But then as the morning goes on he pinks up (within an hour at most). I was at first thinking maybe his iron levels were low but I don't think he'd pink up as the day goes on if that was the case. DH said he thinks C has sleep apnea and to tell him to take a lot of deep breaths when he looks pale (and that maybe we should get him a sleep study done). And BTW when I say he looks pale, I mean his skin, his lips, and even his gums--not completely colorless, of course, but paler than usual.

Can sleep apnea cause you to be pale? I'd think if he didn't have enough oxygen he would look blue not just pale (as he was way back when he had true apnea as preemie).

Rachel

Certainly getting him checked for sleep apnea would make sense. Does he snore? Of course sleep apnea can occur without snoring too.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_1189.html

Dr. Green mentions that children with sleep apnea may not get enough oxygen to their brain at night. If the brain is not getting enough oxygen, then it makes sense the rest of the body is not getting enough O2 either. Could that cause a morning paleness?

Could he be hypoglycemic in the morning? Are there any other symptoms of hypoglycemia such as sweating, irritability, shakiness, weakness?

Have you had his iron level checked?
Anne

Have not had his iron levels checked in a little over a year. Don't really want to as he totally and completely freaks when someone comes near him with a needle or other such thing. :-(

He occasionally snorts in his sleep. He is a restless sleeper, though, and definitely a mouth breather.

No symptoms of hypoglycemia that I can see. He seems perfectly fine and chipper, just looks pale.

I think I'll call the pedi in the morning and run this past her.

Thanks for responding, Anne.

Rachel

My son's anemia: the doctor said that only the eyes indicate wether a child is anemic or not.

Do they numb the area where the needle goes? I have one patch left from my son. I can get it to you.

Hanna

Have you taken his temperature in morning?

Just a thought. I can't remember if my daughter looked especially pale, but she was very very groggy in the morning (ok, I know this sounds normal...but it was extreme.). She was also cold. Anyway, her temperature was often very low (it normally drops during sleep), but I'm talking in the 95-96 range. I actually rubbed her arms and legs to wake her body up and eventually once she was up for a while (30 minutes or so)..she was fine.

Of course, low temp I think low thyroid, but this is something that is no longer is an issue for her.

Good idea to run it past the doctor, but it might just be his body waking up for the day...the blood getting moving?

Cara

Thanks, all!

I will check his temp on mornings he looks pale, that's a good idea, Cara. I doubt he's hypothyroid, though, because he simply doesn't gain weight really. (He weighed a whopping 47 lbs today--he's 9.)

His hematocrit was good, thankfully. So, no anemia and we're guessing it's hypoglycemia that's causing the paleness. Our plan is to offer him food if he looks pale in the morning and for him to pay attention to how he feels and ask for food if he feels bad at all. I also just encouraged him to eat more total food to put on some fat stores.

She said his tonsils look good and she doesn't think he has sleep apnea based on my report (in that I often sleep with him when we travel and I've not noticed anything but occasional snorting, and very occasional minor gasping--no actual pauses in breathing).

Rachel

The majority of people have a decrease in blood pressure at night...(as well as a decline in heart rate). These folks are called "dippers". I believe that about 70% of the population reacts this way to sleep.

"Non-dippers" experience an increase in blood pressure during the night.
Blood pressure typically increases during sleep apnea.

So your son, Rachel may just be a "dipper" physiologically.

You can check this generally by taking a pulse at night, and compare it to
the 1 hr after rising pulse. It might just take your son that first minutes being upright to raise his blood pressure.

Dippers vs non-dippers are carefully tracked when hypertension is present.
Certain drugs taken at the wrong time per day, can lead to serious side effects in dippers. And non-dippers require certain care also in timing of their meds.

It is a well known fact in adults that the first minutes in the morning have the greatest heart attack and stroke statistics...this is because of the sudden shift in blood pressure and heart rate, as well as the other metabolic changes that accompany shifting from sleep to wakefulness.

If your son does NOT eat, and still pinks up about an hour after rising, then I would not suspect blood sugar. But you could still give him a snack the night before --a high protein one--to see if it helps.

Thank you, MrsD! I'll check his pulse.

He does get a a snack before bed and most times it's high protein (nuts or almond butter). I've been thinking that on the mornings he looks pale I would try to think back what he had for snack and see if it was different.

Rachel

Hi Rachel,

A lot of kids on the spectrum get high doses of zinc every day. Not sure whether or not that applies to your DS.

My DS got very pale & lethargic when on high-dose zinc rec. by PTC. I'm not sure whether it was the zinc itself, or the balance/relationship between zinc & copper that caused the problem. But it resolved when we reduced the Zn back to the RDA.

Best wishes.

Hmmm. I don't know that his zinc dosage is high, but I'll check it. Thanks, SnooZQ!

Rachel