DH or allergist? Who makes me more frustrated??

[BabbyO]

Stachio was tested for environmental/pet allergies last spring after countless bouts with croup/coughing until he vomited, etc. I was not able to go to the test, DH took Stachio. Mostly he tested positive to cats & dogs, but not to other environmental allergens (according to DH - though to me it looks like he had minor reactions to a few other items based on the picture DH took).

Fast forward to this spring. Stachio has had at least 5 bouts of croup and ended up in the ER twice because it was SO bad that only an epinephrine breathing treatment would help even after oral steroids, albuterol, flovent, and daily singulair.

I've stated to DH that I'm concerned that Stachio is reacting to an environmental allergen and DH keeps repeating that Stachio only reacted to cats & dogs. I get that...but jeez - the allergy test he had is not exhaustive of all possible allergens. It is just the most common. DH had to take him to his allergist appt a few weeks ago and I swear I don't think he even brought the possibility up with the DR. In the mean time, Stachio has croup AGAIN! It is making me NUTS! Why is he being so stupid about this? Or if he actually brought it up to the allergist, why is the allergist being so stupid? Its not like the 25 things Stachio was tested for are the only allergens out there in the world!

Just frustrated.

[MamaMolly]

There is a saying in the allergy world that reaction trumps results. Allergy testing is by no means 100% accurate.

[BabbyO]

Indeed! Though I guess DH did bring up a good point...we've tried nearly every med out there for him and singular has had the best results. He can't have histamine blockers because they make him crazy mean, and just crazy. I don't even know what else we'd give him. He gets daily singulair and flovent. Albuterol for flare ups. Yeesh!

[oneplustwo]

Is there any reason you couldn't follow up with the allergist by phone directly? That way you could go over all the info, the results, ask some questions to clarify, and not have to rely on your DH for relaying everything to you. I know this is the BP, so feel free to ignore unsolicited advice! :)

[hillview]

argh so so irritating. Sigh. Sorry :(

[MamaMolly]

Indeed! Though I guess DH did bring up a good point...we've tried nearly every med out there for him and singular has had the best results. He can't have histamine blockers because they make him crazy mean, and just crazy. I don't even know what else we'd give him. He gets daily singulair and flovent. Albuterol for flare ups. Yeesh!

We had to try several of the kid's allergy medicine before we found one that didn't make Lula totally nuts. When her environmental allergies flare we give Allegra to her, but otherwise not. Her allergist wants us to give it to her all the time to get her to a better feeling baseline, but even the Allegra keeps her up. I'd rather just use it selectively and have her get some decent sleep than to have a sleep deprived monster on my hands. She gets stuffy now and then, but when she gets that hacking cough that I KNOW will turn into croup we give her Allegra.

[Still-in-Shock]

WHen you ask your husband questions about the allergist, he may feel that you dont trust him or that you are trying to run the show. It sounds like he has made up his mind that if takes your DC to the doctor, it's his show and that he shouldn't have to defer to you. JMO

I agree with a previous poster that a call to the allergist from you would be good. You may find out that the doctor gave your husband answers to all your questions already, but sometimes that can trigger more questions from you that may not occur to your husband. As for what you tell your husband, I would couch it in such a way that he doesn't feel like he is being undermined or being checked up on. "I saw an article in a parent's magazine, and decided to call the doctor about it now, rather than wait until the next appt. And while I was on the phone, I asked about environmental allergens."

[kwc]

Ok, I know this is the BP and you are frustrated (I would be too!), but could your DS have reflux? It sounds like spasmodic croup (esp. if the oral steroids are not helping much) and acid reflux is definitely a trigger for some kids. And I agree that for allergies, reaction does trump testing.

And you could tell your DH you read about it on an AAP website:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/chest-lungs/Pages/Croup-Treatment.aspx

[truly scrumptious]

WHen you ask your husband questions about the allergist, he may feel that you dont trust him or that you are trying to run the show. It sounds like he has made up his mind that if takes your DC to the doctor, it's his show and that he shouldn't have to defer to you. JMO

I agree with a previous poster that a call to the allergist from you would be good. You may find out that the doctor gave your husband answers to all your questions already, but sometimes that can trigger more questions from you that may not occur to your husband. As for what you tell your husband, I would couch it in such a way that he doesn't feel like he is being undermined or being checked up on. "I saw an article in a parent's magazine, and decided to call the doctor about it now, rather than wait until the next appt. And while I was on the phone, I asked about environmental allergens."

:yeahthat:
DH does this to me and it drives me crazy - he and I would prepare a list of questions which I would ask at DC's appt and come back with the answers (which were satisfactory to me), and DH would say,"Well, then, did you ask about this *follow up question*?" And I would get defensive and say no, and it would finally devolve into me telling him - "If you want to know, why don't you just talk to the doc yourself?"

We have since talked about it, and I realize that he doesn't mean to interrogate me, but just wants to know the info, but I feel like he's second guessing me/implying I'm dumb for not thinking of the obvious follow-up questions/expecting me to be a messenger between him and the doc.

If you call the doc directly without telling your DH, he may get upset that you don't seem to trust him. I would suggest talking to your DH about your outstanding concerns and come up with a list of questions together, and then agree that you will call the doc.

ETA: UGH, sorry. Just realized this was the BP. Feel free to ignore my advice!
And I also wanted to add that your concerns are very valid. Whenever one of us is going to the doc, we always pool all our concerns to make sure any concern either of us has is addressed by the doc. I do hear your frustration, and I hope you can get answers soon.

[Simon]

Grrrrr, on Dh. I would totally go back to the allergist and ask for more extensive testing for EA or SAs. At the very least, maybe call or schedule an appointment and ask them to review results with you? PP are totally right that reactions trump tests. Or maybe see a different allergist? We see lots of specialists and allergists are the one specialty that we've had terrible experiences about 3-4 times. Ugh.

Also, I would push for trying out new or a combo of new control medications. Have you tried Advair? It has a longer acting bronchiodialator (sp?) in addition to the same active drug as Flovent. I thought we were doing OK on Flovent, but once we tried Ds2 on Advair it was like a whole new level of good. He recovered more quickly from his colds and needed his emergency inhaler a lot less but we still were needing oral steroids at times. Then when we stepped up his drugs even more this past winter (added Singulair despite testing negative to all EAs, and an antibiotic to control inflammation in his lungs), we made it through the whole winter needing only one round of oral steroids, which for us is a huge improvement. He didn't get pneumonia even once. Its a record. Anyhow, I'm sorry if you weren't looking for advice but I understand your pain and wanted to share our BTDT. If we didn't have an amazing pulmonologist (our allergists have been pretty much duds), we never would have hit on this specific combo and its been fabulous!