Pulmicort Side Effects

Hi L.,
This is not going to answer your Pulimicort question, but looks like you've gotten some responses on that.

Since asthma is a long term issue, I would suggest learning all you can on what you can do in your own home to help strengthen your son’s immune system--which has everything to do with the severity and management of any chronic illness.

There is a new book "Green Goes With Everything" by Sloan Barnett which is "packed with common sense and sass, product picks, and practical tips" (from the back cover). She is a mother who's son was diagnosed with asthma, and being a reporter, she decided to research the condition and found many practical natural solutions that she shares in the book--it's excellent. By the way "green" living is not only good for the environment, it is also good/healthier for us!

I have allergies and for the past 17 years have lived with the philosophy she talks about in her book and have been helping others learn and make changes themselves. I have more info. to share if you are interested and enjoy helping others understand and make the necessary changes without stress:) So if you'd like some help, someone to "talk it out" with let me know.

Sincerely,
J.

1 mom found this helpful

L. my son took Pulimicort for 2 years and he had no side effects at all. He still grew. Although he wasnt gaining alot of weight he still gained some.And his growth is also ok.Try not to worry about it,to much especially if it is helping his asthma. He had asthma from the time of birth and was put on this of course at 1. Now that he is 6 he has for the most part grew out of it which most children that are born with it do. My nephew who also was born with it also grew out of it, and hopefully your son will too. My son now has allergies. Now when my son got alittle older around 3 or so he was put on Singular which worked wonders. Good Luck to you.

Both of my sons weighed the same at 12 months as they did at 24 months, so I wouldn't worry too much about the weight not going up. They become so active between 12 and 24 months! They burn off more calories and seem to become taller and thinner.

That said, my eight year old son was on Pulmicort. Very similar story to your son--started very early with it. That medicine is worth its weight in gold. We had so many ER visits and two hospital stays before we started on Pulmicort.

Before age 2, he always seemed to be in the 90th percentile in height, but after that, he seemed to be in somewhere near the 75th percentile. I have always thought that his height might be affected by the Pulmicort-once he went off the Pulmicort he seemed to shoot into the 90th percentile in height again. (Once he was old enough, we switched him to a Flovent inhaler which is a non-steroid preventive inhaler.)

I wouldn't worry too much. Like I said, my second son who has never taken Pulmicort is now 2 1/2 and he actually weighed the same (or a few ounces less) at his 2 year appointment than he did at his one year.

I would check into reflux it causes asthma and so does EE (eosnophilic esophagitis and causes loss of weight or no weight gain. there is moer to it than just the pulmicort. food allergeis..
good luck
J.

Nicole,

Oral corticosteriods such as prednisone are more associated with stunted growth. Have you discussed your concerns with the pediatrician? That is the best place to start. Pulmicort has been used in children for over 20 years and there is at least one >20 year longitudinal study done on the drug in children.
Also, I had severe asthma as a child and was constantly on oral steriods and began to take inhaled steriods (when they became available). I was short for my age but as I got older and my asthma was under better control I started to grow normally (off oral steriods). I still need to take inhaled steriods to control my asthma. I am now taller than my sister and my mother. My mother used to worry about my growth too, but I turned out fine.
I guess the point is there is a lot of scientific data on pulmicort and children as it has been used for many years. I encourage you to discuss it further with your pediatrician or pulmonologist as inhaled corticosteriods are essential in controlling asthma.

When Connor started using the Pulmicort treatment I researched it a little bit and it said that sometimes the short term growth is slightly stunted, but over the long term it did not seem to stunt their growth.

I was told that slow growth could be associated with pulmicort. My daughter is a little bit small for her age - nothing extreme. We did experience a stall and a little weight loss. The drs. thought that it may be due to the extra energy she was expending trying to breathe.

Are the drs. concerned about the weight? Is he hitting other milestones? I wouldn't worry hugely if he's still hitting other milestones.

Are you seeing a pulminologist or simply a pediatrician? We have had a lot of progress with our pulminologist (through Children's memorial). I really recommend it. I feel like we've gained ground with a specialist. We are also doing homeopathy and chinese herbal medicine.

Asthma sucks

My daughter also uses Pulmicort from Sept-May, since that's when her asthma acts up. She never has problems in the summer, so we take her off of it, and that tends to be when she has a growth spurt. She grows more slowly during the months she's on it. Maybe it's just a coincidence. I asked her pulmonologist about side effects, and she said that because it's inhaled and doesn't enter the bloodstream, that it's not the same as taking oral steroids, which do have side effects. Anyway, she's a bit small for her age, but she does grow at least a little bit each year, and I can't believe what a difference it makes for her to be on the Pulmicort. Good luck with your little guy!

My son, now 5, was on pulmacort as well as a couple of other steroids when he was younger for breathing problems. It was my understanding that the pulmacort was not associated with height problems because it was maintained in the lungs whereas the steroid injection was definitely a potential problem. My son went through the stalled growth for about two years. He didn't gain a single ounce nor a single inch. He has now grown some but is still on the short side for his peers. At 5, he weighs 40 pounds and is about 45 inches tall. He was 10 pounds, 2 oz at birth (37 weeks). His sister, however, is not quite 2 years old and she is almost 34 pounds.

Hope this helps. I know that it's not what you want to hear but steroids do affect our children and this is not broadcasted nor are we educated as new Moms about this...it's just not right. Anyway, if you find any other answers...please share them.

N.

My nephew was on Pulmicort (and I think he still is, but I'm not sure.) when he was younger. He just turned 3 in August and he is tiny. Now he was a big guy when he was under a year. He's grown just a small amount in the past 2 years, and we're pretty sure it was from the Pulmicort. He started preschool this fall and his is by far the smallest in his class.