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amwoodard08
member
Pulmonologist Experiences
amwoodard08
member
I"m not sure where to post this, sorry if i'm in the wrong spot.
Trying to find out what to expect from my first pulmonologist appt for my daughter.
Background: she is 5 almost 6 weeks old, was born 11/7 at 37 weeks (induced due to high bp and low fluid I had) vaginal birth and was placed in the NICU due to turning blue and having o2 levels in the 70's. She stayed for a week and was sent home and would still desat while sleeping but would always come back up. She was diagnosed with RDS. 2 weeks later she was admitted to hospital for RSV and Bronchiolitis and was placed on oxygen due to o2 being in the low 80's. She had to stay for a week as well because she would not wean off the oxygen. When she was discharged she would still drop into the low 90's high 80's range while sleeping but stayed in the 98-100 range while awake. We are going to a pulmonologist to figure out what is causing this since it's been an issue with her desating during sleeping. I'm at a loss, I cannot find anything about what could be the cause and all the pediatricians at the hospital as well as her own pediatrician has not seen an instance where a child drops so much during sleep. She never has quit breathing, just drops sometimes very low while in a deep sleep. If anyone has any advice please let me know what you experienced or what you can tell me, or what your experience was for the first appt at the pulmonologist. Thank you!
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Re: Pulmonologist Experiences
Take this with a grain of salt as I am not a MD but am a respiratory therapist with a daughter of respiratory issues among other things:
A chest x-ray and/or CT may be ordered - depending on where you are done that day
Order an overnight pulse ox test: This is where they put a sat probe on her - heel or ear with her age - and the pulse ox with record her sats throughout the night. This way they can tell when, how long, and how low she drops. This may be done both on air and on oxygen to determine what level she may need at night.
Kids with heart or pulmonary issues sometimes don't have the strength in their diaphragm at night yet for deep breathing, and some little lungs are still recovering and have lower air space to keep that oxygen level up.
They could also refer her to take a look at her heart - to make sure every thing closed up normally after birth since she was a bit early. Even term kids sometimes have that blood flow working as it should due to various issues.
I am glad she is alright during the day - it's a good sign that she has daytime stamina, but may just need a little extra help at night. Good luck.
I don't have any experience with this, but I contacted the person that writes this blog and she was so supportive and helpful with the issues I asked her about. Her son has some similar experiences as your daughter, so it may help to read about it on her blog. Hope it helps!
https://thatpoweroflove.blogspot.com/#axzz2FEFbh82c