Name that illness!
 

Ok, doctors aren't sure what's wrong with my 13 year old sister, and frankly, we need to have an idea. She sleeps most of the time, eats VERY little, but drinks regularly. Today she finally ate about 2 small meals, but it still's not that much. We'd like to have an idea of what this could be to confront the doctor with. If you have any idea what she's suffering from, please help!

Solution: get a new doctor. An internet forum featuring 14-22 year olds with limited medical experience beyond broken bones and cuts and common illnesses is far from the best place to ask for help. In the unlikely event that someone here is able to help you, right on, but you would find it far more constructive to get a new doctor or a therapist for her.

I'd say it sounds like mononucleosis, (or, Mono, for short,) Although I think she only has two of the symptoms. (Tired all the time, and loss of appitite)

"Early signs or symptoms of mono can be vague, such as headache, chills, easy fatigability, fever and sore throat. As the disease advances, its manifestations become more obvious; fever; feeling of extreme exhaustion; tender, enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, armpits and groin. Symptoms of nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite and abdominal pain may appear. There may be yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice). You may have any or all of the above signs or symptoms."

I thought it sounded like mono when I first read it, then I looked it up, and it still sounds like it might be mono.

But don't take my word for it, I'm not a doctor. (my dad is a nurse in the ER though, but his medical books seemed to be not very useful to me. : P)

EDIT: Also, as Shiney said, I would go see a different doctor. If it's mono it's not that life threatening, but you can never be too certain with someone's health, so I'd be seeing doctors to figure out what is wrong.

My first thought was depression or some such... but I find that unlikely... based solely on the fast that I haven't had any contact with the person in question.

Moving on to the more physical maladies, mononucleosis was mentioned, and it does make sense, but my first thought was a hormonal disorder.

Diabetes mellitus, a disorder of the pancreas, popped right into my head, symptoms including increased urination and thirst, loss of weight and/or appetite, fatigue, weakness, apathy, tingling in the extremities and blurred vission. Now, the loss of appetite is rare, but it has happened so it's not startlingly likely, but it is possible.

Also came Addison's disease which shows such symptoms as loss of appetite and wieght, tiredness and weakness, and anemia. Nausea, indigestion, vomiting or other digestive tract problems are also somewhat common. As is a darkening of the skin. This is, itself, a rather dangerous condition, and is caused by a decrease in steroid production by the adrenal glands. Such causes as autoimmune problems, or tuberculosis can cause it.

Which summons up another idea. Symptoms such as night sweats, recurrent fever, unexplained tiredness, general feelings of ill health, or a persistant cough (should these be true but not mentioned) are signs of a chronic infection such as tuberculosis. Which, if it is the most common type and is a resperatory infection, also produces bloody phlegm. This is, however, not necissarily true as it may not be resperatory tuberculosis, and rather, another type.

And, lastly, the most concering of all the possibilities I have remembered as yet... is cancer. Be careful of this, though I'd think that would be one of the first tests performed on such symptoms; if it wasn't (or even was) than it's still a possibility.

And yes, this is a listing of possible medical problems. It WILL make you paranoid, so be careful with such subjects. Now you know what med students go through. (Please to note: I do not study medicine. Understand this.)

Maybe when I have more time I can take a look at some of those online medical thingies and see if there is any more information they can give me.

Just throwing one more possibility into the ring, though I think a skilled enough Doctor could tell. *coughnotaquackdoc*

Lyme disease, from what I know, causes extreme tiredness, so it could be the culprit. But like Shiney said, go to a different doc.

A new doctor might be the best route. Of course, having dealt with many doctors myself, I happen to know this is not always the solution. And in general, there is *NO* sense of urgency when it comes to dealing with them.

The only thing I can suggest, aside from seeking alternative medical advice, is to look into additional factors. One, is your sister overweight? Could she belimic(sp?)? Or is there anything otherwise to suggest this could be a mental problem?

Have you gone ahead with any sort of testing (Catscan, MRI or perhaps X-Ray?)

Finally, one last to consider. Is moving around a bit of effort for your sister, and does she have very tight muscles? Speaking from personal experience, this in itself can be very problematic & can cause a number of problems (includding appetite & desire to eat).

In fact, I've only recently discovered a remedy for said condition, in the form of an over the counter pain medication called Percogesic (active ingredient Acetaminophen). In short, it helps loosen the tight muscles.

SWK
- And Shiney, for the record I'm 28...

I meant the majority amount. Oops.

Yea, I know. we've taken her to the ER and such, but I just was wondering if you had an IDEA I could CONFRONT a doctor with. Geez, not like I'm gonna diagnose my own Sis... Mono was a no, and several other tests, the "critically acclaimed" doctors don't even know what's up. Since we live in Alliance OH, we may end up taking her to columbus to an expensive doc. Thanks for any suggs though!

Have you tried using medical websites like:
http://www.webmd.com
http://www.nih.gov
http://intelihealth.com?

Sorry if you already thought of that. I have no clue what it is, myself.