Doc has freaked me out....reassurance please?

[lionsandtigersandbears]

My lovely 17mo has had one bug after another over the past 5 months, ear infections, viruses, croup....etc. He always has enlarged lymph nodes (posted about this before) and whenever I go to the docs with him (pretty much on a weekly basis atm) I mention them as they do worry me and they have always been totally non-plussed by them, 'totally normal', 'doing their job', 'you can feel them more in babies' etc. Anyway after yet ANOTHER cold this week, (Ive had one as well) we saw the locum this morning as I'm away with work this weekend and I wanted to check we were't getting another ear infection. I joked we 'were here for our weekly visit' and she said she'd been looking at his history and asked me all sorts of questions 'is he always this ill', 'how long have you noticed the lymph nodes' 'hows his weight gain' (his weight gain hasnt been great but his appetite has picked up a bit recently). Anyway I got the impression she was trying to work out if there was an underlying issue, however when I saw one of the practise gp's last week and questioned the lymph nodes she acted like I was a paranoid wally for bringing him in again. Because this doc is a locum I got the impression she wasnt prepared to say anything different to the other gp's i've seen but its got me upset. I'm quite shy and dont shout out when I think I'm being fobbed off and tbh I'm getting embarrassed about how frequently I'm there. Iknow its common to get ill a lot at his age but I AM concerned that all his poor health is not right when coupled with the lymph nodes. Anyone else had this....tia

[taffetacat]

I know its easy to say, but do try not to worry.

I had an ongoing complaint that I went to the GP about 6 times over 6 months and just told each time to come back if it wasn't better in a week.

Eventually, I went back once and saw a locum as my GP was off and he immedediately referred me for invasive tests which have only just been completed. All normal, all now cleared up as well.

My DD was also referred for the after effects of an accident in the summer, we had 3 months of tests and worry and she is absolutely fine.

I think when there are recurrences over a period that can't be explained, they like to rule stuff out. My friend who is a Doc in A and E who was there when my DD was taken in said a lot of it is about covering arses and paperwork.

[CharlieBoo]

Hi sweetie, ok lymph nodes, they freak the HELL out of you but are normal. Both my two have nodes you can see (when they move heads certain way or scream loud I can see them in neck) and feel. My ds is nearly 5 and my dd is coming up 9 months. My ds had the pox a year ago and this was when I first noticed them as they went huge at the base of his skull. The drs were not concerned as they do this when fighting infection. I am not a medically trained person but both mine have them and are fine. Your dc is only 17 months and at this age you are always up the drs. Don't feel embarrassed, that's what they are there for. I seem to always at the drs at the mo too, it's the time of year and have woken up this morning and dd has another cold and ds has bad cough. Kids do get sick more than us, as hard as it is try not to worry. Xxx

[lionsandtigersandbears]

Thankyou both so much for taking the time to reply....honestly you've made me feel so much better. Think lack of sleep and feeling bit below par myself have contributed to me feeling over worried and anxious. x

[Helinher30s]

Is he by any chance in nursery as those places are a minefield of germs!! seriously my 4 year old has something different every week, I keep telling myself at least if he builds a good immune system now it will be good for when he is in school.

The enlarged lymph nodes are fighting the infections however alarm bells for me which would push me to insist on a referral would be any of the following:
Losing weight, no appetitite at all, sleeping too much, falling asleep at unusual times etc, any unusual bruising or cuts that took ages to stop bleeding, decreased activity eg, significantly not walking or crawling as much as before or not showing any interest in toys/books etc at all where there was previous interest, unexplained high temps that come and go. Im sure all is fine but do go back and insist if you continue to be worried

[Rollmops]

Sorry but it's not normal to be ill every week, even at this age. Do demand a full blood works (I know, I've been advocating this for many people here, but we had rather frightening experience with DC, which turned out OK at the end but NOT thanks to our dozy GP). Full blood analysis and pronto. Don't let her fob you off.

[Rollmops]

Sorry but it's not normal to be ill every week, even at this age. Do demand a full blood works (I know, I've been advocating this for many people here, but we had rather frightening experience with DC, which turned out OK at the end but NOT thanks to our dozy GP). Full blood analysis and pronto. Don't let her fob you off.

[mspotatochip]

Rollmops dd (2.5 at the time) needed blood work when she had an irritable hip after swine flu. It was really really traumatic to get the blood draw, we had to hold her down screaming and shouting for ten minutes and they still barely got what they needed. I would be very resistant to anyone taking blood from her again without damn good reason.

Op same dd started nursery at 1 and I swear she was ill every week (and especially if we had anything planned!) for a year and a half. in the last six months she has had swine flu and a bug at the moment and thats it.

I found it hard to believe there was no serious underlying problem as I found it hard to believe kids could be this poorly this often and nobody tells you

I had her at the gps every week sometimes twice they never batted an eyelid. She is a "wheezer" and is on inhalers but seems to be growing out of it. Because of this we were very nearly investigated for Cystic fibrosis. They are very very careful with kids at our surgery at least

[SayHitIsntSo]

I totally agree with Rollmops.
It can be or can not be related to the lymph nodes- just DEMAND your GP to refer you to complete blood work.

[nickschick]

I think different doctors have different approaches your gp is familiar with you and your dc and its more than his jobs worth to neglect your dc,a locum may be a very keen newly qualified dr and indeed may have a different approach.

Its always very hard when you have a child that seems to have neverending bugs and it is always easy to google or imagine the absolute worst,trust me ive been there ds2 has been rushed straight to hospital 3 times for tests fearing leukamia....he has cfs/me .

Try not to read to much into it and be sure to speak to your regular GP.

[Rollmops]

mspotatochip, why didn't the nurse use EMLA cream or similar to numb the area before drawing the blood??? The procedure is totally painless if done properly. Our DC didn't notice a thing and it was done weekly for 2 months.... I for one, would NEVER take a chance with my DC health and listen to GP who is not a haematologist.

[mspotatochip]

Rollmops they did put the emla cream on the back of her hand and it had a good 30 mins. It was the paediatric reg at the hospital. I'm not sure whether they actually hurt her or she just freaked out but it was pretty horrific. I do appreciate that sometimes these things are absolutely necessary but I just wouldn't rush into it frequently. But I am very lucky my kids have never had anything particularly serious or chronic wrong with them