next »

[judyp]

was wondering if i should have my 3 year old re-tested?..he was diagnosed last year with alpha thal minor...the dr had said that was it and the only thing to really be concerned with was when my son was going to get married/have a child...anytime i bring thal up with my husband he says i should have him retested to see if anything has changed...he is almost in denial, i think...can anything change?...and how would i know, other than testing?...can it get better/worse?...

[Andy Battaglia]

Hi Judy,

The denial is quite common (many parents feel some guilt about passing on these genes, but how would you know? You wouldn't, so please assure your husband of this fact). Do you have any records of the test that he did have and do you know what his hemoglobin level is? Alpha thal carrier state is very difficult to diagnose without a DNA analysis, so it may be an educated assumption that this is alpha thal minor, based on the results of a complete blood count. If his Hb level is unusually low, then I would definitely suggest a DNA test.

[judyp]

i looked over some of his blood work/testing paperwork and see 11 for hemoglobin...can that change?

[Andy Battaglia]

An Hb level of 11 is only slightly below normal. With alpha thal, the main things that might change the Hb level would be the list of things mentioned before and possibly during infections type illnesses. Normally, his Hb shouldn't fluctuate much. Because his Hb isn't very low, it may be that his eating and sleeping problems are related to the change in environment and diet. Is his diet substantially different from what he was eating before the adoption?

[judyp]

once again, thx for your advice, andy...since he has been with us since he was 10 months old (and is now 3) i am not sure the change in his eating is it...i think i will call the hemotoligist and see if i can get the detailed bloodwork results for when he was diagnosed with alpha minor thal last year...i have results from the bloodwork we had done in a lab (recommended by his pediatrician) before we went to the hemotologist...so i guess once you are diagnosed with thal alpha minor, that's it...it cannot get better or worse?....