Allergist, pulminologist or GP? Please help!

[Mindyandlucy]

Hi everyone.  I've had asthma since I was in high school.  It has gotten much worse over the past 10 years (now late 30's).  I have allergies to dust mites so can't really get away from them.  I have been taking Singulair for the past 6 years through my two pregnancies.  it is truly the only thing that has helped me, as i have tried several times to get off and onto a steroid-only inhaler.  

Anyway, I saw an allergist several times and then stopped because of busy life circumstances/kids.  I've been seeing my GP for treatment and new scripts.  However, the past 6 months I have entered a new set of issues.  My 2 and 4 year old bring home germs from nursery school and I get sick with anything and everything they catch.  Then they are better in 2 days, and I'm sick for 2-3 weeks and trying to take care of a family.  I just can't seem to catch up on needed sleep and housework, and running after them daily.  I know my health is the price I'm paying for this.  I need to start exercising again because I believe that when I was more active, my lungs functioned better.  I am worried about starting because of asthma.

So, here I am again, with my second case of bronchitis in two weeks, and now on pred dose pack, Singulair, Albuterol nebulizer and various other cough medicines.  I got a chest xray yesterday to make sure I don't have pneumonia.  Of course the pred is giving me bad night sweats and my 4 year old was up at 5 am today so I'm tweaking on coffee and no sleep as I write this rambling dissertation of a post.  I appreciate you reading this far.

I need help and advice.

Who should I see to get evaluated further?  Pulminologist?  Asthma specialist?  I like my GP, but feel that maybe I need to bring in another specialist to help out.  

What has been the experience of people with seeing a pulminologist vs. an allergist?  What should I look for when I look for this type of doctor?  I live near Philadelphia, PA and have several university hospitals near me.  Have you found that these types of centers have better quality of care because of their teams of specialists?  

Has anyone with allergies found that allergy shots/immunotherapy has helped your asthma symptoms at all?  

I'm just really confused about where to go.  I just know that something must change and I need a new direction because this just isn't working for me anymore.  And I need something to keep my immunity up so I can try to stop getting sick.  As if.

Thank you.

[Tammy2009]

I did allergy shots for cat and dust mite allergies and worked awesome for me!!  Now it is the food allergies that cause my breathing to become very bad and unfortunately shots don't work for them :(

The best thing that has helped me with my immunity is a naturopath and tailored nutritional supplements.  The second appointment I went in with a bad sinus infection that I was going to book a GP appointment to get antibiotics for (first infection I wasn't able to get rid of with constant sinus washes) ... She gave me two sets of drops to use twice a day and the infection was gone in 2 days!  Just make sure you research who you are seeing and where they went to school.  Here in canada, naturopaths are finally regulated in most provinces so it is easy to tell who is good and who isn't.  

Vitamin C, D, echinacea, oreango oil are all good for the immune system.  But you have to work on increasing sleep  lowering stress and taking time for  yourself.  Very difficult I know but it is sooooo important.  Eat properly!

Hope this helps, have a great rest of your weekend and take care of yourself.

[Mindyandlucy]

Thanks you for your comment!  I was so sick last week, and the prednisone side effects just made it all so much worse.  Just trying to figure out how to proactively manage this issue.  I'm ok until I get sick, and then I get really sick.  I think I'm going to try a naturopath to see if I can get my immune system better, then set a time with the allergist to manage the asthma.  

[choo_choo]

Hi,

I had asthma growing up, but it "went away" when in junior high, only to "reappear" when I was in my mid-twenties.

A while back I moved across the country from way up north to way down south.  My asthma went totally out of control due to allergies.  The pollens down here are different than up north, and there seems to be a lot more of them down here.  Anyway, I went to an allergist and had allergy testing done.  I had allergy shots for 4 years and had my last shot 8 months ago.  The shots did wonders for my asthma control, as I have allergies year-round and they really affect my asthma.  Unfortunately, allergy shots don't last forever :(  I think they worked better for my indoor allergies than pollens.  I'm having more problems this spring than I had last spring, and I'm guessing I'll have more problems this summer than last summer.  I'm not having any problems with my indoor allergies.  I was told they would last for 3-4 years, which might be the case for my indoor allergies, but as far as the pollen is concerned, at this rate, I'll be in a world of hurt next spring and summer.  I'm being re-tested (for allergies) this year, at my 5-year mark.  This will determine whether I need more allergy shots and if I developed any new allergies.

When I lived up north, my PCP treated my asthma and it worked great.  When I first moved down south, my PCP treated my asthma and allergies, but it wasn't working so well, so my husband suggested I see a specialist.  I had a feeling that my sudden loss of asthma control was related to allergies, and since an allergist treats both allergies and asthma, seeing an allergist made the most sense to me.  When I looked for an allergist, I immediately narrowed my search to group practices.  I think doctors at group practices have more accountability than doctors at solo practices.  I looked for a practice that looked like it was "full service."  Once I found a few practices, I read over their websites and looked at the online reputation of the providers at each practice.  Online doctor ratings reveal a lot about how the provider interacts with patients, their skill level and their attitudes.  That helped me narrow my scope to specific providers.  After I had a few potential providers, all of them being equal at this point, I made an appointment with the one that had the earliest available appointment.  It turned out that I had to wait over a month, but it was worth the wait.  I couldn't be more pleased with the results :)

Good luck!