[Memeto3]

15-year-old with anemia & high total protein

by Memeto3 on Thu Dec 28, 2017 2:52 pm

My 15-year-old daughter has had health issues for a while. She has been anemic for the last year and we just saw the hematologist. She has had nausea and lack of appetite often the last 4 months, causing her to lose 24 lbs. On the days she doesn't feel bad she eats well. She has issues with fatigue, low vitamin B12. She takes supplements. Her total protein was 8.4 this last week when we got blood drawn with the hematologist. We don't go back till later next month. Some of her lymphocytes were on the low end as well.

Do I need to call the doctor and ask for certain tests to see if she has multiple myeloma?.

I'm worried to wait. She was well hydrated the day of the draw and stays well hydrated each day so I know shes not dehydrated.

Thank you for any advice.

[Colm]

Re: 15-year-old with anemia & high total protein

by Colm on Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:26 pm

Hi M,

I'd imagine the haematologist carried out all tests required to diagnose your daughter's condition, assuming she has one. There are many reasons for high / low readings in blood tests, many of these are down to nothing more than things like lifestyle.

I'm not an expert, but I think the chances of it being myeloma, especially considering her age, must be pretty slim.

There's no point in me telling you not to worry. You're a parent!

Hopefully you'll quickly discover the cause and will find an easy way to fix it.

And hopefully she'll have a healthy and happy new year.

[Multibilly]

Re: 15-year-old with anemia & high total protein

by Multibilly on Fri Dec 29, 2017 7:26 am

Hi Monica,

I agree with Colm. While not unheard of of, it would be very rare for a 15-year-old to have multiple myeloma. Over the past five years, only one or two folks represented on this forum have reported being diagnosed as a teenager, and they were in their late teens.

While her serum protein level is a bit high, it's not super high. So I wouldn't necessarily jump to thinking that may this may be myeloma, especially at her age.

Like Colm said, the doctor should be able to get to the bottom of all this after running all the necessary tests. If your daughter isn't seeing a hematologist, it may be good to seek one out.

Let us know how things turn out and good luck.

[Memeto3]

Re: 15-year-old with anemia & high total protein

by Memeto3 on Fri Dec 29, 2017 9:23 am

Thank you. I feel better after some reading and asked her doctor if we need to run some more blood tests. It's a hematologist we are seeing, so we are where we need to be.