Pure Parents

Question:

Hi everyone. If you recall, I asked for advice concerning my GP’s assessment that my son is too small and not putting on enough weight for his age about 2-3 weeks ago and received a tremendous amount of suggestions, thoughts and supportive comments from many of you. Once again, many thanks. We just returned from seeing the specialist she recommended. It turns out that my son (who put on 1.5kg in the last 2-3 weeks) does not have a growth problem but asthma, although the two may be related. I was mildly but not completely surprised because although he’s been a generally healthy and active boy, whenever he catches the flu bug, he tends to get a very bad case of the cough. He has never wheezed obviously, but the GP has prescribed prednisolone before because with her stethoscope she could tell his lungs were congested. We found out today that prednisolone, an oral steroid, can stunt growth in children who take it repeatedly and over a long period of time. Today we saw a respiratory medicine specialist who confirms that my son has asthma, but that the chances are very good that he will not need long term medication and treatment if the course of action she’s prescribed for the next 6-12 months works. My son will be using an inhaler with fluticasone propionate (also a steroid, but with fewer chances of side effects because it is administered locally and directly to the lungs) regularly from now on. It’s supposed to be a preventative measure, and although it has to be taken daily, it’s a lot better than having to rely heavily on oral medication during a flu or other respiratory infection. We have an appointment to see the specialist again in 6 months. Thanks again to all of you who lent me a supportive and listening ear. I just wanted you to know how things are turning out. TGFParentingSolutions! Tayan — SS Muppets Gallery at http://www.singnet.com.sg/~liviafyk/sgallery.html

Response:

Ya know… this sounds sooo famillar… my daughter was chronicly ill for almost 4 years… and durring that time one year she lost weight and only grew =BD inch… talk about freaking out… she was seeing sooo many specialist… Her reg doc… her ent, her imunologist, her dermatologist, her orthopedic doc, and a growth specialist. I know the feeling… but it took like mega amounts of tests and time to determine she was okay… I am happy you did not have to go through all the testing before they figured out the cause. Hugs And Tugs Shell

Response:

>I know the feeling… but it took like mega amounts of tests and time to >determine she was okay… I am happy you did not have to go through all >the testing before they figured out the cause.

Thank you so much, Shelly. Take care. Cheers, Tayan — The X-Files at http://www.singnet.com.sg/~liviafyk/xfiles.html

Response:

>>I know the feeling… but it took like mega amounts of tests and time to >determine she was okay..

How small is too small?  Mine is less than 30 pounds and about 3 feet tall. Best wishes, Angela visit my web site at: http://members.aol.com/ang4ou2/mathintro.html

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