I'm going crazy, help

Our 10 year old daughter has asthma. She is currently on: Flovent 2x2, Albuterol 2x4, Intal 2x2, and Singulair at night. She finished a 5 day course of Orapred 3 weeks ago for the same cough that she has now.

Right now she is coughing until she throws up. She coughs a lot during the day, but at night it's worse. She coughs for about 4-5 hours straight, and throws up about 3-4 times/night. Although I have seen her in much worse distress, ie, not able to talk, retracting, etc, this is still very concerning. I don't know what else to do for her. We all feel so helpless, and the ped wants to put her back on the Orapred (it would be the 4th time in about 5 months). I really don't want her back on that if at all possible.

Last time when we were into the ped's office, she said if this happens again, she might send her to a ped pulmo. Is this constant terrible coughing common with asthma? What can we do for her? I've been told that maybe she should have lung testing done; would that tell us if this is asthma and would it help? I want to *prevent* this, and not just try to fix it once it becomes a problem.

I'm looking for any advice, help, suggestions, ideas, or what ever you could offer me. Thank you.

A very tired Mom of 3 girls, Liz

[National Jewish]

Coughing, as you have described, is not a common problem with asthma, unless the asthma is out of control.  I would agree with your pediatrician.  It is time to see a specialist.  These episodes are probably making everyone tired and must be a terrible burden for your daughter.  An evaluation, which may include lung function testing, chest and sinus x-rays, is needed before any major changes can be instituted.

[starion]

Dear Mom,
Hi--I have two asthmatic kids aged 12 & 14 & can definitely relate to your concerns.  I'm also asthmatic, as is my husband.
I would strongly suggest you allow your child to have the non-invasive lung testing, so her doctors and you can better work with her.  The test is pretty straight forward--she just follows the instructions and blows into a tube which is connected to a machine.  After she is tested, she will probably be given albuterol & then re-tested to see whether her test results change after the albuterol takes effect.
Since your daughter is having such distress, it would definitely be useful to consider having her seen by a pediatric pulmonologist.  This way, all things impacting her lungs can be considered, including allergies, gastric reflux, and other conditions.  Hopefully the pediatric pulmonologist will also be current on all the available treatments possible for your child, and can work with your daughter and family to maximize her lungs and health.
There are some other medication combinations which might be more helpful for your daughter, so you can help her maximize her health.  You need to work closely with her doctors to do this.
There are many causes for coughs, INCLUDING asthma, allergies, gastric reflux, and others.
You can also contact www.NationalJewish.org; they lave lots of great info about asthma and all lung issues, especially their MedFacts and LungFacts.
Best of luck to you & your family.
Aloha,
Starion