a long chat about medications and she finally prescribed xopenex (infant dose, even though she was eight years old) using a nebulizer. That worked beautifully. Harriet, you are oh so right -- it's wonderful to have a doctor that truly listens to the patient's experiences!

<i>Every child is different, so your daughter may do very well on flovent</i>. But since both of our daughters suffered that one-in-a-million side effect, I just wanted to mention this...

 

[stringbean]

Just one tiny word of caution...
<br />
<br />Pulmicort and flovent are both corticosteroids and could bring on the same symptoms. My daughter started with Advair, switched to Flovent, and then Pulmicort. She couldn't handle any of them. Advair was a lot of hyperactivity, sleeplessness and mood swings; Flovent and Pulmicort was all that plus the rage.
<br />
<br />Last spring when the pediatrician said my daughter's cough wasn't bronchitis, it was asthma I just panicked. We had a long chat about medications and she finally prescribed xopenex (infant dose, even though she was eight years old) using a nebulizer. That worked beautifully. Harriet, you are oh so right -- it's wonderful to have a doctor that truly listens to the patient's experiences!
<br />
<br /><i>Every child is different, so your daughter may do very well on flovent</i>. But since both of our daughters suffered that one-in-a-million side effect, I just wanted to mention this...

 

[hmw]

Yeah, they both are corticosteroids. I figured I'd mention it though because sometimes the difference in active ingredients can mean a difference in side effects, esp if one med is not quite as heavy a hitter as another.

For Emily, Flovent was helpful on a daily basis but didn't pack the punch we needed when sick and she needed something more powerful. (Eventually we discarded Flovent entirely in favor of Pulmicort due to how severe the inflammation/asthma component of her cf is.) That was why I thought perhaps the Flovent would be more manageable; at a lower concentration as a less potent med to begin with.

But, it's true... it may not work out if she's really sensitive to this class of med. But as with any other med, it's also true that you'll never know unless you try, should it come down to having to pursue it. It stinks to have to make these choices.

 

[hmw]

Yeah, they both are corticosteroids. I figured I'd mention it though because sometimes the difference in active ingredients can mean a difference in side effects, esp if one med is not quite as heavy a hitter as another.

For Emily, Flovent was helpful on a daily basis but didn't pack the punch we needed when sick and she needed something more powerful. (Eventually we discarded Flovent entirely in favor of Pulmicort due to how severe the inflammation/asthma component of her cf is.) That was why I thought perhaps the Flovent would be more manageable; at a lower concentration as a less potent med to begin with.

But, it's true... it may not work out if she's really sensitive to this class of med. But as with any other med, it's also true that you'll never know unless you try, should it come down to having to pursue it. It stinks to have to make these choices.

 

[hmw]

Yeah, they both are corticosteroids. I figured I'd mention it though because sometimes the difference in active ingredients can mean a difference in side effects, esp if one med is not quite as heavy a hitter as another.
<br />
<br />For Emily, Flovent was helpful on a daily basis but didn't pack the punch we needed when sick and she needed something more powerful. (Eventually we discarded Flovent entirely in favor of Pulmicort due to how severe the inflammation/asthma component of her cf is.) That was why I thought perhaps the Flovent would be more manageable; at a lower concentration as a less potent med to begin with.
<br />
<br />But, it's true... it may not work out if she's really sensitive to this class of med. But as with any other med, it's also true that you'll never know unless you try, should it come down to having to pursue it. It stinks to have to make these choices.