4 Year Old with FTT, Puffy Eyes, Grey Pallor and Tired All the Time

I'm with Page on this one. You need to get a second opinion ASAP. Maybe a cardiologist or ENT at Children's Hospital? Keep fighting for him until you get a doctor who knows what's wrong. I've discovered that a lot of doctors will just guess what's wrong and don't listen to the whole story. Just because a doctor went to med school doesn't mean they paid attention either - if you aren't getting solutions to this issue, go to a new doctor until you find someone who has a clue!

Did they biopsy his adenoids when they were removed? Any other lymph nodes affected?

Neither of my children have had a failure to thrive - just the opposite. Wish I could help you out more in that regard.

I can't imagine that the low increase in body weight gain would create the grey pallor and fatigue - so, I'd almost more wonder if there's an endocrine disorder.

No matter what it is, if your instincts tell you to keep pressing, I would do it and be insistent to get an answer sooner vs. later. It's easy to get lost in the shuffle when trying to manage the health care system.

Best wishes. I hope you get some concrete answers soon.

Please get a second and third and fourth opinion. This sounds worse than allergies. (I don't mean to scare you, I just think you could waste time going down that path.) A lot of doctors don't know a lot of things, so keep on until you find someone who knows something.

Have you ever watched those shows Mystery Diagnosis and the other that I can't remember the name of? There are many uncommon conditions that it takes the right doctor to diagnose.

And I am not suggesting that you go to some alternative doctor who prescribes homeopathic treatments or something of the sort. Something REAL is going on with your son.

Get a 2nd opinion this can't be healthy for your child what about his oxygen levels how are they to me discoloration means there isn't enough oxygen getting circulated in his blood.

Sounds like he has asthma. Talk to your ped to test whether he is getting enough oxygen. The hospital can do the test by putting a little clip with a red light on the end on one of the child's fingers. Then a machine reads the oxygen level in their body. The pediatrician may have this machine. If you have A. inhaler give your child a pump in the mouth to see if some of the color returns to his cheeks. Also you might consider seeing another doctor. Good Luck.

It sounds like food, chemical or environmental intolerances. The chronic ear infections can be related to dairy, gluten, etc.. issues. An elimination diet sounds in order and get rid of ALL household chemicals in your house, specifically in cleaning products and detergents.

He doesn't have Chron's disease in his small intestine does he?

Has he been tested for celiac disease? Just being "off wheat and soy" may not be enough. A gluten free diet is very difficult to maintain, and requires being off all sources of gluten, even the minutest quantity. Any amount of gluten is toxic the the GI tract of someone with celiac disease.

I would recommend consulting a naturopath or a nutritionist. Does he take a daily probiotic? That might not be the answer to all of his problems, but it can help restore the good bacteria in his system. My son has a severe peanut allergy and has had some other health problems. I consulted a nutritionist in Scotts VAlley. Here is her website: http://www.healthylifestyleonline.us/. Even if you can't make it down for an appointment, you could probably consult with her over the phone.

Good luck! My heart goes out to you and your son.

Let us know on how things are going - my son also has the puffy eyes/purple bags. His were due to asthma. We've gone a month on Singular and sure enough he is improving leaps and bounds. He was not FFT - quite the opposite - so we just had the cronic cough and purple eyes, but our pedi picked up on it a while ago so finally gave the singular a try. Fixed it. Get a second opinion and keep looking until you find someone who can help. :)

It could still definitely be food allergies (dairy, eggs and citrus are a few other possibilities) but you should get his iron levels tested if it hasn't been done already. It could be iron deficiency anemia. As a naturopathic doctor and a mom, I am always on here encouraging moms to look for other options besides drugs to treat your kids and I will say it again. Whether it is environmental allergies, food allergies, asthma or something else there is a lot you can do besides giving your child drugs. And often the drugs are necessary (at least for the short term) but there is an underlying imbalance that often will not get addressed and continues to wreak havoc in the body - ultimately leading to other chronic health conditions later in life. My point is to work on this problem from multiple angles and not to get too comfortable once a prescription is found that addresses the symptoms he is having.
Dr T.
www.primarynaturopathic.com

I second, third, and fourth the moms who have already advised getting as many opinions and specialists as you need. Don't give up - even though you may be exhausted!
If a good pediatric sleep study can be done in an accredited facility that knows how to perform one, you may get a lot of information back about his heart function, his neurologic function, as well as any simple obstructive problems, etc. So, if it can be set up soon (but, do no settle for something simple that they send you home with - get the in house study with all the weird hook ups that will produce all this data), I think it can't hurt to see what it says, and a good one may say a great deal.
I recently looked up the most qualified childrens hospital in my area and they have a lot of pediatric specialist in all the different specialties that might be needed - as well as pediatric sleep study specialists, etc. I'm thinking that perhaps you might benefit from taking it to that level if you can, - they see a lot of kids with different problems and may be better equipped to figure out exactly what is causing your child such difficulties.
Hang in there - you're doing the right thing for your child, and you'll figure it out.

I had sleep challenges and felt tired my whole life with allergies also. I now sleep on a magnetic sleepsytem and live in a wellness home and have my granddaughter in this environment and it has made a difference in my whole family.
Medicine is not the right answer when you can turn his condition around naturally. There are many medical doctors sharing wellness today and if you would like to attend an event I can sent you to one so you can get informed.

If you want more info email me and I will send you information.

Have a great Easter.

N. Marie
____@____.com