Mumsnet Talk

Hello,

I really hope there is someone who can help me. My DS is a lovely little 11m old boy and he is not putting on a lot of weight, so the paediatrician did some blood test.

Today his secretary sent me the results but the doctor is not available until tomorrow and I DON'T WANT TO GOOGLE IT because I know I will scare myself shitless...

So, here are the results (the one with the star are the one not in the normal range) :

HAEMOGLOBIN * 9.5 normal between 11.5-13.5
RED CELLS * 5.30 5 normal between 3.6-5.2
HCT * 28.9 5 normal between 34-44
MCV * 54.5 5 normal between 70-86
MCH * 17.9 normal between 23-31
MCHC 32.9 normal between 32-36
RDW * 20.4 normal between 11.0-15.0
WHITE CELLS 11.20 normal between 6.0-18.0
Neutrophils 3.49 normal between 2.0-5.6
Lymphocytes 5.84 normal between 3.6-11.0
Monocytes * 1.64 normal between 0.00-1.5
Eosinophils 0.19 normal between 0.00-0.4
Basophils 0.04 normal between 0.00-0.2
Platelets * 499 normal between 140-440
ESR * 29 normal between 1-7
IRON * 6 normal between 10.6-28.3
T.I.B.C 60 normal between 41-77
IRON SATURATION * 10 normal between 20-55

Thanks you

err they are all "normal" .
so why would you freak out ???

ah soprry might be misreading --

the nromal range is given - when tables are lsot it isnt clear..
so his iron is low.

that is easily treated..

low iron can be easily treated but you need to know why he not absorbing iron.

what are his symptoms apart from the weight ?

Looks like he needs a bit of iron, nothing too spectacular. <not an expert> How come you have the printout, those things are terrifying if you don't understand them.

Increased ESR
Increased ESR has many causes, including pregnancy, menstruation, infection or anemia

so if his iron is low he is anemic and that is why esr is higher

but the next quesiton is why is he anemic? what is his diet? is it low in iron? if not, why isnt he absorbing iron?

If he's not getting enough calories (slim for his age) then he probably isn't getting all of everything else (although this is from ancient experience now, my skinnny boy is still skinny as anything but nearly 11 so all the tests we had are in the distant past) I can't believe the secretary has given you the results without seeing the dr, you could make anything up in your head from that list.

He may need another blood test - a ferritin/folate assay to see what his iron stores are like.

Not very sympathetic cestlavielife
I can't help sorry but I can advise you to step away from Dr Google. Wait until you can speak to the Dr tomorrow. I'm sure it will all be fine.

Whats his ethnic background?

It looks like an iron deficiency anaemia.

Together with the weight loss it could be he has coeliac disease.

I don't know about children but adults who have iron deficiency anaemia are all tested for coeliac disease (as well as other things).

if he's not putting on weight or absorbing iron, it could be down to coeliac disease. Has he been tested for that?

I don't know most of them, but it looks like he's low on iron.
He, Red Cells, HCT, MCV, MCH, ESR Iron, Iron Satuation are all low, all of which are red blood cell, which is often iron related. So it may be he's not getting in enough iron, or something is stopping him absorbing it. Most likely the former.

RDW high means the red blood cells are different sizes, again can be iron deficiency

I've done that by googling the ones I didn't know, and am not a doctor or medical, so don't take this as absolute. The other two ones are to do with white blood cells and that can be just a temporary virus like a cold that causes blips. Again I don't know exactly, my ds had out of the normal range on those when he developed strange bruising at a similar age, due to a virus as far as they could tell.

Hope he's okay.

cross posts callow

Not a doc but quite good at googling.

The overall pic seems to be slightly anaemic. The different measures which are abnormal describe what kind of anaemia. I think those tests mean the cells are smaller than normal and they are each carrying too little iron. Some of the other measures seem to indicate that it is iron deficiency anaemia rather than vit B12 deficiency.

ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) is a test of generalised inflamation and indicates that he may be fighting some sort of illness, as would the raised monocyte level. However, I am unsure whether the anaemia would influence these (don't think so).

So I suspect he may have had a mild infection on the day he was tested. He does also have mild to moderate anaemia. I am sure all these are addressable, though, and certainly no need to panic.

Someone better qualified will be along soon, I am sure!

Thank a lot you all, he does not have any other symptoms apart from the fact that he eats like a wolf but his weight gain is poor. He is a very active boy, he stands up by himself, can say mummy and (probably) daddy and have a lot of chatting - in his own language - with his sister. He is formula fed. What scares me is that he already had iron supplements for the last 3 months and it seems that the iron is not increasing, even if the ferretin is normal. Could he be microcytemic (my DH is from the south of Italy)?

Don't google, it needs someone with medical knowledge to interpret plus more info on your ds. Dh will be home in 10 mons I'll ask him to look.

Mins I meant

Yes, being tested and he does not have coeliac disease (both IgG and IgA are fine) The Thyroid has been tested and is fine too

I agree DONT google...I have a skin condition which before I saw the doc I googled and was convinced I had a terrible disease which would disfigure me...turned out to be plain old mild acne.

Is he fully weaned? This happened to a neice of mine that was a fussy eater and preferred milk over anything else. Once solid food was the priority and milk a supplement (rather than vice versa) the anaemia sorted itself out.

Andro,

Well the fact that his MCV is below normal means he is microcytic. The overwhelming cause of this, though, is iron deficiency anaemia. I think you are thinking of thalassaemia. I also think (way above my pay grade now) that it is a disease carried by a recessive gene, so you would both have to be carriers for your son to inherit it.

Thanks again you all. To answer some of your questions:

yes, he is fully weaned and eats really well, it was a little bit fussy at the beginning but now he eats load.

The blood was taken on Monday and he had a little bit of temperature Saturday and Sunday morning, but was fine by Monday, so that can explain the withe cell result

both me and my husband are italian, we bopth have been tested for Thalassemia, I'm fine my husband is a carrier but does not have the disease

Iron supplements are not always easy to absorb. Would he eat a nice rare roast beef (cut up very small)? Red meat really is the best way to get accessible iron into the system. Does he get enough vitamin C? That helps iron absorption?

If your dp has thalassemia minor then your ds has a 50% chance of been a carrier as well. Been a carrier can for some people mean that they're prone to anaemia.