Oral steroids for severe asthma flare

[mama2alex]

DS10 had a severe asthma flare this past week due to combination of a cold and exposure to a cat (long story - we do know better). Exposure was Sunday, his oxygen was 93 by Monday, 30mg oral steroids given Monday night, oxygen down to 86 Tues afternoon, hospitalized Tuesday evening when they couldn't get the oxygen up much with 4 back to back nebulizer treatments. He's been on 30mg of prednisone twice a day since Wednesday. Today we're reducing it to 15mg twice a day for max of 5 more days. I'm keeping him on it for now, as he's still wheezing quite a bit, although his oxygen is up to 96.

 

He was developing a fever Monday, so we thought he was developing his 7th pneumonia, but I think we averted that with abx.

 

Of course my concern now is that this will set back his Lyme/Bartonella treatment, but haven't had a chance to discuss this with a doctor yet, as all the mainstream docs at the pediatrician's office and hospital look sideways at me when I mention Lyme/Bartonella. Maybe his immune system is so shot already that we're relying primarily on the abx to kill the Lyme/Bartonella, so the steroids won't make much of a difference?

 

We'll see our LLMD later this week if we can get in, but wondered if anyone here had experience with this.

 

I am fried from worry and lack of sleep (breathing tx round the clock and of course no sleep at all for 2 nights at the hospital), so I could use some encouragement and/or information on personal experiences with steroid tx during Lyme/coinfections treatment.

[dcmom]

Mama2alex-

 

Sounds like a really rough week- I am sorry.

 

I don't have much for you, other than:

 

Of course- you did the right thing- breathing comes first- you had no choice, so I wouldn't dwell/stress on it.

My kids possibly have lyme- not sure if it is our issue- but when they were in crisis in Dec (pandas), a prominent Columbia U lyme doc told me to go ahead and deal with the crisis with steroids, as long as they stay on abx during.

 

Our neurologist also always insists that a month taper does not render them immunosuppressed. I believe that is true, it may dampen things down, but not to a level to be overly concerned with.

 

I don't believe there is too much published info on this- Dr T gave me one study on lyme and steroids (dont' have it anymore) that showed no difference in outcome for those that have used steroids.

 

Hope he is doing better....