My son was diagnosed with asthma 3 years ago. He's had all the testing and is allergic to pretty much everything outdoors and in. He currently takes Singulair, Zyrtec and Pulmicort on a daily basis. Things have been going really well lately and we'd like to wean him off meds if we can. The doctor said they are certainly willing to try. Has anyone done this? I would hate to start problems up all over again but why keep pumping him full of meds if there is any chance we can cut him back.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I have the same question. My son was diagnosed w/ Reactive Airway Disease and was on Pulmicort all last winter. We took him off in the spring and now gets Flovert when sick and Albuterol if needed. I've had 2 dr's try to get me to give him Singulair, but he has very few episodes, so I don't think a daily medication is needed. I would love to know if he's going to grow out of it too.

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QUOTE=tclem;3402038]My son was diagnosed with asthma 3 years ago. He's had all the testing and is allergic to pretty much everything outdoors and in. He currently takes Singulair, Zyrtec and Pulmicort on a daily basis. Things have been going really well lately and we'd like to wean him off meds if we can. The doctor said they are certainly willing to try. Has anyone done this? I would hate to start problems up all over again but why keep pumping him full of meds if there is any chance we can cut him back.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I can relate to your dilemma. I would try weaning if I were you, as long as you can limit his exposure to allergens and always have a rescue med handy. How long has it been since your son's last "attack?" My two year old daughter has asthma triggered by respiratory infections. She has only had two attacks, but they were serious. It is hard to give her Pulmicort every day when she can go months without symptoms. It has now been three months since her last attack and she has made it through two really bad colds without any ashtma symptoms. We look forward to the spring when we will try to put the nebulizer away for good, too! My husband had serious asthma as a child and hasn't had a single symptom since he was six years old! I hear about kids outgrowing it all the time. Good luck!

First of all, how old is your son? I don't want to sound as if I am passing along medical advice based upon what I have been told, but when my daughter was diagnosed with asthma, I was told by the asthma specialist that children often outgrow it by the early to mid teen years, although even in those cases it usually returns in the late 20's or 30's.

Several factors would weigh in on my judgement if it were my daughter. How often and how severe were the episodes before the meds? Were the attacks fairly easy to bring back under control when a flare occurred - or did they often require oral steroids, hospitalization, etc.? Does there appear to be significant lung scarring from early episodes? How early could you or the child detect an attack coming on? Was there early warning signs or sudden flares?

There are so many things that would affect how to wean and from which drugs to begin with. If it were my child, after considering the above factors, among others, I would certainly give it a try, especially if the Dr was agreeable. Not having had any recent flares, I would make sure rescue meds were still good (not expired, exposed to wrong temps or lighting, etc.) Also, use the peak flow meter regularly to help watch for problems.

Good luck, and I so hope this works out for your son. The less meds we have to give our babies, the better, IMO.

(BTW, my daughter is on the very same meds as your son. When I begin taking steps to reduce her meds, I will wean from the pulmicort first.)