My two year old recently began complaining of pain below his ear. When I tried to feel there he cried and tried to push my hand away. I was able to feel that the gland was very enlarged. Two days later he began running a temp. of 102. I took him to the doctor this morning. The doctor felt that it was an infection and prescribed antibiotics but also did a CBC. This showed that his white blood count was below normal but it also showed that he was anemic. So, the doctor also prescribed an iron supplement. When I went to get the prescriptions filled that pharmacists said that he should not start the iron until after he finished the antibiotics. (Plus, my insurance doesn't cover the iron and it is almost $100 - though this is not an issue if it is important to his health.) He has had many CBC in the past (in fact, one less than a month ago) and none of these showed that there was a problem. Having done research on the internet, I am concerned about these showing up together because they are symptoms for childhood luekemia. I guess my question is how concerned should I be? Has anyone ever had experience with this?
On other note, my son has also been diagnosed with pneumonia 4 times in the last 5 months. He has been on antibiotics every time. Now he is on antibiotics again. Futhermore, when I told the doctor I was concerned about the amount of antibiotics he has been on, the doctor looked back in his chart to see what he had been on and then decided to prescribed a different medication but only after I said something. Then to find out that he didn't tell me not the start the medications at the same time. The pharmacy tells me. Should I be concerned about the doctor that we are seeing? Should I get a second opinion?
Sorry for rambling on but I am concerned and unsure of what to do.
~J.
I'd see a different doctor and mention your concerns. It is not normal to have pneumonia four different times in less than 5 months. Always trust your gut and don't stop looking until you get answers.
Hopefully (and more than likely) it is nothing but at least a second opinion will ease your mind!
L.
Hi J., I would definitely get another opinion. Actually, it probably wouldn't hurt if he were to see a pedatric oncologist! That way, if he were to have leukemia, no time would be wasted! And if not, you'd be assured that much sooner! Right? Let us know how it turns out! We're all rooting for you guys! S.
First off, the pharmacist concern is with the iron binding with the abx and thus having the abx not be effective. However, depending upon how often the abx are taken, it may be possible to still take the iron. The iron should be taken at least 2 hours away from the abx. Also, you should ask your doctor about giving probiotics when your son is on abx. That will help replenish the healthy bacteria that are also killed when he takes the abx.
It takes quite some time to bring iron levels back up (I hope your doctor is also measuring the ferritin as that's the most accurate measure for iron stores), so that's likely why the pharmacist is suggesting to wait to start the iron until the abx are done.
As far as the CBC results, our family has dealt with the same issues (low WBC and both B vitamin and iron deficiency anemia) and it was not leukemia. The reason your son is getting pneumonia and other illnesses so frequently is because the WBC is so low, his body is not able to adequately fight the infections.
If you look at some of the info you find online as far as what causes a low WBC, one of the things listed is autoimmune diseases/inflammatory diseases. My family has all been diagnosed with celiac disease (believed to be one of the root causes of all autoimmune disorders). Iron deficiency anemia is also a primary symptom of celiac (I had that at age 6 and unfortunately wasn't diagnosed as celiac until I was over 40 - my sons were diagnosed at 8 and 11). So, I suggest you ask your doctor to screen for that - it is one of the most commonly under-diagnosed disorders today. There is no drug for the disease - it just requires you stay on a gluten-free diet. The reason this will have such a profound positive effect on your health is that the gluten damages the wall of the intestine so that nutrients and vitamins are not absorbed, thus your body gets into this state where there are so many random things wrong. For example, your body needs things like the amino acid Taurine and certain B vitamins to make white blood cells. And, of course, it needs the iron to make RBCs. CBC results can also be very misleading as B vitamin based anemia results in a high MCV and iron deficiency anemia leads to a high MCV. So, some folks with these problems actually won't be diagnosed appropriately.
I hope this helps.
You may want to check with an ENT specialist at this point. My daughter had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed last year, and the pediatrician never caught it; her suggestion was always to wait a few days and come back again. On my own, I took her to an ENT who put her in the hospital, did tests, and found the problem. I highly recommend Dr. Timothy Trone at Medical City. Good luck; it's awful when a child is sick and we can't figure out how to help him.
FYI- I'd return the iron- you can get enough iron in Total cereal. It is actually elemental iron & will be absorbed in the blood stream faster.
