Scary Day, dd8 very sick

[Suzan]

Took dd8 to the doc today, after a night of a lot of coughing she woke up this morning listless, almost non-responsive and was having trouble breathing. I was pretty close to taking her directly to emergency but she perked up enough to allow me to feel OK about waiting.

 

The doc said that it had not turned to pneumonia but that she still had lots of noise in her chest. He was worried that she was reacting negatively to the augmentin becuase of her weird staring behavior. He switched her to cefprozil (Cefzil) and 8mg of prednisone 2x a day and an inhaler.

 

So far, the inhaler is the only thing that gives her any relief. The doc said it might take 6-8 hrs for the sterioids to start to give her some relief in her chest. She looks horrible with dark circles under her eyes and now she's upstairs trying to go to sleep at 6:15pm and upstairs all by herself!

 

So questions... She's never been on prednisone (or any steriod except nasal spray) before. I don't know what to expect. Dr. T. said no steriods for low immune responders for pandas treatment. I'll have to search for steroid posts to see what I might expect. Do I look for pandas improvement? Could this maybe be a blessing to try these steroids?

 

Anyone using Cefzil for pandas treatment or have experience with it?

 

Our mycoplasma and lyme tests came back negative. But I have not seen the actual results yet. Still waiting to hear from her neurologist about the strange thumb and toe movements (which I saw some of today but had not seen it since last Friday) and her upcoming IVIG. She's been sick for at least a week at a time every month this year so far. She's missed over 15 days of school since Jan. 1st.

 

I wonder if her allergy shots could be involved.

 

Susan

[kimballot]

I wonder if her allergy shots could be involved.

 

Susan

 

Oh my - so sorry to hear about this. I am trying to remember if you've posted about allergy shots - did she just start recently?

Edited March 31, 2010 by kimballot

[thereishope]

Oh no! When was her last allergy shot in relation to this? So he thinks it's the beginning of pneumonia? Did he say to give her a decongestant, Mucinex, or anything else? Poor baby! As for the steroid, I would just say to keep her at home for now. Not that you were really going to take her anywhere like this anyway. She's in my prayers. She'll be okay. Believe that.

[mama2alex]

6 - 8 hours for the steroids to kick in seems optimistic! Alex was put on prednisone for severe asthma a week ago Sunday and by Wed night he was still having trouble and they were sending him to the E.R. for an x-ray. Just so you know, he's 65 lbs and they put him on 60mg of prednisone a day for 7 days. So it sounds like they gave you a light dose of steroids. Did they check her oxygen level? I think the only reason Alex didn't get pneumonia this time was the antibiotics he's on - he's had it 6 times. Keep a close eye on her. If she's breathing more than 40 times a minute, you should at least call the on-call nurse. Also, they can give her nebulizer treatments instead of an inhaler. The machine is expensive but should be covered by insurance and will last for years. The nebulizer is more effective than an inhaler, and we always use it when Alex is having upper respiratory/asthma issues.

 

Most likely the antibiotics will prevent pneumonia from settling in. I hope she's well soon!

[Suzan]

Thank you everyone! Your support means a lot to me. With her ongoing pandas issues, something like this seems all the more scary to me.

 

Mama2Alex - Although I hope the steroids she's on will help her, it's good to know what to look for so I appreciate it. I remember now after you said it from years ago, counting her breathing. She used to get a chest infection with every virus. I will pay attention to that tonight. I have her sleeping with me so I can watch her. They did check her oxygen level which was very good this morning and I was surprised by that. Right now, her breath seems slow and even for someone asleep so I am feeling hopeful. I am so sorry for all the times Alex has had pneumonia!!

 

Vickie, her last allergy shot was 3/22 so it's been a little bit. I know our immunologist will not be concerned by the shots or what has been going on but I plan on giving her an earful when we see her in May. I've been giving her benadryl but the doc did not mention mucinex although I was wondering about that. Thank you for your ongoing support and concern!!

 

fcefxer, the doc said that pnemonia makes different sounds than bronchitis (first I've heard of that) but luckily my Uncle who is a family doc seems to agree. Thank you for the cyber hug, I need it today! I have been giving her benadryl a few times a day too and I do see this helping her. I am sorry for all the times YOU have had pneumonia too!

 

Kimballot, she has had allergy shots now since January 18th. But it seems like she has been sick so much more since then and when she does get sick, it seems to last at least a week know which is not the norm for her.

 

She is showing signs of yeast overgrowth already from being so jam packed with antibiotics. I have increased the probiotics way up and we are doing a topical cream for the itch.

 

 

Susan

Edited April 1, 2010 by Suzan

[thereishope]

I really don't know anything about this so someone please chime in....

 

Benadryl. Is that okay to take with near pneumonia? When my son had the sinus infection, I was told no Benadryl. I never had pneumonia. Do they want you to continue to cough in hopes of breaking it up? I would think a decongestant would be better than an antihistimine?

[Suzan]

I really don't know anything about this so someone please chime in....

 

Benadryl. Is that okay to take with near pneumonia? When my son had the sinus infection, I was told no Benadryl. I never had pneumonia. Do they want you to continue to cough in hopes of breaking it up? I would think a decongestant would be better than an antihistimine?

 

Shoot, I don't know! I did mention to the doc that I was giving her benadryl (along with zyrtec and her nasal sprays too) and he did not mention anything.

 

I just looked up the side effects of augmentin and diffiucultiy breathing and confusion were two of the symptoms. Maybe her breathing got worse as a reaction (maybe) but the confusion I'm sure is what the doc was worried about. That describes her strange staring responses. It was like she did not hear or understand me.

 

Susan

[kimballot]

Susan - I hope she is having a better night. I don't want to overload you with info. right now, but you mentioned concerns about yeast overgrowth with antibiotics. We've had luck using diflucan with antibiotics. I always get a rx for 2 pills per 10- day course, taken in the middle, and at the end to keep yeast in check. The first time we used it, though, we used it daily for a week or two to really clean things out. I don't know if anyone has had any negative effects with diflucan, but we really like it.

 

Best of luck!

Edited April 1, 2010 by kimballot

[lyme_mom]

Took dd8 to the doc today, after a night of a lot of coughing she woke up this morning listless, almost non-responsive and was having trouble breathing. I was pretty close to taking her directly to emergency but she perked up enough to allow me to feel OK about waiting.

 

The doc said that it had not turned to pneumonia but that she still had lots of noise in her chest. He was worried that she was reacting negatively to the augmentin becuase of her weird staring behavior. He switched her to cefprozil (Cefzil) and 8mg of prednisone 2x a day and an inhaler.

 

So far, the inhaler is the only thing that gives her any relief. The doc said it might take 6-8 hrs for the sterioids to start to give her some relief in her chest. She looks horrible with dark circles under her eyes and now she's upstairs trying to go to sleep at 6:15pm and upstairs all by herself!

 

So questions... She's never been on prednisone (or any steriod except nasal spray) before. I don't know what to expect. Dr. T. said no steriods for low immune responders for pandas treatment. I'll have to search for steroid posts to see what I might expect. Do I look for pandas improvement? Could this maybe be a blessing to try these steroids?

 

Anyone using Cefzil for pandas treatment or have experience with it?

 

Our mycoplasma and lyme tests came back negative. But I have not seen the actual results yet. Still waiting to hear from her neurologist about the strange thumb and toe movements (which I saw some of today but had not seen it since last Friday) and her upcoming IVIG. She's been sick for at least a week at a time every month this year so far. She's missed over 15 days of school since Jan. 1st.

 

I wonder if her allergy shots could be involved.

 

Susan

Susan,

When you get your lyme results back PM me and I can help you interpret whether you had a good test. Hopefully they gave you a lyme test that is a full western blot. Also, it would be good to know if any bands were present even if the test is "negative".

Lyme Mom

[thereishope]

The Benadryl thing wouldn't cause damage right now so don't spend time worrying about it tonight. But if you end up getting a list of questions for the doctor or you checking with hm at some point, it may be worth asking. You just don't want the Benadryl to slow down recovery but stopping the congestion from coming out of her chest.

 

 

I really don't know anything about this so someone please chime in....

 

Benadryl. Is that okay to take with near pneumonia? When my son had the sinus infection, I was told no Benadryl. I never had pneumonia. Do they want you to continue to cough in hopes of breaking it up? I would think a decongestant would be better than an antihistimine?

 

Shoot, I don't know! I did mention to the doc that I was giving her benadryl (along with zyrtec and her nasal sprays too) and he did not mention anything.

 

I just looked up the side effects of augmentin and diffiucultiy breathing and confusion were two of the symptoms. Maybe her breathing got worse as a reaction (maybe) but the confusion I'm sure is what the doc was worried about. That describes her strange staring responses. It was like she did not hear or understand me.

 

Susan

[kim]

Susan,

 

I was just reading this thread and wanted to say that I'm praying your daughter recovers well too. It's awful when your child is just plain old sick, not to mention the special fears that go along with all of this.

 

I have to keep reminding myself that we have had many illnesses around here where nothing went haywire.

 

Hoping tomorrow brings good news on her recovery

[justinekno]

Susan,

 

How is your daughter feeling today?

 

Justine

 

Took dd8 to the doc today, after a night of a lot of coughing she woke up this morning listless, almost non-responsive and was having trouble breathing. I was pretty close to taking her directly to emergency but she perked up enough to allow me to feel OK about waiting.

 

Susan

Edited April 1, 2010 by justinekno

[Suzan]

Thanks again my friends. DD8 is finally perking up and I feel that by tomorrow she will be much improved. She is already improving just very tired still.

 

Susan

[EAMom]

Thanks again my friends. DD8 is finally perking up and I feel that by tomorrow she will be much improved. She is already improving just very tired still.

 

Susan

 

great news!

[EAMom]

I really don't know anything about this so someone please chime in....

 

Benadryl. Is that okay to take with near pneumonia? When my son had the sinus infection, I was told no Benadryl. I never had pneumonia. Do they want you to continue to cough in hopes of breaking it up? I would think a decongestant would be better than an antihistimine?

 

here's the deal on anti-histamines and sinus infections...I don't think this applies to pneumonia. http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIW000/9339/31675.html

 

Antihistamines � These medications help to relieve the symptoms of nasal allergies that lead to inflammation and infections. However, some doctors advise against using antihistamines during a sinus infection because they can cause excessive drying and slow the drainage process. Over-the-counter antihistamines include diphenhydramine (Benadryl and others), chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton and others) and loratadine (Claritin). Fexofenadine (Allegra) and cetirizine (Zyrtec) are available by prescription.