Nicole Dehuff - Asthma Message Board

Kmama4 · 03-12-2005, 08:18 AM

The reason I am adding this thread is that so often things get misdiagnosed by doctors and those of us with asthma tend to get shoved aside when other things may be wrong. I know every time I go to the doctor with breathing problems that I KNOW are not my asthma, I get told it is my asthma and handed a new medication.

Nicole Dehuff was a 30 year old actress (the sister on Meet the Parents) who was misdiagnosed twice at the hospital and sent home. She died a few days ago of pneumonia.

I just wanted everone to be aware and be careful. SO many people are being told they have asthma or bronchitis and it is actually an infection or pneumonia. If you are coughing up yellow or green mucus, see a doctor immediatly. This poor woman could have been easily saved if she had been diagnosed correctly.

celtic_mom · 03-12-2005, 10:46 AM

Is that what happened? She was misdiagnosed? I read a blurb about her death, but all I read was that she died after being treated twice. WTH? Didn't they do an x-ray? Wouldn't pneumonia show up on an x-ray? I thought that was the point. Great. Now my anxiety is acting up again. I wish my pulmonary appt would get here already!

reader1 · 03-12-2005, 02:20 PM

It's a good reminder that specialists offer the best care for folks with pulmonary issues...not the emergency room or urgent care. There are a lot of unknowns...did Nicole see doctors familiar with her health history? Did she follow treatment instructions? Did she drink enough fluid - I was hospitalized once with dehydration when I had a bad round of bronchitis.

engineer1961 · 03-12-2005, 11:59 PM

I've found with my daughter and my self the doctors will say it's just broncitus and if I don't insist on having xrays they wouldn't do them and it really does take and xray to tell for sure just listening to the chest (which could be what they did to Nicole Dehuff) doesn't always work .And in the past 3 years 5 out of 6 "broncitus' I had turned out to be pneumonia..One doctor even said now who's the doctor here you or I and I said I KNOW MY BODY ......suprise suprise he didn't apoligize when it came back that I had double pneumonia. Insist on xrays !!!!

Kmama4 · 03-13-2005, 08:03 AM

I agree, insist on the xrays. Out of all the times I have been to the doc and ER for lung problems, maybe once or twice they did the chest xray. Once I took my son in for breathing issues (he doesn't have asthma) and the ER let us go saying it was a cold and to follow up with the doc in a few days. I went the next day knowing they were wrong and sure enough it was pneumonia. His doc was MAD. (We have an awesome pediatrician.) He couldn't believe they missed it. Not to mention he was only like 6 months old at the time and a preemie so he was mad they did not take the time to check his chest thoroughly.

Anyway, I will be heading back to the doc myself soon. This cough is not going away and I am still coughing up yellow goo after the round of antibiotics. I have 4 kids and I can't keep up with them all being sick all the time. I have to rely on my stupid inhalers to be able to cough the stuff out and it is just not going away.