Eosinophilic Disorders

[jayhawkmom]

Just a quick question....

If a person suspected of having ED comes back with a totally normal CBC - does it "rule out" ED - or does it just show that the Eosinophils aren't overloaded in the blood, but can still be present elsewhere??

I'm just learning about this issue, so I'm a bit confused.

Thank you, in advance, for any clarification you can offer.

[happygirl]

Just a quick question....

If a person suspected of having ED comes back with a totally normal CBC - does it "rule out" ED - or does it just show that the Eosinophils aren't overloaded in the blood, but can still be present elsewhere??

I'm just learning about this issue, so I'm a bit confused.

Thank you, in advance, for any clarification you can offer.

Yes, they can still be present elsewhere. Something like 30-40% of people with an E disorder have increased eosinophils in their blood (I can't remember the number offhand) but the rest do not. Do a search for eosinophilic on this board and you should find some great things. The best sites are www.apfed.org, the cincinnati children's hospital center for Eosiniophilic disorders and the children's hospital in philly center (you'll have to google those two, I don't have the sites offhand).

I was tested for it last fall, but had taken all the allergens out at that point. I was negative based on the tests, but the tests weren't performed when they should, so it was never a 100% definitive NO.

[jayhawkmom]

Awww pooh.

I'm so hoping to avoid an endoscopy. He's only 17 months old... I really don't want to go that route. He's gaining weight just fine (now) - he's healthy, he's happy, and he's gluten free. But, he still has loose/mushy/peanutbutterish stools ALL the time. It's either that... or "the big D" - and it's not just once or twice a day... it's 6-8, sometimes even up to 10 times a day.

I really wish none of this was necessary.

He's on Zyrtec and Prevacid already - whether or not they are doing *anything* - I can't tell.

[azmom3]

Awww pooh.

I'm so hoping to avoid an endoscopy. He's only 17 months old... I really don't want to go that route. He's gaining weight just fine (now) - he's healthy, he's happy, and he's gluten free. But, he still has loose/mushy/peanutbutterish stools ALL the time. It's either that... or "the big D" - and it's not just once or twice a day... it's 6-8, sometimes even up to 10 times a day.

I really wish none of this was necessary.

He's on Zyrtec and Prevacid already - whether or not they are doing *anything* - I can't tell.

My son was diagnosed with EE 2 months ago when he was 26 months old. He did not have elevated eosinophils in his blood and his esophagus looked good during the endoscopy, (other than GERD damage), but the pathologist found way too many eosinophils in his esophagus when reading the slides.

If prevacid is NOT working, that is a big sign that it could be EE. My son is still on 5 different medications to help control some of his symptoms and he has been on an elemental formula only (no food) since he was diagnosed. Going through the endoscopy was actually very quick and easy. My son is a different kid now...soooo happy and full of energy, hardly ever gets hives (used to have 100's), and is finally starting to gain weight. Although it's never easy to have a procedure like this done on your child, it is the BEST decision we could have made. I hate to think of what he'd be like if we had not started to treat this.