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17472695 tn?1456991518

i think i have leukemia; but am i just overreacting?

hi, i'm a 13 year old girl, and after having a sore throat for about a week (it's just now getting much better), i began looking up possibilities as to why it would hurt that long, and Leukemia popped up a lot.
now my throat's getting better, but after researching Leukemia more (the sore throat brought it to light), i've noticed that i have a lot of the symptoms, including:
the red spots over the body (petechiae), i have them on my shoulders, arms, legs, back, etc.
unexplained bruises in places like my back or the back of my knee where i would never bruise
i get breathless easily after doing activities like running, dancing, etc.
i'm always having pain on the left side of my stomach where my spleen is, the pain varies from sharp pains to dull aches
speaking of aches, my joints including my arm joints, leg joins, etc. hurt or ache a lot
i have night sweats, i wake up and i'm drenched
i lose my appetite very easily and rarely eat, i usually only eat one full meal a day...
my gums bleed randomly! i don't touch them at all and i'll taste blood in my mouth, and they bleed whenever i brush my teeth, even if i do it with the utmost care and gentleness!
i also have a red, flaky rash all over my scalp, neck, behind the ears and around my nose, not sure if this is a symptom but i felt like i should mention it.

so do you guys think i have it? or is something else wrong?  i don't want it to get worse but i don't want to seem like a crybaby who wants attention either, also, how would i get my mom to take me to the doctor? i feel like if i told her all of my symptoms and suggested Leukemia she'd think i was being a drama queen... please help me!  :(

5 Responses
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Avatar universal
Hi,
Leukemia is a nasty thing to have. As Ken_PA already advice, you should involve your parents and go see a doctor. There are multiple treatments that are seeing results right now. You shouldn't be scared of telling and involving your parents. Bone marrow transplants, stem cell transplant scan be used to restore healthy bone marrow in patients with leukemia. Stem cells help stimulate new bone marrow growth and restore the immune system.
Helpful - 0
1081992 tn?1389903637
COMMUNITY LEADER
One other thing, mast cells can inflame the stomach and destroy a person's appetite.
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1081992 tn?1389903637
COMMUNITY LEADER
People who get flushing just out of the blue at random times should be checked for a "Mast Cell Activation Disorder". It's not super serious but that's something that won't get better by itself. Ask your parents if that ever happens to them. You probably need to somehow get your parents involved in learning about that and perhaps getting you tested for it.

You don't have leukemia.

Fish oil and vitamin E can sometimes make a person bruise and bleed too easily, especially someone with mast cell problems.

I really don't know what else to say about it. You need to get your parents involved, it's not just all in your head if you have random flushing. You probably shouldn't even be asking questions online. Let your parents handle it.





Helpful - 0
1081992 tn?1389903637
COMMUNITY LEADER
No, you're not being a "crybaby who wants attention". It's likely not leukemia, so don't be too worried. It might even get better on its own. But I think it's worth getting checked out because of the bleeding and bruising.

Good luck. It'd be nice if you get your tests and post back with the results of your doctor visit.
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1 Comments
i'm not? ok thanks, because i asked a friend and she was like oooooo you're being such a crybaby, get over it, you probably have the flu or something. i hope it's not Leukemia because i don't want my mom to worry. yeah i don't know why there's all this bleeding and bruising everywhere

thank you!! :) if i do go to the doctors i'll what happened!
1081992 tn?1389903637
COMMUNITY LEADER
Good morning. It seems that you might have more than just the ordinary health anxiety, but don't jump so fast to thinking about leukemia.

1) The bleeding gums stands out. Bleeding and bruising from a blood cancer comes about when the cancer gets into the bone marrow where blood cells are made, and then crowds out production of the platelets. Low platelets is a cause of easy bleeding/bruising. A common and inexpensive blood test called a CBC can detect if your platelet count is normal, thereby ruling out a blood cancer being present. There might even be a machine to do the CBC test right at the doctors' practice. I'd call there to ask. If they don't have it, maybe your doc will order that test over the phone before your visit, so you can have the results ready during the visit. A CBC would also tell if the white cells are way too high.

The odds are that your platelet count is okay.

2) So next we'd wonder if your under-eating is failing to give you enough proper nutrition to form good red blood cells (which prevents shortness of breath) and "clotting factors" (proteins made in the liver). Or, having an inflamed GI tract can cause  lack of appetite and/or poor absorption of iron and many other nutrients. Stomach pain might mean a stomach infection. Or you might have a food allergy.

3) Do you ever get random flushing in the skin?

4) You don't take a lot of fish oil or vitamin E (both are blood thinners), do you?
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
thank you very much for answering, i know that i should eat more but i never seem to have an appetite. :( yeah maybe it's the stomach infections, i just get those a lot... i got the flu, then like i just finished having a Kidney infection (i think that's what my mom said it was) and now I have a UTI and some other infection in my stomach that i don't remember the name of. i just keep getting them!! :( flushing is when your face gets redder and warm right? (i had to look it up) yeah my face does that a lot, my arms and neck sorta do it too,
um i take fish oil because my dad says it's good for me, and i take Vitamin E pills too, what's a blood thinner do?
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