starting to stress myself

hello everyone althow iam new to this site iam not new to asthma my son is now 7 and had his first attack at 9 months. after a good few years of learning to deal with his asthma and finding his triggers (and hospital stays ) i now have it under a fair controll althow i belive asthma to be unpredictable i normally see when hes starting to get a littel unwell and i jump on it normally getting past the attack. But as you all probley well no there are times you just cant and he has a attack which i can deal with mild ones. The main thing that bothers me is a couple of years ago my son had a very nasty attack nothing i did help whilst waiting for the ambulance i was watching him breathing when he stoped i was with my dad at the time and luckly my dad grabed him and the shock made him gasp and breath again we ened up haveing a stay in hospital. but now i getting so worried when hes ill i have to be close bye the hole time i cant sleep when hes chesty every noise makes me jump to him i have a nebuliser and use it. but hes attacks are getting worse and lasting longer i no full well as soon as he has oxygen followed by a neb then more oxygen he starts pull out and then is controlled by just nebs the thing is i fill iam not being listend to by doctors and i doubt thay would let me have oxygen at home for such emergency if i did i would only use it whilst waiting for the ambulance. althow he hasnt been in hos[pital for a while as i have struggled to manage it i now fill its getting harder to control he has dips were he will pull out a bit then in the blink of a eye hes in big trouble again i worry this will happen and the abulance will take to long and he may stop breathing again

iam sorry i have gone on abit i just wanderd if any one has any advice. i truly do have hes asthma under control but can see its getting harder and longer to pull him back .

[Hidden]

Im get stressed myself!

Hi there, im new to this site ive just read your post. Im in a situation with my son who is 22 months. Since he was 10 months old he has had a number of attacks, but they are only viral related. Every time he gets a cold it goes straight to his chest, and that's when his breathing starts to get worse. I know exactly how you feel. I have been in such a state recently as in the last 9 wks he has been in hospital for overnight stays on 4 occasions. Back in september was the 1st time he was addmitted, it was the worst night of my life. He was so ill the doctors told my parter and i he may not make it, he wasn't responding to any medication, it was awful, he looked lifeless!!! They then told us he was going to be transferred to great ormand street, but then he pulled through luckily and he was fine until 2 wks later when it happened all over again, but it has never been as bad as the september attack. I think that's whats worse is the not knowing how bad it will get. He is on several meds now, im hoping to see a change, but im so scared everytime he gets a cold, as i know whats to follow! Your son sounds like he has it bad, you must be stressed, you do feel like the only one who is going through all this on your own but until you speak to people in the same situation it does make you have some hope things will get better as they get older. You should put your foot down with the doctors, keep on and on, everytime he gets ill call an ambulance staight away dont hang around, thats what i do. Although we have direct access to the hospital now, surely you should have that to. I would take him back to the doctor and tell them how bad it's getting again. He's your son and at the end of the day, you know what's best for him. I do my nut at the hospital now when he dosent get the right treatment. I just want my son to get better every cold he's ever had we've ended up in hospital, ive never had it under control, and that scares me.

[Hidden]

thanks for youir reply my sons asthma was like your childs as thay get older it does level out slightly but i dont think it will ever be easy my son is 8 soon and knowsw he needs hes meds but dont take them i have to go on at him.

[Hidden]

Hi,

I'm both new to this site and to my eldest daughters asthma - only had an inhaler for 2 weeks (due to chest infection) and then all of a sudden couldn't breathe and ended up in hospital for 2 nights on oxygen and nebs every hour. Although I don't know much about serious asthma ( I had it as an adolescent and middle daughter has it very mild) what I have learnt is that you don't get anything easily these days, whatever you need you must fight for! If you want oxygen at home you must ask for it and keep asking for it until you get it. Keep a record of your sons asthma as it is often easier for a dr to see difficulties if it is written in black and white with dates and how serious each episode was. Also this way if you don't get what you want and then you need oxyen again, you have even more ammunition for the next time you ask. Hope you get your sons asthma under control soon, my daughter is coughing as I write so I'm going to check her x

[KateMoss]

Hello!

Sorry your having a tough time at the mo.

Regarding home Oxygen, Doctors / consultants will only prescribe it after a thorough assessment. Asthmatics needing O2 should 99% of the time be in hospital. It needs carefull monitoring and it is a prescribed drug.

Oxygen is occasionally prescribed for astmatics for either emergency use, with very strict guidelines, or for chronic asthmatics who need it on a daily basis to live at home.

Having home Oxygen can lul you into a false sence of security!

I do have home O2 but have strict guidelines on usage!!

Hope this helps with the O2 question.

Otherwise please persist with your GP and hospital - keep a diary of symptoms, peak flows, inhaler usage etc. Get them to write a good asthma action plan of when to get help, don't be worried about calling an ambulance sooner rather than later. If you start attending A&E often enough someone should pick it up or you can point it out to them that this is , say, the 3rd time this month we have been in. We need a referal!

Take care

Kate