4 yo Leukaemia symptoms, i'm spiralling

[Lockdownbaby2021]

My 4 year old has been unwell since last Friday. He went downhill on saturday, very pale, temperature, headache, stomach ache, tired. Perked up sunday but Monday woke up with another temp and stayed on sofa. Took him to the doctors and she said she couldn't find anything (other than temp of 39.7) and it was a mystery as he's showing no signs of a virus e.g sore ears, throat, snotty etc and told me just to observe him.

Yesterday he went to school as he seemed fine in the morning. but he got home and took himself off to bed fully clothed at 5:30pm (never ever done this!)

Today again he seemed okay this morning but he's come home from school and complained of tummy ache and suddenly got a temp and fallen asleep. He's also been a funny yellow colour recently.

I've been googling tonight and the horrible C word has come up. Now i'm spiralling. The last couple of months he's been starving but eating loads but has got quite skinny, he's also been complaining of leg pain which passed eventually so I put it down to growing.

My partner thinks i'm being crazy for thinking it. But now it's all I can think about. I feel like it's all adding up. I wanted to take him to the hospital tonight as he was screaming with his stomach and was saying he just wanted to go to bed (no sickness or diorrhea). But my partner saying let him sleep. I am in tears. Can someone reassure me, I'm not going to sleep tonight

When my DD had cancer (not leukaemia) she had no temperatures and no pain.

But it sounds as if you need to get your DS seen asap OP. I would take him to A and E in the morning.

My niece, 10 ish, would develop a slight yellow tinge to her skin and corneae when she was tired or had a viral infection. It turned out to be her spleen, surprisingly, being over active and breaking down too many erythrocytes.

P.s. I would take him to A&E. Best of luck, Op, for a speedy recovery.

There’s a huge issue in this country with sending kids back to school before they’ve had a chance to recover fully. The convalescence period needed for children is disregarded due to stupid rules about “attendance”. I would be keeping him off school for a full week and just resting, snuggling, a little fresh air and healthy foods. If he gets worse - then yes have him seen, but he absolutely needs proper time to recover. If he’s genuinely yellow, then request to have his blood taken. He’s only 4 so there’s no legal requirement for him to be in school until the term after he turns 5.

This!! Hope you’re ok OP X

Not medical advice, but sharing my experience in case it can reassure you until you get answers (as i know all too well the anxiety and spiralling thoughts).

My DD has been very much like this with a virus the last few days. We're on Day 8 since it started. She's not had a day off nursery or school in 5 years, but had 3 days home last week, seemed better, but had to be kept home again earlier this week.

Obviouly you know your child best and granted we didn't have the jaundice, but have the same mix of tummy ache, pain in legs, temperature (especially at night) and fatigue here. Mostly fine in the day now but today as I thought we were fully over it, she ended the day hysterically crying begging to go to bed and fell asleep way before her usual bedtime again.

DH has started with loss of smell and headache today which is fairly typical for him with Covid so for us I expect this is the culprit.

@Lockdownbaby2021 I’m not a doctor, but a lot of what you’re describing could be signs of a gastric issue like coeliacs - the stomach pain, tiredness, paleness, headaches, eating but still losing weight. Certain vitamin deficiencies caused by coeliacs can even make the skin look at bit yellow.

is he yellow or very pale? My ds got glandular fever at 4 years old, it’s rare in young children, it took a fair few doctors visits and eventually an and e for bloods to diagnose that. She had a fever for 6 weeks and was so pale and just slept all the time. She had to do part time in reception for 4 months x

Also meant to say she had hepatitis from the glandular fever and a swollen spleen which made her look yellow . I said ds on previous post instead of dd and don’t know how to edit 🙈

If your gut instinct is telling you something isn’t right, seek urgent medical advice. Much better to be safe than sorry.

When my son was 3, he had similar symptoms which were misdiagnosed as a urine infection. His appendix then burst and he developed sepsis. He was very poorly, recovered after a lengthy hospital stay, but has suffered several serious health issues into adulthood as a result.

I’m the mum to a child with cancer. DC was given the clear bill of health from his GP on a Friday afternoon at a general check up (18 month old); DH and I remained concerned so took DC to hospital Saturday morning; DC began chemotherapy 6am Monday morning. Please trust your instincts. And praying for you and your son that it’s not cancer.

Very similar to us.

DS came home from school feeling unwell and vomiting on a Wednesday lunch time, having briefly complaining of a bit of a tummy ache once the day before but acting fine other than that. He picked up again on Thursday and was absolutely fine but started vomiting again on Friday and by the Sunday was having emergency surgery as cancer had caused a bowel obstruction and septic shock.

We were told it was gastroenteritis and then it was appendicitis and then they finally realised something was causing a bowel obstruction.

I hope your DC is doing well xx

Maybe glanduar fever
I had it as a child and literally slept the whole 6 weeks summer holidays away.
Then had a further month off school
I was yellow

If you are worried then A&E

Your son needs to be seen by doctors giving him a barrage of testing starting with full blood tests.

The yellowing in his skin, the low grade temperature, feeling unwell and the other symptoms don't mean he has cancer. But something is wrong in a child so young, with a week-old symptoms. It could be a liver, kidney, pancreas problem. It could be appendix or gastrointestinal issues, most of them easy to treat once doctors know what they're dealing with. Right now, they don't.

Take him to A&E and refuse to leave until you see a doctor and, as a minimum, get a full blood test.

I agree with PP - call 111 in the morning, they can arrange an A&E appointment for you so you’re expected. They’re pretty quick with kids. xx

Yellow colour may be jaundice which would be to do with liver problems. He needs to be seen urgently.

Thinking of you. Hope the night was peaceful.

Just wanted to add that some people are born with a genetic thing (I dont know the name of, sorry) that makes them go yellow when they're ill. It is to do with the liver but not usually dangerous. However I do agree with PP he needs to get properly checked, be it A+E or emergency doctor appointment. If you call 111 they can sometimes make an urgent appointment for you.

Thinking of you, OP.

I hope that little boys been seen

Is there any update x

Thinking of you and your son OP x

Totally agree with this, it also sounds gastric to me. I know the signs because my daughter had the same symptoms your son is showing and hers turned out to be Crohn’s disease. Liver problems can be connected to crohns.

It's called Gilbert's (pronounced the french way). Very common but a diagnosis of exclusion.

I have this! Its in the family. Cant say it has ever really affected me in any way, although my uncle and cousin both get the yellowing skin thing.