Low iron in toddler who ISN'T a picky eater?

[AimeeM]

Marco had his 15 month old check up. His iron is pretty low. Doc prescribed supplements.

 

I'm a bit confused though, to be honest. My 4.5 year old is my picky (VERY picky) eater - not this guy. This guy (Flying Marvelous Marco) is my "mikey" - he'll eat anything. He eats meats, cheeses, vegetables, etc. Not picky at all. In fact, he has a well rounded diet; he loves the organic baby squeezes in flavors like broccoli and mango, spinach and apples, etc; he eats what we eat for dinner (and we are lovers of red meat), vegetables and all.

 

I do have a history of anemia, but the doctor isn't going there with Marco right now, just wants him on the supplements and then a recheck in 6 weeks.

 

I'm just confused. Even my picky eater has never had low iron.

[Joker]

My oldest was my pickiest eater when she was younger and she refused to eat any meat or seafood. She has never had anywhere near low iron and never took supplements.

 

My youngest is my meat lover and she's always been on the low side. I'm really no help because I always found it weird as well.

[Arcadia]

My very picky 8 year old was okay but my eat everything 7 year old was anemic and FTT at the same time.  His was an absorption issue which is also why I am anemic.  He went on liquid iron supplements and had his blood drawn every month.  Some iron supplements work better for me than others and I had to be closely monitored for anemia during pregnancy as my levels go real low.

[AimeeM]

I know. I was shocked when she called. Now, his weight was concerning to her, but not at all to me - though now THAT is in the back of my mind as well. The kid comes from small stock; I'm five feet and about 110, my 4 year old is 28 lbs, my 12 year old is 70-something... but now I'm concerned about his low weight as well.

*sigh* Life is never dull with This Kid.

[Harriet Vane]

My ds has struggled with chronic anemia for years (as have I). He eats more than I do, and will eat virtually anything. There are lots of reasons for anemia, most of which have nothing at all to do with diet.

[bettyandbob]

This was probably the earliest sign my dd had celiac. There were many missed signs, all of them called "uncommon" by docs. I had to connect the dots for them.

[AimeeM]

This is the doctor that dx'd my daughter as celiac's (which was actually, when we saw the specialist, and incorrect dx - she has a wheat allergy, not celiac's, and the specialist said that general peds/docs often use the two interchangably). I will ask for a food allergy panel if his recheck comes back bad.

[Tiramisu]

I would guess if the allergy caused inflammation, as celiac does, it could negatively affect absorption. 

. 

 

Was celiac ruled out by biopsy?

[AimeeM]

I would guess if the allergy caused inflammation, as celiac does, it could negatively affect absorption. 

. 

 

Was celiac ruled out by biopsy?

 

With my eldest? Not yet. More because, when we went to see a GI, she realized that dd was presenting with more classic "allergy" symptoms (including hives).

 

ETA: I shouldn't have said the dx is "wrong" or definitely not celiac's; that is accurate - she's waiting on the results of a poop test (okay, sorry, I don't know what it's technically called, lol) before deciding if she needs a biopsy, but she's leaning heavily towards it not being Celiac's. Blood work came back positive for a wheat allergy, but not for celiac's.

[fairfarmhand]

My dd was very anemic, but she lost a lot of blood as a baby due to a milk protein allergy. Apparently, Bloody poops for over 6 months take a while to recover from.