DD has just been unofficially diagnosed last week.

She was admitted to hospital having a lot of trouble breathing, chest recessions, chronic wet cough (couple of months, never really going away) and she was desatting to 82/82% (Oxygen Saturation Levels). It was 4 days before she was able to come off the O2 and Ventolin out to 3 hourly before she could maintain her saturations. She'd had 6 respiratory infections in 4 months, and this was her third trip to hospital, but first admission.

They decided to run a raft of tests while we were there, including BT's and Chest X-Rays, we are waiting on results of Immunogloblin and waiting for a Sweat Test for Cystic Fibrosis - which we think is unlikely, due to passing the newborn screening and gut feeling, but it is the only test they can do to confirm either way.

The diagnosis for last weeks admission was Chronic Mild Asthma, and Pneumontis (Acute viral infection in the lungs causing inflammation of the lungs). The key markers that she has for Asthma are the chest recessions, low o2 sats and chronic wet cough. We have been feeling for the last 2 months or so that things weren't normal or normal resipratory infections (3 cases of Croup and 2 of Bronchiolits, they originally diagnosed her with Bronchiolitis again last visit in the ER).

Thanks to the admission we are finally in the system, and we are now back to her Paediatrician who we haven't see since she was 6 months old.

She is now on Ventolin 2 puffs 4 hourly during the day and overnight as needed. We were on 6 puffs every 20 mintutes to star with and the streatched it out to hourly and slowly out further from then.

The Paeditricians and Respiratory specialists and Dr's at the WCH, confirmed she has all of the markers of an asthmatic but the diagnosis isn't official until she has had three attacks or is over 2 years of age, and each followed with make sure your ambulance cover is up to date and we will be seeing you again , she had probably already had attaks, they just didn't monitor her sats long enough, only a minute or so when we got there each time, as she was sitting up and looked "ok" unfortunately for us DD is good at hiding that she is not as well as she looks, so we have to advise them that she does not show all the signs in the book as such

I sympathise it is a very hard journey to follow to actually get a diagnosis, but it is a relief when finally something happens.

So I guess for us it was the hospital admission that actually did it and Dr's that listened that this wasn't "normal" for her.

Take care and I hoep you get some answers very soon.
xxoo