I've been asked to post this for another Leader:

<<Hi, Everyone!
        I'm posting this for Tammy Bretscher, an LLLL in Elgin, IL.  She has
a mom who has just had her 4th child (2 3/4 weeks old).  Mom's first 3
children nursed uneventfully.  Baby #4 weighed 9lbs at birth and gained 10oz
during the first week of life.
        Baby was tested for galactosemia at the same time as the PKU test,
and the results came back positive.  Mom was told to wean immediately,
pending secondary tests.  Baby was completely asymptomatic and Mom suspected
a false positive, so she chose to continue nursing.  The secondary test
results came back negative for galactosemia today.
        However--the test for galactosemia apparently only tests for a
deficiency in galactose-1-phosphate uridyl tranferrase.  Another test was
done at the same time for a deficiency in galactokinase, but the results are
not expected for another week, and Mom has been told to wean until those
results are back.  Needless to say, she'd rather not wean if she doesn't
have to, so she has some questions for us that we (and the AAPL Tammy
called) can't find answers for.  If any of you can help, Tammy and Mom would
be eternally grateful, as time is of the essence.

Questions:

        Is a deficiency in galactokinase also considered galactosemia, or is
that term reserved for deficiency of galactose-1-phosphate uridyl
transferrase?

        Are there degrees of disease, or are these deficiencies
all-or-nothing?

        How common are false positives for any of these tests?

        How much damage would continuing to nurse for a week cause if there
is a deficiency in galactokinase, and what kind of damage could be expected?

        Lawrence and Auerbach & Riordan say "the baby will soon develop
symptoms."  How soon is soon?  Days?  Weeks?  What kind of symptoms?

If any of you can help, would you please e-mail Tammy directly at
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Rita