I think a lot of doctors are very pro-active with the children with CF. They want to prevent lung damage from the very beginning. As for the meds your daughter is on, it doesn't seem excessive to me. My 2 year old son is on all of the same meds except he doesn't take ursodial, I don't know what that is for even. But he does duoneb (like albuterol) 2x a day, and pulmozyme once. He takes a vitamin, enzymes, zantac for reflux, and periactin for his appetite. We do chest PT 15-20 min. 2x a day. He also does an inhaler 2x a day. And so far, my son has not had many problems at all. He's only been hospitalized twice, once before diagnosis, and once to put in a PICC line for home IV's. He doesn't have a lot of lung damage, so it's not like he has a very severe or advanced case.
Your routine sounds pretty average for a child with CF. It's all about preventative care. It's pretty much like this (and anyone correct me if I'm wrong!): the albuterol opens up the airways, the pulmozyme thins the mucus by breaking it up, the chest PT loosens it and moves it around, and then coughing would bring it up out of the lungs. Alot of young kids, like my son, don't even cough when doing CPT.
It sounds like it's just that you have pro-active doctors, focused on preventing lung damage in the first place. I also think sometimes that my son has to do an awful lot of medicines (compared to a person without CF), but it really is worth it. You might be able to ask the doctors about duoneb instead of albuterol. It is two meds combined, one faster acting and one longer lasting. It may make it so you don't have to do the third albuterol treatment, could save you a few minutes.
