i am really worried here, please can someone help?

[cheeryface]

i have just recieved an appointment for ds2 at manchester royal childrens hospital and i don't know why.

story is, ds2(8) , used to get ill loads and suffer from allergies. was given a blood test a few years ago at local hospital which showed some antibodies were lower levels than normal. so, low immune system.

as he never got any serious illness and was mostly o.k he had regular check ups but no treatment and was discharged 2 years ago.

recently i asked g.p to refer him back (to local hospital) just so he could have another allergy test as i wanted to know if he was still allergic to dogs (ds2 wanted a dog). he's had the test done and been told to come back to local hospital in 3 months.

now, i get this appointment for manchester royal and it's with dr arkwright who i think is something to do with immune disorders.

have they found something wrong? i thought he was fine . omg i am getting worried now.

Cheery, all you can do is ask. We can't possibly speculate. Phone the number on the letter tomorrow and ask why you have been sent the appointment. You could also ask you GP also if you don't get any immediate joy from the hospital; although the hospital are obliged to phone you back with information if you require it, even if there is nobody immediately available with the answer.

How soon is the appouintment?

Don't panic. This appointment doesn't mean they have found or even suspect a serious problem.

Googling says he is clinical genetics including Cystic Fibrosis and immune studies so this could mean he specialises in hereditary allergies?

as far as i was aware (well for the last two years anyway) yes, he has allergies to dogs and pollen but he has antihistamines and nasal sprays etc.
there was nothing to be done about the fact his immune system was low which is why he was discharged.

he wouldn't even have been re tested but for the fact that we wanted a dog!

would they not have phoned and told me that the results meant he needed investigating at another hospital?

Perhaps it isn't anything serious and he just wants your DS to be part of a study because he has the right sort of allergy or he is the right age or something.

Fingers crossed it isn't scary though. Do phone in the morning to put your mind at rest though.

bloody hell, i worried about him loads after i as told he had low antibodies. the check ups always seemed pointless and when he as discharged i breathed a sigh of relief thinking that obviously there was nothing to worry about.

looks like i have opened another can of worms now by getting him retested for dog allergy.

i'll worry all night now

and the appointment is on monday

Are you sure his immunity was low. I am not implying that you don't know the facts about your ds at all but the reason I ask is because from past experience I know that when one is fighting a virus or infection (or allergen?) the white cells increase and this shows up during blood testing as compromised immunity. It doesn't mean there are low immunity issues, just that the body is fighting an invader.

I had glandular fever and high white blood count as a result. I don't have immune deficiency issues but I was fighting this disease iyswim.

They are probably just going to invstigate his allergy thoroughly I'd have thought, which is good, right?

Ignorance feels like bliss but if there is anything amiss you'll now know early so that has to be good news.

ye, he had low iga levels and igG i think and some of the baby vaccinations hadn't worked, hadn't developed an immunity.

it seemed (although the doctor was always vague) that it wasnt serious and the doctor said that there could be quite a few kids like that that didn't know it. he just happened to have been tested because of the allergies.

he does seem to get quite a lot of colds etc but i had stopped worrying since being discharged.

no one mentioned investigating his allergies or anything. i don't think theres any need, he's o.k apart from the summertime.

why didn't they tell me he would be going to a different hospital and why is the appointment so soon? something doesn't add up ere.

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thanx doodle. he did have to have some more vacinations, now i remember it. he had prevanar and pneumovax.

that was about 4 years ago though!

is that what your daughter had?

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we would never been any the wiser if i hadn't come up with the bloody dog idea, oh lets have him re tested says i, then theres no danger of buying a dog and finding he's stll allegic hen it's too late!

ho old is your dd? does she have to have any treatment ? does she have any problem keep getting ill? sorry lots of questions

yr gp should have a copy of the blood test results so u could ask him/her. I once sent letter for hosp appt which didnt quite make sense so I rang and it was a mistake. So it worth checking rather than wasting yr and hosp time for an appt he didnt need. Hope he goes on ok

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no, didn't get the dog. i had phoned the hospital to get the results and secretary wasn't very forthcoming, eventually when i said all i want is whether he reacted to dog or not she managed to tell me that he is moderately allergic .

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don't they realise people worry about their kids!!

i'm really reluctant to start going to see doctors again, last time he had check ups for about 3 years every 4 months and blood tests, it turned him into a bit of a hypocondriac.

i think if they hear people keep going on sbout their health they start thinking somethings wrong and it can become a self fulfilling prophecy!

forgot to mention,after this recent allergy test (about the dog ) i got sent a copy of the letter my gp was getting from the consultant who did it.

it says that when he was tested in the past there was a low cd16 count on formal evaluation of white cells and was moderately allergic to dogs.

when examined today (3rd sep 07) he had marked dermographism and was snuffly. i have checked ige levels which are elevated at just over 4000 and i await rast test results for a dog which is the key issue.

will follow up in four months.

what i don'r understand anyway is, i only wanted dog testing why are they seeing him again, why are they getting into all the immune thing again??

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