DD very underweight and pains in joints

[Monkeybusiness2]

DD is 9 and has been complaining of pains in her legs,arms and fingers this last week and 'heavy legs' as her legs are tiring very easily even on a short walk to school.
I first though they were just growing pains but read that these mostly happen at night?
She started getting cramps behind her knee which came on suddenly and she can't straighten her leg - very painful for her.
I have made a Drs appointment but we've had to wait 3 weeks and it's not until Feb.

DD has allergies to fish, egg and nut and so she doesn't get any of these foods but she does eat quite well and finishes off a full plate of dinner and often asks for more.

She's very active usually and doesn't tire easily which is why the past few days she's been complaining are unusual.

I've just weighed her and I'm scared she is underweight. Very according to the chart. She has a petite frame anyway especially when compared to her sister and brother who are both fairly big boned. My 7 year old dd is as tall as her and her feet/clothes the same size.

I've just weighed her in at 3 stone 11. :(

Does this seem really underweight or am I reading the chart wrong?

I'm probably totally wrong! But my son complained of "sore legs" in the week/days before he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He also lost a lot of weight and was going to the toilet a lot and drinking a lot of water. The signs are thirst, needing the toilet, tiredness and getting thinner. If this rings true you should get her checked ASAP.

How tall is she?

Thanks Focal. I haven't seen her particularly thirsty and not going to the toilet more than often, however she still occasionally wets the bed and was doing this quite regularly until she was 8 whereas her brother and sister almost never have since they were toilet trained. This was very embarrassing for her as you can imagine.

It's hard to know without knowing what percentile she was on previously. Does she look slimmer or are her clothes loser. If she's complaining of pains and you think she has lost weight it might be worth trying to get an urgent gp appointment. Is she well otherwise?

Approx 127 cm Really. 7 yr old dd is about same height.

According to the NHS, she's a healthy weight not underweight at all.

127cm and 3’11 is within the healthy weight range.

Whether her height is normal can vary- my 10 year old is pretty much the same height as her 13 yo sister, just different builds.

Worth a trip to the GP for a check though, especially if she has allergies.

Sounds a perfect weight to height ratio so I wouldn’t worry about that- ds is taller and weighs a lot less

She's always been below the 50th percentile George. I haven't weighed her for quite a long time so cannot be sure if she's lost or not. It just made me alarmed she was that underweight.
She just seems tired because of her legs feeling heavy. She says her fingers hurt too. I've booked her in an eye test also as her teacher said she might need one as she was struggling to see the board. (however last year her eyes were fine from eye test).

She has allergies also to dust etc and makes this awful sound clearing her throat. Loads of white mucous and itchy ears etc which I think is AR but it happens all year round and every night which bothers her too.

Oh that's good. I made it out to be on the 0.4 percentile for some reason.

3st 11 is fine. Dd1 is 4st and 139cm. She's officially underweight I think (has been forever round the lowest part of her bmi) but she eats well and is in proportion and growing so dr decided it's her build. Her 7yo sister is shorter and almost the same weight but very average weight.

Does your dd eat a variety of food and enough? If so, I'd not worry about that. Good to check the pain out though. Does she drink enough?

I'd ask the GP to run some blood tests to make sure she's getting enough vitamins etc because of her allergies.

Op if you’re worried call the GP surgery when it opens and you can get a same day appointment. If you have no luck call 111 and they will help you get one.

Oops, pressed post too soon.My nephew had allergies and used to get pains in his legs. The GP said it was connected to his allergies.

Thanks all. I'll see how she goes. I'm glad the weight isn't too underweight. I probably miscalculated somehow.
She is very skinny!
I guess it could be some vitamin deficiency?

Many thanks

As above I wondered if it could be vit D because she is actually mixed race (Afro/white) and I remember the Midwife saying she needs more vitamin D because of this if tht makes sense.

Hi another one here with a type one diabetic child.

Hopefully it's really isn't type one for your child but bed wetting ,any signs of visible weight loss also blurred vision I wouldn't wait three weeks to see your GP.

X

I can’t bieve you have to wait for an appt? I’d call again. It could be many things, severe anaemia for one, diabetes.
My ds (3) is severely anaemic. Weight loss, tired easily. The anaemia can be caused by lots of things. Because of it, my son got pneominia.
You know your child best. Insist on an appt ASAP or ho to a walk in centre tomorrow. I hope she feels better.

I have experience of this with a similar aged child (not mine) and it got to the point where he could hardly walk as his legs were so sore.
He had an limited diet due to ASN and after many many investigations it turned out to be vitamin c deficiency and basically once he'd had infusions or injections etc he was a million times better

So it could be something simple like that - mention to GP tho as it took them months to figure that out

Her weight is fine - my nearly 9 year old is 27kg but she is 134cm. She was 79th centile last year but she is now 37th. She has connective tissue disease including arthritis though. Don’t write off joint pains as it’s not that uncommon (1 in 1000) for kids to get arthritis. Definitely look to getting blood tests done. She also has uveitis which is inflammation in the eyes which can often accompany inflammatory arthritis. Her eyesight was badly affected before she was on treatment

Have you used the nhs bmi checker?

Is she unusually 'stretchy'? - as in double-jointed to use an old phrase.
For my dc, the indicators were that they could twist their arm round, and then go another 180 degrees almost, and could extend their leg way beyond 180 degrees (so that their lower leg can too far forward iyswim).
It could be hypermobile joints, which cause pain in a growth spurt as the ends of bone are far closer in a joint than they are used to (it eases off as the ligaments stretch to accommodate the growth).
If that sounds familiar, it would be worth looking into.

Vit d deficiency caused such pains in my joints that I thought I was getting arthritis.

Gp definitely but part of it could be vit d deficiency. You can buy a mouthspray by better you, I would go for a couple of sprays daily of 4000iu until the gp appointment.

Have you tested for things like celiacs?

Epsom salt baths are great for cramps n v cheap if you buy in bulk. It's magnesium and is absorbed through the skin.