Guest guest Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hi! I'm glad I found this group because my ds, almost 8, has low IgG and IgM levels on initial testing, with no pneumococcal antibody response from his past prevnar shots. He had preliminary testing by our allergy guy, mainly b/c I was complaining yet again about his GI issues The allergist's plan is to do a pneumococcal shot then recheck levels in a month (we have an appt scheduled for the shot). ds has not been acutely sick recently, but had 3 hospitalizations for GI-vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and once for strep, needing IV antibx- when he was two years old. It's mostly chronic symptoms now--like the rash/infection on his face and his eyes that won't get completely bettter despite the erythromycin cream. He has many recurrent viruses-every time he goes in public, he gets sick--and respiratory bacterial infections 3-4 times per year. He has always has GI problems with alternating diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain and reflux symptoms. He was on the growth chart until he was about 9 months old and then fell off! He occassionally makes it up to the fifth percentile, then falls off again. He has multiple food allergies, including the top 8, plus. He also has chronic asthma, too. Last, but certainly not the least, he has classic autism and is only a little verbal. He IS a sweet kid We are homeschooling all seven of our kids (ages 3-12), several of whom we adopted with multiple special needs. So, we don't have to deal with the issues of public school, and after a really bad winter for ds and me last year, we have mostly stayed home from church activities since Sept. to keep down his infections. It is difficult for him to do enough schooling when he doesn't feel well, though! So...my questions are many, but I'll stick with the most important Should I schedule an appt at a major medical center with an immunologist? (For starters, I feel like the allergist should do more tests to check the rest of his immune system). We are in northern Virginia, so National Children's is closest, but s Hopkins and UVa. aren't far. Has anyone had any experience with immunologists in our area? Second, if they are unable to find a specific " diagnosis " for his GI issues again (he is being scoped again in two weeks), has anyone had experience with IVIG helping nonspecific GI symptoms as well? Especially in cases like ds', with a normal IgA? thanks so much! Mindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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