I totally get what you mean about being happy to have a diagnosis, even though it may seem a little morbid to others.
Quote Originally Posted by sgtiger View Post
BTW, what kinds of questions should I ask his docs the next time I see them? Other than breathing difficulties, are there any other symptoms I should look out for and bring to their attention?
My ex (of 8 years) had severe asthma that was triggered by a variety of allergens, including but not limited to: mold, plant pollens, animal dander, about 20 different food groups, dust mites, pollution/smoke, etc

Often, people with severe asthma also have other allergies (environmental and food) as well as skin problems like eczema. You should try to identify as many of your son's triggers as possible. There are some tests that allergists can perform, like skin prick tests. However, these don't always show everything and you may be better off keeping a journal of triggers and symptoms until you figure out what these are. A lot of these problems tend to cluster together and have a single root cause. For example, gluten intolerance can theoretically cause all of these problems in certain people. The best advice I have for you is to dig and dig deeper until you have found the root cause, rather than just medicating a symptom for the rest of your son's life.

While they are absolutely critical to shortterm airway management, longterm use of steroidal inhalants does have side effects. My ex spent several years using an inhaler 3x daily just to survive normally. However, he was concerned about the steroid side effects. He was also worried that, if he needed the inhaler just to live normally every day, would it be as effective when he was really in trouble and having a serious attack? He decided to eliminate or avoid as many of his asthma triggers as possible, and he slowly weaned off. He always keeps his inhaler around for emergency situations, but he no longer depends on it daily. Certain nutritional changes made a huge difference, such as cutting out sugar and completely avoiding the foods he is allergic to, insetad of cheating every now and then.

You have to decide how you want to manage his health needs while he's living with you, and he'll have to decide how to live the rest of his life. My sister prefers to keep a dog that she is allergic to, and takes medication every day in order to control her allergies to it. Others prefer to never willingly expose themselves to allergens, even though this is a tremendous sacrifice. It all depends on the severity of your problem and your life philosophy.