[julia69]

Originally Posted by Ruth Cuadra

Hi, Julia.

There actually is some basis for your doctor thinking that puberty might cause a change in your son's aplastic anemia: male hormones (androgens) are sometimes given to stimulate the bone marrow to become more active.

Is your son currently on any immunosuppressants? If so, has your doctor suggested trying to taper the dosage to try to get a little more response (that is, more production) from your son's bone marrow?

If your son's counts do not allow him to live comfortably, I would not allow the possibility that changes will occur during puberty to silence you. One of our members, Wendy Beltrami, has a son who is now about 15 and has been dealing with AA for 8 years or so. Although he has had ups and downs, it sounds as though he has been able to live a mostly normal teenage life. I hope she'll see this thread and be able to offer you more advice.

Hope this helps.
Ruth Cuadra

Thanks for the posting,Gabriel is taking about 400 pills a month.His kidneys are showing signs of distress from the gengraf.They are not going to lessen the dose cause he is so stable at 28,000 plts.My concern is these counts have never changed in 4 years unless he goes severe which has been twice and it's almost like his body knows no different.I contacted the Aplastic Anemia foundation about the puberty thing and they say it's very rare.