Anemia- causes?

[Bb14]

My 4 yo DD was diagnosed with severe anemia 4 months ago. I took her to the GP as she was exhausted with swollen glands in her neck and groin. She also has tummy pain and changeable bowels. He put it down to diet and prescribed iron. I'm not convinced that her diet is the cause. She eats well with lots of eggs and meat.

She stopped her course of iron syrup a month ago and is tired and distracted again. Her tummy pain never went away. GP thinks anaemia is back and we are waiting for a blood test.

My question is - what could be causing her to be anemic? She is not a picky eater. Does anyone else have any experience

Thanks

My 5.5 year old is anaemic. She was first diagnosed at the age of 2.5 and she had iron for a year. She was put back on it 3 months ago. Her diet is great but she suffers with chronic abdominal pain and goes through periods of barely eating. She has also never had a 'normal' stool.

We don't really have any answers still but she is waiting for an operation in GOSH to carry out capsule imaging. Her consultant found blood in her small intestine when she had a colonoscopy and gastroscopy done and that has been put down to why she is anaemic for the time being. We don't know the reason for this blood and that is what we are waiting to find out.

If you do not believe that the cause is diet related, I would make an appointment for the drs to investigate the true reason why she is anaemic. Maybe keep a food diary until you see someone which could help them decide whether diet is the cause. It wasn't until my little one had been anaemic for around 8 months that a dr said she needed more investigations to find out why. She felt the need as iron supplements weren't increasing her levels enough. If the iron helped your daughter then that could be why they have not decided to investigate yet.

Hope you get some answers soon!

Gut pain, bowel habit changeable and anaemic despite eating meat? Has she been tested for Ceoliac?

I second coeliac disease

Thank you for taking time to reply. I asked the GP if he could do a test for coeliac as they are taking blood anyway- he looked at me like I was slightly mad but has agreed. She will get a test next week.

Sorry to hear you had to wait so long to get answers- I hope the tests all bring good news.