My Son Is on So Much Medicine He Is a Different Baby That Isn't Happy

Noisy breathing is usually food allergies, and you can get help checking that out on docmccullen.com

With babies it is really important to find the underlying cause of any symptoms, as that is the way a body communicates a problem- look at the symptom and "pull the string" until you locate the reason, and then handle that- then the symptom will of course go away.

With any medication it is important to get the "fly sheet" that sheet that comes with the drug- if you don't have them you can go back to the pharmacy and get them- then read them- all the contraindications. Then you have the information to make decisions.

And really know what you know- you have observed what you have observed- put THAT into what you decide for your son.

Go with your gut feeling. You really do know best for your son, Moms always do, trust that!

I would get him actually checked for allergies. There are tests for this and if he doesn't actually have allergies then the meds are not actually helping him.

I would get a second opinion from a holistic doctor, i.e. an acupuncturist(no they do not stick needles in babies). Doctors, in my opinion, many times just prescribe medicine even if they aren't sure what the problem is. As a person that has been jerked around by the establishment(I have MS), I would never allow that to happen to my child. At that young age, the nervous system is still be developed, and no one really knows what all of the drugs will do to a child. The fact that your child's personality has changed, tells me that something is causing it. There are some really good acupuncturist in Sarasota and St. Pete that deal with children. If it is allergies, find a doctor that is trained in NAET. For the record, I do believe there is a place for western medicine when everything else has been looked at. Good luck. N.

First let me say, I am in no way qualified to give medical advice, and I know nothing about the condition your son was diagnosed with. As a mother, there is no way I would be okay with giving my 6 month old baby 9 different medications for a condition that is not a big deal. If your instincts tell you that something isn't right, get a second opinion. Even a third opinion if you need it to feel better about what is going on. Remeber, you are the boss... not the doctor. It is okay to second guess them. They are not perfect and they can be wrong sometimes.

Definitely get more opinions from other doctors. My son, who is now 15, developed an autoimmune disorder at 6 months old. Because it manifested in the form of hives, otherwise highly respected doctors kept treating him like an allergy patient. One doctor we saw had my son on 4 times the normal ADULT dose of multiple allergy and asthma medications at the age of 8 for months. The doctor kept insisting that I had to give these medications time to work and I had to be patient with the adjustments in medications. After almost a year, I feared for my son's liver, so I went to a hospital in Tampa. I saw a doctor there that finally correctly diagnosed my son, took him off of all of his medications and told me he'd likely outgrow his autoimmune disorder when he hit puberty. He was 100% right. He's now 15 and hasn't had an outbreak in at least 3 years. I guess my point is, if you're not comfortable with the treatment options this doctor is giving you for your son, see someone else until you get a good answer and treatments that don't trade illness for horrible side effects. I feel for you. Good luck!

Ditto everyone here on getting a second, third, or whatever opinion. Whatever it takes. Your instincts are telling you that your son is not okay, and 9 meds at 6 months sounds completely overboard to me, especially for what you say is "not a big deal".

Get on the internet today and start researching. I also agree with trying some naturopaths or holistic doctors. We tend to trust medical doctors implicitly, but they do a lot of guesswork and rely heavily on pharmaceutical treatments. That approach is obviously not working for your son. You are the mom and you have every right to look elsewhere until you find the right solution for him... and I'm confident you will. Good luck!

My daughter had trachamalacia, along with other health problems I had so many different opinions between my ped and all childrens and specailists. I had one pulminologist thaT TOLD ME BECAUSE OF THE NOISY BREATHING THEY WILL TRY TO SAT SHE HAS ASTHMA. BUT SHE DOESN'T. THEY SAID SHE HAD MUSCULAR DISTROPHY BUT SHE DOESN'T. THEY SAID SHE HAD REFLUX (HARD TO TELL). THE ONLY THING SHE HAS GOING ON NOW AT 5 IS ALLERGIES. SO I GUESS MY ADVICE TO YOU IS RESEARCH YOURSELF AND GET A LOT OF OPINIONS. GOOD LUCK

I have a similar issue with my five month old daughter. She has very noisy breathing and snorting. It is usually noisier when she is drinking her milk. I went to an ear nose and throat doctor and right now he thinks it is acid reflux so she is on Zantac. However, it does not seem to helping. I am waiting on the doctor to look at some CT scans of her face. Based on his decision I will consider a second opinion. However, if she had to be on so many medications and they are changing her personality I would consider a third opinion. I hope you can figure out what else it could me.

My daughter battled with respiratory issues and has been diagnosed with reactive airways (which is really childhood asthma that they usually outgrow). Our pediatrician referred us to Dr. Rosenberg who had her tested for allergies first thing. She didn't have allergies, but that doesn't mean that she won't develop allergies at some point. We go to see the pulmonologist every 6 months (it used to be every 3 months). Months after going to the pulmonologist, I learned that he is one of the premier pediatric pulmonologists in the area. My daughter also takes Singulair, Albuterol, and Flovent HFA (equivalent to Pulmicort), however, we don't have to use the nebulizer anymore. We use what my daughter calls the "puffers". They are inhalers with a chamber that you attach (kind of like a little face mask). I tried taking her off of the inhalers one time with the doctor's blessing and regretted doing it. My daughter got a respiratory infection within 2 weeks. I immediately put her back on the inhalers. I will keep her on them until she gets older and her body is stronger. She is 3 years old now. I used to think that all that medicine was not really doing anything until the one time I took her off the inhalers. I know it seems like a lot of medicine (and your little one is on more meds than mine) and you miss having your happy boy, but I would be very careful about stopping the meds. Have you talked to the pulmonologist about it? He/she may be amenable to weaning him off of some of the meds over a period of time or trying some different meds that don't cause him to be unhappy. Hopefully they will outgrow this as they get older!! Until then, talk to the doc about different options. Good luck!

I went through much of the same thing with my daughter, it did start a little later at about 1 yr , for the next year I followed the pulumnologist recommendations, but my once vibrate daughter became moody and was not the same loving little girl she was before. I changed pediatricians with in that year and I addressed my concerns with my new pediatrician and we discussed everything she was on and my daughter is only now on singular and and the albuterol ( as needed ) I am not telling you to pull your child off medication but I would address your concerns with the plumonoglogist and the pediatrician, one of my main concerns was the antibiotic if she was taking it all the time what happens when she really needs it for an infections and she is resistant. It was the best decission for us. Sometimes your have to follow your gut. I would also do research on the medications and side effects and make the choice that is best for your family.

My heart goes out to you! Children are so fragile and there are so many things that we use not only in our homes to clean our clothes or our bathrooms that has a residue that is left behind. In saying that bleach alone has properties in it that cause Asthma and so many of us use or have used bleach or products that have bleach in them. At any rate I have come across a great company that has non-caustic products and has helped my girlfriends daughter who did have asthma, and went to the doctor 2-3 times per wk for it and now she goes 1 time every few months or so just for check ups. It really sounds like this may help fill your need so I wanted to share. Please feel free to check out my website at: www.BestHealthChange.com and "click get more info" if you think it is worth checking out. Many blessings for you and your family. God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving.

My son was also born with a breathing noise. When I would take him to the dr and mention it, he would say he doesn't really hear it, and what he does hear will go away. He also said if he had asthma he didn't want to label him. I was at a loss until I took him to a kinesiology chiroprator. He heard the noise, then he gave him an adjustment and started him on a natural supplement from Standard Process Inc. He was on it for 1 1/2 years, but it didn't change his personality, give him steriods or anything else. It just cured him. Finding the right chircopractor is hard. I go to an amazing one here in Largo. His name is Dr. Stolley. He is not the same chiropractor because I was in Michigan at the time. But he has worked on my daughter and myself. His name is Dr. Stolley from Stolley Wellness Clinic; www.stolleywellnessclinic.com. It will most likely cost you out of pocket, but it is worth it to cure your son and not comatose him. Good luck.

I think that you should go see asthma and allergy specialist to control his asthma. Singulair, Pulmicort, Atrovent, Albuterol is a bit mush for a newly diagnosed asthmatic. I assume the Orapred and antibiotics are just temporary-if not thats another problem. And Im not sure what the zantac is for unless it is for the laryngomalacia-
BUT my youngest son has asthma and I am also a RN...
normally for a newly diagnosed asthmatic-esp an infant- you start small and work your way up....
My 2 yr old was on Singulair for a while, and we stopped it because of the warnings with the med for mood changes, depression-etc... and I have notice a difference since we stopped it in May. His asthma has not really suffered, he does his Pulmicourt nebulizer daily and albuterol as needed-and he is a moderate asthmatic.
As I said before-Singulair can cause mood changes, as can albuterol-it make them agitated and grumpy. Orapred is a steriod and can ALSO cause mood changes....
So your happy baby is on a bunch of meds that can make him unhappy.
I seriously would seek a 2nd opinion on the asthma meds.
We see Dr. Halsey is Lithia/Fish Hawk area ###-###-####, incase you need someone to see.
Good luck!!

First let me say I am so sorry to hear that you're having to deal with this with your son. I believe the worst part of being a parent is not being able to make your child happy, or comfortable, and when they are sick, that's basically what you're dealing with. I truly hope the very best for you and hope you are able to find a solution that will get your son back to normal.

I would offer to you to try MonaVie. It's an all natural fruit juice of 19 different fruits, with the Acai berry from Brazil being the staple and superfruit behind the blend. I'm sure you've heard of MonaVie from Oprah and Rachel Ray's TV shows. It really can work wonders on someone. It provides NATURALLY your daily antioxidants and nutrients, and can provide your body through natural fruit juice what it needs to work properly. I would highly recommend trying it for at least a month and see if it helps. I know my son (10 months) loooovvvveees to drink it. And the best part is, it only takes 2 ounces in the morning and 2 at night, (not shoving 9 pills or nasty tasting medicines down his throat). In fact, if my son sees me getting the bottle he gets all excited and reaches for it until I give him his cup.

Send me a note and let me know if you want some more information and I will be glad to get you started on a bottle. Best of luck.