Pulmicort side effects in toddlers?

[dizzymommy]

About the nebulizer...our specialists agreed that it is the most effective way to get the medicine in. I feel better using it, because I KNOW that the medicine is getting into his lungs. We have our child on a routine where he watches a special video and takes his "fishy" medicine through the nebulizer. We do Pulmicort daily, and if ever needed, the albuterol through the nebulizer. Of course you would want to carry your inhaler everywhere for on the go and they do have a liquid form of albuterol "just in case" you're on the go and are not sure if the inhaler worked properly for the child...albeit, the liquid form amplifies side effects (hyperness for us), but I'd rather have that than not breathing!

[inapickle]

I too am questioning the use of pulmicort and just discovered the website askapatient.com where numerous posts are given regarding the emotional side effects that parents have observed in their children under 5 years of age. My son is 2.5 yrs and this is his second season on pulmicort. I give it to him via nebulizer once a day throughout the winter flu season. If he does get sick, then we up the dose to twice a day. He tends to get his asthma attacks when he gets sick with a respitory illness. I have done several searches on pulmicort side effects and emotional changes is listed as a less common side effect. While this drug has dramatically improved my son's breathing, he tends to suffer from difficulty sleeping. He has a hard time getting to sleep and is often up until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. trying to get to sleep, but unable. He has trouble with diarrhea which is a listed side effect. I also think he is more moody and has a very light appetite as a result of the drug. I am looking forward to getting off the drug in March and spending time this summer trying some alternative treatments. I have heard that asthma patients have great success with homeopathic remedies and alternative medicines that boost their immune system.

[gcsmithjr]

It sounds like you might need to talk to the doctor about tweaking your son's dosage a bit to see if his difficulty sleeping can be improved - it's very common to have to adjust the dosage, particularly once he's been on it long enough for the medication to have an affect.

Beyond that, keep in mind that people are much more likely to post about their negative experiences than the positive ones (when they don't have any side effects or problems they don't think twice about the meds they're taking).

Second, please be cautious - for example the claim that Respitrol can increase peak flow readings by 400% is beyond ridiculous. For an average (non-asthmatic) adult, standard peak flow readings are in the 350 - 500 LPM range - if someone's peak flow readings was enough to achieve a 400% increase (i.e. they started at 100), you would be in respiratory distress and probably hospitalized on oxygen.

There may be some legitimate alternative therapies out there but be careful.

[letecia88]

My son is 3 and he was diagnosed with asthma a little over a month ago due to his chronic/seasonal cough. The pediatritian prescribed the nebulizer twice daily with the Albuterol and Pulmicort combination but I don't recall her giving us a time frame with it. Shortly after the diagnosis, we took him to the ER for high fever, coughing and other server cold simptoms. He had early pneumonia, so we continued the nebulizer plus the antibiotics for 2 weeks then stopped. He was fine until 2 weeks later he had the same simptoms, but this time he had full blown pneumonia. Again we've been doing the nebulizer plus antibiotic and we are nearing the end of the second week. He seems back to normal and I really want to discontinue the nebulizer because I'm not even confident of the initial asthma diagnosis and I don't think he needs to be on this medication daily if he is not sick. Due to an insurance change, we currently don't see his previous pediatritian nor have we found a good one that accepts the new insurance. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks so much!

[gcsmithjr]

It can be tough for docs to diagnose asthma in kids that young but it's probably not a good idea to stop the meds without the supervision of a doctor - particularly if he's had two bouts of pneumonia in the last couple of months (that's pretty unusual). I think you'd be better off finding a new pediatrician (or a pediatric pulmonologist) before you stop the meds on your own.