Has anyone ever had their child misdiagnosed?

Question

My daughter is six an ever since she was one I thought she had asthma, she was a preemie , but that’s not why thought she had it. I have it severely and she acts the same way I do when I’m having an asthma attack. When she was one she had a big one, but my doctor wouldn’t do anything, he thought I was just being a hysterical mom. So I took matter into my own hands and gave her a coffee treatment, which I use when I don’t have my inhaler handy, it really works well and stopped her coughing with in minutes. When I told my doctor he yelled at me saying it would make her heart race. I said I’d rather her heart race then have her die because she can’t breath, again he seemed annoyed with me.


Now this doctor is highly recommended and a preemie specialist that I actually hand selected because of his 23 years of preemie expertise, but every time I mentioned asthma, he’d say it’s just a cough and tried to treat it like a cold. Thinking maybe I am just going over board I believed him until the last two months when I had to take her in three times for coughing because her medicine wasn’t doing anything.

I got a call from the school nurse the other day saying she was coughing really bad and she seemed to be wheezing.. “I knew it!!” I exclaimed, I knew she had asthma. So I called the doctor again but he was too busy to see my child who couldn’t catch her breath, so another doctor from the same office said she’d see my kid. With in 20 minutes my daughter was diagnosed with asthma, got a breathing treatment and now has the medicine she needs……after 5 years or arguing with a specialist. He seriously made me think I was paranoid and had no clue what I was talking about.

Has this happened to you?

Answer 1

Many years ago one of my profs said, "Just as all that glitters is not gold, all that wheezes is not asthma." What we call asthma is caused by swelling of the lining of the small bronchial tubes along with spasm of the surrounding muscular layer. But wheezing can also be produced by an aspirated foreign body, a tumor (benign or malignant), a lymph node in the chest pressing on a bronchus, and several other conditions. Then there is exercise induced bronchospasm. Authorities are divided as to whether this is a separate entity from asthma. Some children, usually teen-agers in my experience, will have spasm of the false vocal cords. To the inexperienced it presents as asthma. Many premies develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia - BPD - a condition marked by episodes of wheezing in the first two years of life or longer. Some of these premies develop life-long asthma.

Even the best of doctors are occasionally thrown off-track, given the multitude of possible causes of wheezing. But your displeasure is very understandable.

By the way, coffee and tea contain xanthines, compounds closely related to theophylline, a bronchodilator. My asthmatic relatives say tea works better than coffee. Hopefully you now have better and more effective treatments for your daughter. Good luck.

Answer 2

OMG YES!!! I have two boys who have asthma. When they were babies they both had eczema really bad, my oldest son's doc told me then that he would be prone to asthma and other allergies, monitor for symptoms.. Well fast forwrd some years and change in insurance and doctors. My youngest son would have "colds" and coughing spells. Took him to the emergency room where he was finally diagnosed with asthma. now they areboth on inhalers, the oldest one is really controlled, but the youngest is not controlled very good. Fast forward, I went to nursing school, and five years later after graduation, I try to tell the docs kid needs nebs for home use to prevent ER visits, they wont give it to me saying he's not that bad. So now I have to do thigs at home to try to keep him controlled. I have to self adjust his meds to control his asthma, and I dont even teach this to my patients, but I have to do it. So now when my kids get sick, I send them to the doctor or to the ER with my husband and a detailed triage note from me, to get what I need done at the doc office or emergency room

Answer 3

Yes.. it happened to me. Except I was diagnosed with Asthma and it was Anxiety instead. I feel so bad for you and your daughter, but thank God that you didn't give up and stood tough. Sometimes Doctors are just too busy or are looking for quick fixes, and that to me is not professional care. I want a doctor that will take the time to listen to me, my symptoms, and do everything possible to help me with the correct diagnosis. Good luck to you both.

Answer 4

I hate to say this, but it happens a lot.
It doesn't matter that the doc had many years of experience. It seems that he's one of those doctors that take issue to people trying to diagnose a problem themselves instead of waiting for the doctor to diagnose. I say there's nothing wrong with people educating themselves. (Realize that we may not always be right because there are many illnesses that mimic one another in many ways.)

To you and anyone reading this: If you feel in your gut that your child is still sick and has not been properly diagnosed, go to another doctor!!! It's absolutely your right!

Answer 5

Three of mine were being hospitalized at least every other week, with respiratory problems, they called health & wealthfare in on us, to investigate us, which proved to be fruitless. Because our medical expenses were so great, we had to file for bankrupcy, and they put the kids on state coverage. We made an appointment to see a very Highly qualified specialist who said they had cystic fibrosis, and we're severly allergic to trees, and everything you could imagine. What a night mare we went through. Then the dr. states he wouldn't treat them because we had state coverage. Needless to say we went to another Pedi. and she ran testand said he was full of SH--! They were allergic to everything but they didn't have cystic fibrosis! What would have happened if we started treating them for that? After years and years of medical expenses, they have out grown a lot of their allergies, but they had cronic asthma. Today my oldest son is still bothered with it more than the others, but my daughter is allergic news paper ink and magazines soaps and stuff. But thank God they are better they ever were. Goes to show you they aren't God! Have a Very Merry Christmas filled with Health, Happiness, Wealth beyond your wildest dreams, and rememb er to pray for out troops,amd light a candle for those who can't be with us!