Please advise, dd 17 has been sent to hospital

[Loopylou6]

Blood tests have shown her severely anemic, she had an iron infusion on Sunday at hospital, she had bloods drawn today at a clinic, and this afternoon GP called to say it hadn't worked and her levels had dropped even more. Currently sat in the hospital with her and I'm really worried. Why would the iron not work?

No idea but bumping for you. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon! for you and DD.

Hugs,

Hope your dd gets sorted. When my gran was severely anemic she was given a blood transfusion too. Maybe she needs this too

How heavy are her periods?

Hmm it can happen in elderly people but not those who are 17.
There's something that must be amiss, I expect they will be doing a myriad of tests to find out the cause as well as treat the issue.

I have iron infusions regularly. My Consultant Haematologist won't check if they've worked or not until about 6 weeks after I've had one. He says it takes that long for the body to use the iron.

@Ieatmarmite

I have iron infusions regularly. My Consultant Haematologist won't check if they've worked or not until about 6 weeks after I've had one. He says it takes that long for the body to use the iron.

So they haven't tried to identify a cause?

Hopefully they get to the bottom of it quickly. Does she have very heavy periods?

I'm not being rude but if you are in the hospital a doctor would be the best person to ask. I hope she feels better soon x

Well she's in over night for a blood transfusion, and then another iron infusion in the morning, bloods also revealed she's low in vitamin D. They think it's nutritional.
@crystalmamma I was scared and couldn't exactly just grab a random person, so whilst I was waiting for the consultant, I thought I'd ask on here.

Please try not to worry, I know it's hard.

1 - as above, the iron doesn't just magically kick in. It floats around in her blood and is gradually picked up by newly formed red blood cells, so I've no idea what they're on about, unless they're measuring it in another way.

I suspect they have decided that actually she could do with a bigger dose. Even so, they need to clarify to your daughter that she won't actually see the benefits for at least a month.

2 - please get some positivity that they're taking it seriously, and looking at her other deficiencies, because by the time they've finished she'll feel a lot better.

3 - you can't grab a random person, but you can ask one of the nurses to note that your daughter needs a proper explanation of how it all works, and what to expect. I don't think they would talk to you because she's an adult, but you could ask to be on the phone/ there, if your daughter is ok with that, too help remember anything she might forget.

Get some sleep. Ward rounds can start as early as 7ish.

She's in the right place, let us know how she goes

I have long term anaemia with no cause ever found. I’ve had it since I was 14 and I am now 40. They used to say it was due to heavy periods but I never had heavy periods and actually I’ve been in early menopause since 35 and no periods at all and still anaemic so doctors baffled! I do have Addison’s, hypothyroidism, lupus and sjorgens - lots of autoimmune things and anaemia can be common with those so make sure she’s checked for them. They kept giving me short courses of iron tablets, then iron injections every day and when I had my children I stayed in hospital to have 2 blood transfusions. I now take ferrous fumerate 210mg every single day long term and that’s the only thing that seems to keep it at bay. I hope you get some answers and your dd feels better soon.

PS I've reread your original post, they would at least have expected her levels to have stabilised after the first dose.

If this isn't period related, then they'll want to check she's not got bleeding in the gut / coeliac perhaps. Again, try not to worry, so far it sounds as if they're very much on the ball.

I hope they find a treatable cause for this. You must be so worried

When my sis had this - she was so anaemic her hands and feet swelled up - it ended up being coeliac disease. She's healthy now, as long as she avoids gluten.

Could she have an eating disorder?

I was going to say coeliac disease too. Essentially your stomach can’t absorb nutrients and you end up with vitamin deficiencies.

@Ieatmarmite

I have iron infusions regularly. My Consultant Haematologist won't check if they've worked or not until about 6 weeks after I've had one. He says it takes that long for the body to use the iron.

That's what I was thinking. Three days is too soon to see if an iron infusion has worked. Worrying that her levels have dropped again....do you mean her haemaglobin?

I had an iron infusion and doctor told me i wont feel the benefit for atleast afew weeks 🤷🏻‍♀️

There are lots of reasons why her iron could be so low, op, it doesn't necessarily mean anything serious. Sometimes another deficiency will prevent adequate uptake of iron. As a pp said, iron infusions can take up to a few weeks to have a result.

She's in the best place and they'll get to the bottom of it and be able to treat her. Neither are uncommon deficiencies, even though her iron is very low. Try not to worry tonight

The infusion doesn't work straight away, I'v always been told a few weeks - 3 weeks post infusion is when mine tends to peak before dropping down again. Mine is due to coeliac and a 2 year stretch where I had dreadful periods. I also have folate deficiency too.

i was going to say check her b12 and folate -they can call blood issues too

Good luck

I agree that the iron infusion doesn't give instant results, a couple of weeks minimum, I had four infusions over two weeks and was then tested again after a month and ferritin went from 6 to 126. Mine was because of coeliac disease. My daughter has also had iron infusions, she's 15 and is being investigated for Lupus.
I hope your daughter gets a full diagnosis

Thanks everyone, she's home now. Her bloods have stabilised and are now normal. Fingers crossed they stay that way.