Tired all the time 4 yr old

[Tia]

I've started to get really worried about my 4 year old. He gets 12 hours sleep a night, a 2 hour sleep from Friday to Monday during the day, and is still shattered most of the time. He goes to nursery full days on Tues and Thurs, and half days on Wed. Admittedly he did not have a sleep this Monday, but this afternoon I tried to take him and his sister to the park for a picnic and it was an absolute disaster. It took us an hour to do a 10 minute journey (he was on his bike) He kept falling off, whining, whimpering (but denying that he was tired) until I thought I was going to strangle him! He has also had a couple of nosebleeds recently at nursery - apparently he went all hot and his nose started to bleed. Does anyone else have a child like this? He has always needed more sleep than his sister, but this is getting beyond a joke. He is due to start school in September and I just can't see how he is going to manage. Thoughts of leukaemia or other dreadful disease has started to go around in my mind, and I alternate between this and thinking that he just has an abnormally whiny and wimpy personality. Advice please!

Don't panic - but if I were you I would just have him checked over by GP incase there is some obvious cause - it may be that he is just growing a lot or very tired out from school or playgroup. Are there any other signs like drinking loads etc?

Hi Tia, i am going through exactly the same thing with my 4yr old dd at the mo.
She goes to nursery 3 days a week from 9 until 3.30. I went to her parents meeting and they were very concerned about her being so lethargic all the time. (there is a thread..Nursery very concerned about DD, i think).
I had been worried about it too and i was going to raise it with the nursery.
They also said that she seems to be on another planet alot of the time.
I took her to the g.p and she was given a blood test. They checked her iron, thyroid, kidneys, liver and glucose. Her iron reserve levels came back as low but not terrible, and her liver enzymes were not as they should be.
So she has now been reffered to a paediatrician just for a thourough check over really, and probably another blood test.

I know it's hard to not let your mind run away with you, i kept searching her symptoms and shocking myself too, but honestly it's more likely to be nothing at all.
My g.p reckons that dd may of had a virus at some point, which she is taking a very long time to recover from.

Have his nursery said anything about it ?? Dd's nursery are now keeping a diary of anything they think unusal, like tiredness, lack of appetite e.t.c

How is your Ds's diet. My dd's was pretty good so i was surprised when her iron reserves were low. She has now gone off her food a bit which has also been noted and her weight has also been checked (it's down slightly).

Hope that helps anyway. Let me know how you get on.

Tia, you don't mention if he has always been tired like this. If it's a change from his usual behavior, I'd take him to the gp. I might take him to the gp anyway, just for some blood tests, though I don't think anything will be wrong, especially if he's always been like this. My ds has never been as energetic as other boys either. He gets lots of nosebleeds himself, usually a result of picking at it (though they'll deny it like mad!)

Nutcracker, your dd might have got an infection with glandular fever at some point in the recent past. It can shift the liver function readings. It's usually not a big deal in the little ones. They stay tired for a bit, but bounce back fairly quickly. Did dd have a fever recently?

Thanks Expatkat, i have been racking mybrains to think of the last time she was unwell, but other than the ususal coughs and colds i can't think of a thing.
The g.p seems to think it may be slow recovery from a virus but said that this in itself needs checking as it shouldn't really take her 3mths or more to recover from it.

Thanks for all the advice. The nursery thinks he is fine most of the time, but has the odd tired day. I am taking him to the doctor on Wednesday for a check up - I'll let you know if there is anything to report

Thanks, Tia. I really appreciate it when people report back because I actually feel somewhat invested in an odd way. . .You, too, nutcracker, hope you'll let us know about your dd after your appointment. Good luck to you both.

Well, the doctor was completely disinterested. Said he had never heard of a 4 year old being tired. It didn't help that ds was jumping around joyfully during the visit, he does love a bit of attention! He said that he would refer us for a blood test if I insisted, but made me feel like a paranoid mother. I can't decide whether to go for it or not

Hi Tia, If you aren't sure, then i would just keep an yeye on him for a while and start to note down anything that you think is wrong or unusual.
My Dd's nursery now note down when she seems extra tired or spaced out and it's a real help for me to be able to read exactly what they mean rather than have it explained sometimes third hand to me.

My Dd seems to be a bit better at the mo, and we have her appointment with the Paed next tuesday. I am hoping that he/she will confirm that it was probably just an extra long recovery from a virus of some sort, but am expecting that she'll have to at least have another blood test to see if her iron levels and kidney enzymes are now normal.
If they do another blood test then i am going to ask them to test her for a gluten allergy as she does have a few symptoms of coeliacs disease.

Will let you know how i get on.

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