i am confused. my toddler has been diagnosed as being anemic..the 1st doc i took her to said it was iron defieciency so i had her on iron supplement (12mga day)for 3 months and her blood level did not go up but rather it was lower. took her to another doc he checked her iron ferritin and all that and they were all in normal ranges but he however still recomended that i gave her more iron supplements this time-- 60mg a day. i did so for a month however her hemoglobin is still low i do not want to continue giving her iron as i know too much can be hazardous to her health.she is 23 months old and has barely any appetite.please some advice on what to do. :confused:

Jan,
You need a second opinion. Low hemoglobin isn't always caused by low iron. I have hemolytic anemia - low hemoglobin caused by my immune system attacking my blood cells. The treatments for my condition are things like Prednisone, IVIG, etc. Immunosuppressants. Large amounts of iron won't help my condition.

They need to find out what's causing your daughter's condition. How low is the hemoglobin? that would explain the lack of appetite. Is she pale? How's the color of her urine? When my hemoglobin goes low, sometimes I get a little yellow, and my urine is the color of tea. What about a fever?

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Unfortunately, I know plenty about being low on hemoglobin.

Take care,
Jill

Jan,
You need a second opinion. Low hemoglobin isn't always caused by low iron. I have hemolytic anemia - low hemoglobin caused by my immune system attacking my blood cells. The treatments for my condition are things like Prednisone, IVIG, etc. Immunosuppressants. Large amounts of iron won't help my condition.

They need to find out what's causing your daughter's condition. How low is the hemoglobin? that would explain the lack of appetite. Is she pale? How's the color of her urine? When my hemoglobin goes low, sometimes I get a little yellow, and my urine is the color of tea. What about a fever?

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Unfortunately, I know plenty about being low on hemoglobin.

Take care,
Jill
jill,
thank you for responding. her hemoglobin is 9.0 currently and yes she is pale.i have noticed a yellowish color inthe corner of her eyes. she occasionally has low grade fevers with no other symptoms of any infection.i had also done a thalassemia/sickle cell test and that was negative. i will take her to another doctor to see about hemolytic anemia. does the symptom i gave you sound similar to yours??

Jan,
Her symptoms do sound like mine. I had no appetite, I was a funny color, and I had this fever that came and sort of held on. They need to run more extensive tests - blood tests will tell them what they need to know. Two tests they did on me were a Coomb's test - shows the presence of antibodies to your red cells, and a reticulocyte(sp) - sometimes just called a 'retic' count, which tells them how many immature red blood cells are in her system.

If the retic count is high, it means the marrow is working hard to put more red blood cells out there, which tells them something. If the Coomb's test comes back positive, then they know her body is eating her red blood cells.

Either way, they need to do more testing. Don't be nervous if you get referred to a hematologist - that may be the best thing - the quickest way to get your daughter help. They see more of this than regular peds.

I hope she gets better soon!
Take care,
Jill

While I do not have anemia, I know from researching my own low iron and b 12 conditions, that anemia is a symptom, not a diagnosis.

I chose to write, even without special knowledge of your question because there are some basic diagnosis and treatment protocols that need to be followed and it sounds rather like your child is being subjected to more guesswork than real investigaiton.

In the case of a small child, I really think that you need to act more quickly than if this were the case of an adult with similar symptoms. Especially if she has little appetite.

I would not wait and experiment with supplements. There are many reasons for anemia which you can easily access on the internet.

Can you get to a specialist, like a hematologist as Japlopper recommended?

i was in panama for 3 month stay and the pediatrician that i was seeing there had referred me to a hematologist/oncologist.i went to see her and she wanted to start the investigation from the top herself so she did a trial for one month on iron after this checked her blood again it still was low. she oredered another test - a reticulocyte count, but i had to return to my country where it is hard to find a hematologist. at the beginning i was investigating just to find out what sort of anemia it could be but now i am anxious b/c after research i saw that my daughter's condition could be worst that i thought. i will need to find one in the neighboring country. thank you for your advice to jill and sparkless.

I know from having a few childhood illnesses in my family that prompt attention and thorough testing is important.

I don't know much about the medical treatment available in your country, but if you have to find a hematologist in another country, will it take a while to do so?

The hematologist you saw in Panama sounded good, as she wanted to start an investigation "from the top".

Do you have any sort of 'children's hospital' in your country? It is usually a good place to start when one does not know the exact condition of the patient/child. If you could go somewhere like this, the drs there will likely consult with specialists if they are not on-site. This has happened with my family on two occasions. It may be a good idea to cover all your bases as soon as possible, especially if finding a hematologist may take some time or be difficult.