Worried about my daughters symptoms..

Thank you for taking the time to review my question. My daughter just turned 17. Its been a rough winter health wise. She had pneumonia in November 2011. They did a complete cbc with diff at that time, along with westergren, and mono test , all normal except 970 monocytes (13%). Since then she has had regular illnesses about twice a month..sore throat, headache, muscle aches, always tests negative for strep. I should also mention she had a lap appy  last July 2011 again normal labs except elevated lymphocytes (due to appendicitis?).

She is still sick..only  now she is very fatigued with headaches body aches. She was spot tested for mono-and it was negative today. They sent her for another complete cbc with diff a westergren and an EBV antibody along with thyroid and RA test. Im worried sick this could be leukemia, with two fairly normal blood tests within the last 6-8 months how concerned should I be, and what should we be looking for?
Any input is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

[Indranil Ghosh, MD]

Dear momtotwinsplus1,

Thanks for writing in.

I understand your concern.

Your daughter is having non-specific symptoms like fatigue, headache with occasional sore throat for last 3-4 months. Probably she has not lost any weight and her appetite is also OK.

I am not too concerned about her blood reports though she had relative monocytosis to begin with and now a slightly low neutrophil count. Other parameters in her complete blood count are normal as you have stated. However, she has tested positive for EBV (Epstein–Barr virus) which may explain all this. It is usually a self-limited disease and just that it is taking a bit time. In all probability the infection has been eradicated by the body (as the Ig G antibody is positive) and she is in the convalescent period (which means she is recovering).

I would like to reassure you that considering a diagnosis of leukemia would be unnecessary at this point as her blood counts are stable and hemoglobin and platelets have never really shown abnormal results.

I am sure she will be back to her normal self in the coming weeks.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Best Regards,
Dr. Indranil Ghosh

[momtotwinsplus1]

Thought I should add this to see what you think..As per above post my daughters lab results came back yesterday and she had low wbcs at 4.3 refernce range is 4-5-13.0, low absolute neutrophils at 1630 ref. range 1800-8000. Everything else in the CBC showed normal.

She tested positive for the EBV VCA IGG AB at 3.64 a positive result.
Thanks!