Something is nagging at me about it.
I don't understand how a healthy kid can all of a sudden have an autoimmune disorder.
Both her and her older sister have anemia too.
The doctor said if they take away the anemia, the symptoms and all her abnormal lab tests results say she has Addison's.
My daughter told me her last two bp readings were... 100/65 & 90/60. Her heart will sometimes beat 3 times vs 1 on the bottom randomly, she'll get hot or cold flashes and dizzy. Other symptoms are nausea, diarrhea, constipation and her heart rate will suddenly elevate and her bp will drop.
Doctor says it's related to autoimmune, no real cause, her body is attacking her adrenal glands, and her body is responding. He put her on salt, potassium supplements and a synthetic drug called Fludrocortisone.
Fludrocortisone:
Fludrocortisone is a corticosteroid (cortisone-like medicine). It belongs to the family of medicines called steroids. Your body naturally produces similar corticosteroids, which are necessary to maintain the balance of certain minerals and water for good health. If your body does not produce enough corticosteroids, your doctor may have prescribed this medicine to help make up the difference.
Fludrocortisone may also be used to treat other medical conditions as determined by your doctor.
Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur.
Pediatric
Fludrocortisone may slow or stop growth in children or growing adolescents when used for a long time. The natural production of corticosteroids by the body may also be decreased by the use of this medicine. Before this medicine is given to a child or adolescent, you and your child's doctor should talk about the good this medicine will do as well as the risks of using it. Follow the doctor's directions very carefully to lessen the chance that these unwanted effects will occur.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/fludrocortisone-oral-route/description/drg-20063868
Ok, so, I just read that...
🤔People who have the following autoimmune disease are also at higher risk of developing the autoimmune (most common) form of Addison's disease:
Type I diabetes.
✨Pernicious anemia.
Graves' disease.
Chronic thyroiditis.
Dermatitis herpetiformis.
Vitiligo.
Myasthenia gravis.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15095-addisons-disease
Well, my granddaughter is anemic, so the autoimmune disorder that supposedly would be at risk for Addison's could be the anemia that the doctor "ruled out" of her medical history to say she has Addison's 🤔
The doctor said if they take away the anemia, the symptoms and all her abnormal lab tests results say she has Addison's.
So, how do two young ladies get anemic disorders? They've been healthy all their lives until the last year or two. One with iron deficiency (this one we are discussing here) and the other with a b12 and iron deficiency.
Ok, I feel like I'm all over the place with this 😐need to take a break to clear my head a bit, if you know more about this, please share it. I hate for my granddaughter to be put on pharma drugs if it's not necessary.
Thanks frens!
Addison's is primarily low cortisol from the adrenals, the low bp and need for electrolytes are downstream of that. I'm assuming they've tasted her cortisol and it's low? There's an at home 4 point saliva test they can order themselves to see where she's at. There's also an additional test they do if low cortisol is confirmed an acth stim test to see how their body is reacting. Both of these tests an endocrinologist would order if Addison's is suspected. The treatment for a serious diagnosis is hydrocortisone and most will need this daily for life if their body isn't making enough cortisol bc without cortisol people will eventually die.
The fludrocortisone helps with salt retention to raise bp but it's not as effective as the hydrocortisone. I would ask about cortisol levels though bc if her levels are ok or only mildly low then this sounds more like pots or adrenal fatigue where extra salt and sometimes medications like fludrocortisone are helpful. That diagnosis isn't as serious as Addison's though. There are also supplements that help the adrenals, like licorice root, adrenal cortex, and vitamin c. These supplements are used when adrenal fatigue is suspected (low cortisol but the body is still producing and responding to cortisol) to eventually bring the levels back up. There are online functional mds and naturopaths who treat adrenal fatigue.