bruising question.....

[Marguerite53]

Hello. I just received an email from a friend whose teenage daughter is experiencing odd symptoms. She has gone through some testing, I don't know the specifics, and we'll hear more today. I'm pasting in the mother's words and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the situation. I know it's not much to go on, but there's such a wealth of experience here, I thought I'd give it a shot. Thanks!

"She had some unusual bruising about 4 months ago. She consulted the doc, and all her blood tests came back as normal. Then, the other night, I noticed that she had a weird looking bruise on her chest. I asked her about it and she said that she'd had it for about a month and it wasn't going away. Further, she had other large bruises on her legs and arms. She's also lost weight, and feels weak. She can't walk up a hill without losing her breath. I sent her back to the doctor and he did a bunch of tests. I won't hear until tomorrow. If his tests come back normal, then she has to see a hemotolgist because normal tests with those symptoms could indicate something more serious."

Will appreciate any comments.

Marguerite

 

[Barry]

Sorry, don't have a clue, and it appears that so far nobody else here does, either. My paranoid antennae are up a bit with regard to possible child abuse, but that's admittedly paranoid.

 

[Nancy]

Joe has had spontaneous bruising when his platelet count is low, but that would show up in any bloodwork, as would some type of anemia.

A hematologist seems like the way to go. They can check out other types of blood disorders.

 

[Marguerite53]

thanks.

thanks.

It turned out to be severe anemia. WOnder if they'll have to look into what's causing the anemia? THat's all I know for now. Thanks to those who had a look at my querry. That's all. I'll pull this thread out in afew days, I think. THANKS again.

Marguerite

 

[hensylee]

this is really odd. Many girls/teens have severe anemia but how many do we see with this sort of bruising. If it were my daughter, I would insist on further testing. The doctor probably will do more. Please let us know. I do not like the sound of this.

 

[Marguerite53]

thanks, Ann.

thanks, Ann.

I know. that was my thought, too, Ann. That they need to keep thinking about it. (and Nancy, thanks....you were right on target)

I absolutely know it is not abuse because this is a very dynamic, liberal, human rights driven teenager whose mother I'm quite close to and so that is so completely out of the question. I just wanted to dispel Barry's paranoia (though, in all fairness to my descriptions, I do appreciate Barry's concern).

Don't know that we'll hear much, soon, but I will get back if there is anything substantial to share. Thanks again to all those who thought about this for me. We were obviously pretty scared there.

Marguerite

 

[char2mar]

I know. that was my thought, too, Ann. That they need to keep thinking about it. (and Nancy, thanks....you were right on target)

I absolutely know it is not abuse because this is a very dynamic, liberal, human rights driven teenager whose mother I'm quite close to and so that is so completely out of the question. I just wanted to dispel Barry's paranoia (though, in all fairness to my descriptions, I do appreciate Barry's concern).

Don't know that we'll hear much, soon, but I will get back if there is anything substantial to share. Thanks again to all those who thought about this for me. We were obviously pretty scared there.

Marguerite

Marguerite:

I hope your friend's daughter is alright. Did they check her for Celiac disease. Some of the symptoms of celiac is bruising and the biggest red flag is the anemia. If her iron count is very low she should be checked out. My daughter has celiac disease and she was having the exact same symptoms as your friend's daughter. It took 3 years for a diagnosis. In that time she got very weak, sob, bruised easily and totally stopped growing. By the time they made the diagnosis she was in a total malabortion state. Basically she was starving to death. She had nothing left of her small intestine. She is now turning 14 and is doing great on her gluten free diet. She gained weight, grew 6 inches and went from a C student to a A student in 3 short years. Her outlook in life is very positive. The test for Celiac Disease is called antiendomyisal antibody. It is a simple blood test. If it comes back positive they may want to do a small bowel biopsy to get a defenite diagnosis. The cure is a gluten free diet for life. One of the good things about that is that most celiacs feel so good after a few weeks of gluten free that they never cheat on their diets. I'ts a thought and it is really worth the trouble to be screened for it. Aparently 1 in 200 people in Italy and Ireland have it. Since North America is made up of immigrants from all over the world the chances of any North American having it is high. It is a genetic autoimmune disease. Most Doctors in North America never test for it, however, that is starting to change now. In Europe all children are screened yearly from age one up. Worth mentioning it to your friend. When my daughter's lab results came back saying she was anemic the doctor said that it was probably just a girl thing. I was the one who suggested her getting tested for Celiacs and I am so glad I did.

Char

 

[Marguerite53]

that's amazing.

that's amazing.

Char. Thank you so much. I think I will copy this info to her. Hate to scare her, but better safe than sorry. And it seems to be such a relatively simple fix. I'm so glad you were a strong advocate for your daughter. This friend is also but when you don't know what to actually advocate for, well, it is tough and so stressful. Thank you again. I'll get back to you if there's any further clue.


Marguerite