Am I paranoid? Long post

[Nogodsnomasters]

My lb turned 3 in September and also started nursery, 3rd week into school his leg was buckling and he developed a limp, A&E diagnosed irritable hip (no tests done just physical examination), a week later he got a cold which turned into an ear infection, since that we've had 6 ear infections in 7 months all accompanied by fevers some high some medium. He's also had 3 viral rashes, 3 separate coughs, one of which lasted for 8 weeks from Dec-Feb. He's had a few (maybe 3-4 in the 7 months) night time complaints of leg pain, either massage or calpol resolved these. Last week he got another fever for 3&half days, the morning after it broke on Sunday past he started with another limp (this time a lot milder than September leg wasn't giving way on him at least) back to A&E who again diagnosed irritable hip, this time a urine test was done which was clear. Since this he has had 2 evenings of cold sweats with low body temps of 35.5 or thereabouts, he's not soaked through or anything but hair is wet, skin is cold to touch, pj's at nape of neck are damp. Am I being crazy to think this could be leukemia? My friend has a lb same age also in preschool who has had just as many infections as my lb this autumn/winter (different kinds though chest infection, tonsillitis etc) which makes me think this amount of illness is normal but combined with the leg issues and now some night sweats? My husband thinks I'm totally crazy, he says the leg pain at night is growing pains, and 2 episodes of irritable hip are not unheard of. He's been referred to ENT next month btw for the ear infections and congestion to have adenoids looked into. Any opinions welcome. Should I go to gp (for gazillionth time) and ask for a blood test and outright say I'm worried he has leukemia?!

Omg fluffyblanket I'm so sorry to hear your ds had leukemia. I hope he is in remission now? If you wouldn't mind could you tell me what other symptoms your son had around that time or how quickly things progressed? Xo

He's doing brilliant thank you, he was diagnosed age 3, 3 1/2 years of chemo and been off treatment now for 5 years. He's a big healthy nearly 12 year old now. He started with a limp, he cried out in pain a couple of times when being picked up, which I first put down to his dad being a bit rough. He then started to get very tired, which I put down to him just starting nursery, then he started to get really pale. Doctors kept telling me it was a virus, until one night I checked on him whilst he was asleep and he looked that white I had to check he was still breathing. They eventually did a blood test and then took another few weeks of blood tests til we got a diagnosis. All in all from the first limp to a diagnosis was probably about 2 months.

Fluffy what an awful thing for you all to go through, and such a long treatment process too 😥 that is quite a quick time frame to be diagnosed which is good. Was his limp constant over this time or coming/going? My lb is naturally very pale so sometimes it's hard to know with his complexion, his dad and mil are ginger and both very pale naturally, one doctor asked me has he always been this pale but any other doctor who's checked him out have never questioned his complexion. I'm 100% going to take him to the gp next Wednesday when my surgery has an open clinic for under 16's and have everything written down, hopefully they take me seriously.

You are not being anxious or unreasonable
Every symptom you describe was or is there.
I think it’s right to ask for s blood test to rule out cancer at this stage - don’t panic that he has it as the chances are low - but this is a sensible and proportionate step at this stage
Please be confident with gp - do not mention your anxiety just the facts. You do risk being fobbed off if you query whether you are over reacting or not. I’ve been in this position and it’s awful. I’ve found it helps if someone goes to the appointment with you - if your oh or your mum or dad could come too. GPs can accuse or think two people are both overly anxious and therefore that removes that doubt from their mind

Incidentally when did your ‘health anxiety’ start? I’ve found that there’s a big disagmosis of mums with ‘health anxiety’ when actually it was their instinct shouting loud and clear to them that their kid was sick - both mums instinct isn’t taken seriously enough in this day and age so mum is wrongly labelled anxious.

Can’t not can

Hi applesandpears thank you very much for your reply, unfortunately I don't have anyone to go with me that day as dh is working and I don't have any parents, but I'm hoping I can come across as confident especially with my list in hand. And I now have one other thing to add to the list... Petechiae after only minor injury, ds had a small rash of it yesterday where he had been scratching his skin and then this morning he whacked his arm on our bedside table and another petechiae cluster has come up there, he's had much harder whacks before in life and never had this occur (he did have it once under eyes as a 1yr old from crying/coughing fit) but other than that never from scratching or bumping!

My health anxiety was diagnosed in 2010 when my sister was diagnosed with a serious health condition, my mother had already passed away 6 yrs prior. At first my health anxiety was about myself which I sought counselling for, then after my son was born my same sister passed away when he was 3 months old and bang it returned, only this time if I'm honest my anxieties all circled around my son no longer myself, so I got a second round of counselling which admittedly wasn't as helpful as the first lot but I try my best to keep it under control and only listen to facts not my own distorted thoughts.

I don’t think your thoughts are necessarily distorted.
I agree it’s helpful to stick to the fact though.
I’ve been in your position - I let drs tell me I was anxious and going mad when actually my child needed medication and an operation. Looking back I wish I hadn’t have doubted myself. I do have Low self esteem generally which didn’t help.
List of symptoms on a paper then to hand over to gp. Don’t mention anxiety yourself. If they mention it say this isn’t in my head tho - these are all real symptoms diagnosed by a dr.
Adenoids out/grommets in for glue ear might help the ear infections.
Adenoids are part of the immune system though so I would still want answers as to the leg pain etc

My sons limp was on and off. When he first started limping GP sent him to A&E for an X-ray, by the time he got there he'd stopped and they x-rayed the wrong leg (his dads fault) hope you get to the bottom of it soon, I'd definitely push for a blood test.

Fluffy blanket, thank you! The same for my son last Sunday by the end of that evening the limp had disappeared and hasn't returned. I just wish Wednesday would hurry up and get here.

Apples - thank you, I really appreciate your replies. Wow if you don't mind me asking what happened with your son? I agree, each and every ear infection has been diagnosed by gp as I take him every time without fail and I've taken him for one of the 3 viral rashes and I've taken him 3 times during the 8 week cough he had so these should all be on record, he's had a few antibiotics prescribed for some of the ear infections but not all and again we've went to A&E with both limps, the first occasion the doctor saw his leg giving way on him etc, I've also taken a picture of petechiae rash from this mornings bump as I'm sure it will be long gone by Wednesday because the first one from the scratching is already fading quickly.

My daughter had a serious illness as a baby then got ill with enlarged adenoids as a toddler. The drs didn’t take her adenoids seriously and just assumed I was an anxious, traumatised mum. I got an apology from the hospital a and e in the end. They used to send us home without assessing her properly as they thought it was all in my head. I nearly had a breakdown from how they made me feel.

It's pretty sporting of them to let you out of A&E with a limping 3 year old, a diagnosis of "irritable hip", and no blood tests. You should see your GP and tell them honestly what you are worried about.

Applesandpears that's awful! That's what I'm worried will happen to me, I'll request a blood test and they'll look at me like I'm a moron for even suggesting it. But I am prepared to stand my ground and say here is my evidence and I'm not going to let this lie without further investigation.

John - yes that's what i thought too, the doctor on Sunday said if he still had of had a fever they would have performed a blood test but his fever had broke overnight the night before. And the first time there was no mention of a blood test or xray or ultrasound because he hadn't been ill in the last 5 days before the limp started and had no other worrying symptoms - so heart rate and oxygen levels were normal.

I can understand the fear but go in and be strong and confident. Stick to the facts - don’t doubt yourself. You’ll be fine.

Thank you for the support, I'll come bk after Wednesday and let you know how it goes if you don't mind xo

Update** well I took ds to docs today with my list, at the start of the appointment before I'd even finished speaking she was shaking her head no. She read the list I had and said she wouldn't be worried at all about any of the symptoms! Then she asked about his diet and when I told her he was a picky eater who eats basically no meat or vegetables she said she would recommend a blood test based on that and his paleness to check for anaemia. She said the phlebotomist (sp?) there wouldn't take blood from someone so young so it would have to be a doctor and they wouldn't have time today and the next generic appointment would be about a 4 week wait so she said she would refer us to the rapid response clinic at the local children's hospital which would take a few days or so and results another few days after.

My son has had to have a few blood tests in his life and I highly recommend getting a specialist to do it. The first 'attempt' my brave level headed child screamed so much he ran a temperature the next day. Second attempt he laughed, giggled and didn't want to go home. A specialist makes all the difference.

Thank u monkey, I'm pretty dreading it, just want it over and done with and to have any answer.

I’ve read your thread and so glad you persisted. This certainly doesn’t sound like a case of health anxiety. You’re being a normal level headed caring mummy who wants their child well. You should be proud. As for the blood test..the fact he’s going to have it in a children’s hospital is great. There will be play specialists on hand I’m sure to distract him. He will be made a fuss of.
Thinking of you. Please let us know how it goes

Woosey thank you so much, its nice to hear finally that I'm not being crazy as that's all dh ever tells me, he's so laid back he's fucking horizontal. I'll keep everyone updated when we get the test done.

How is DS now OP?

Hello! Well 2 weeks passed since our referral to the rapid response clinic with no word so I rang our gp and the receptionist said Dr actually referred him (without informing me) to a consultant paediatrician which actually has a 6 week wait and THEY will decide if his symptoms warrant a blood test.... So I've got about another 3-4 week wait on it now. We did however have his ENT appointment this morning and he passed his hearing test but have confirmed he has glue ear in both ears, mild on the right side and more severe on the left so have agreed to remove adenoids based on that and his congestion/snoring/mild sleep apnea which apparently can cause night sweats so that may be an answer to some of his symptoms. Thank u so much for checking on us x