Real People’s Stories of Life and Death

Sarah

Low Iron and Ferritin but Normal Hemoglobin? Everyone needs CBC Full Complete count tests. I feel so stressed, so I wrote this post on Anaemia profiles and test data.

Symptoms (6 Months Duration)

I’ve had the following symptoms going on 6 months now:

  • Fatigue/weakness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Heart palpitations
  • Dizziness/lightheadedness
  • Muscle aches/pain

Consultation Meetings

Cardiology, Neurology, and an ENT have ruled me out. Multiple CBCs.

Finally, after months of asking my doctor, I got to a Full count test my iron/ferritin. He always denied it because my haemoglobin was normal.

Well, my results came back, and they’re pretty low. He swears they aren’t the cause of my symptoms, and the most he’ll give me is an OTC iron supplement with about 18mg.

My bloodwork:

  • Iron: 31mcg/dL (range 40-190) Iron Saturation: 6% (range 16-45) Iron-binding Capacity: 478mcg/dL (range 250-450) Ferritin: 2ng/mL (range 16-154)
  • Haemoglobin: 12g/dL (range 11.6-15.2) RDW: 15.4% (range 11.5-15) MCV: 78.3fL (range 80-100) MCH: 24.1pg (range 27-34)

I’m not sure I can trust my CBC GP. I still have the feeling that I may have Anaemia. I will make a new complete blood count test in 1 month. Let’s see the next results.

Richard – High Haemoglobin

I am a 55-year-old male, 6 ft tall and 215 lbs. I am white, a nonsmoker, and a moderate drinker. Also, I have no drugs, medication, or health issues other than those noted below.

I had a CBC blood test recently that revealed high Haemoglobin levels. The actual figures were:

  • Haemoglobin 181 g/L (normal range 130-170)
  • Red Cell Count 5.91 x10^12/L (normal range 0.37-0.50)
  • HCT 0.54 (normal range 0.37-0.50)

These are all above the upper bound, but I don’t know if they are seriously above or just out of the bounds, but it is not hugely unusual.

I was possibly slightly dehydrated at the time of the Anaemia Complete count sample test. It was in the morning, and all I had had was a cup of tea after getting up.

Anxiety

I was/am suffering from some anxiety as this was all part of Anaemia full count blood tests for cancer as a result of ‘bowel habit changes’. I had a colonoscopy and CT scan later, which have now shown no cause for concern.

Suspected Sleep Apnea

Although I have never been diagnosed with sleep apnea, I highly suspect I suffer from it. My wife tells me she often has to shove me because I’m not breathing. I certainly snore a lot – every night.

Patrick

Need advice? 26yo male with minor low haemoglobin. The Anaemia condition runs in the family, and my families are not very bothered by the condition, but I am

My CBC profile Full Count Panel test is as follows:

  • RBC count 6.1 Haemoglobin 11.7 HCT 37% MCV 61 MCH 19 MCHC 32 RDW 17.4 Platelet count 179

Is my condition minor beta thalassemia?

Symptoms

I have been experiencing easy fatigue. I get so tired after a while in social situations, and it bothers me. Sometimes, I will feel fainted after sitting down and standing up. I also have a very fast heartbeat, and my hands get cold very easily.

Physical Activity and Reactions

I have done the marathon in the past, and I suddenly got blurry eyesight, felt faint, and puked afterwards. It had also happened when the sun was too bright or I returned from an intense 30-minute run. So it happened again two days ago when I skipped lunch and snowboarded for four hours. It wasn’t very intense. But I was lying in bed the other day, and Google brought me here.

Supplements

I have researched and am curious if I am doing the right thing. Today is the first I bought and took many vitamins. But I still feel very tired. I would appreciate some insight into what I can do better. Here is the list

  • Two pills of 1mg of Folic acid (Life brand)
  • One pill of 1000IU vitamin D3 (Life brand)
  • Three pills of Irwin Natural Men Living green liquid-gel vitamins 3pills that contain:
    • Vitamin A 1500 mcg , C 250mg, D3 10mcg(400IU), E 134mg, B6 20mg, B12 60mcg Folate 1020mcg DFE (600mcg folic acid) Magnesium 25mg

I also started eating almonds, sunflower seeds, strawberries, and oats for breakfast(which are antioxidants). And I still feel so tired as I type.

Any idea what I have been doing wrong?

Louise

Freaking out bad. Lymphocytes are very high at 5.2 and 60%.

I (40F, 5’6″, 135 lbs, non-smoker) just got my CBC blood work from a regular check-up. I know of no infections or viruses and no enlarged lymphatic nodes. Lymphocytes Absolute was at normal range one year ago at about 2. They are now at 5.2. The rest is in range, except for high vitamin D (from supplementing). Haemoglobin is in range but at the low end, but it has always been like this.

Also, for the first time, I have high CHOLESTEROL, TOTAL at 202 (Reference Range: <200 mg/dL), but the individual cholesterol counts seem to be in range. I’ve had the worst day today since looking at my Anaemia results last night. I am SO scared and feel so down and sad. Google does not help; I could hardly sleep last night. 

  • WHITE CELL COUNT- 8.3 (Reference Range: 3.8-10.8 Thousand/uL)
  • HEMOGLOBIN- 11.8 (Reference Range: 11.7-15.5 g/dL)
  • MCV- 88.8 (Reference Range: 80.0-100.0 fL )
  • MCHC- 32.3 (Reference Range: 32.0-36.0 g/dL)
  • PLATELET COUNT- 154 (Reference Range: 140-400 Thousand/uL)
  • ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHILS- 2283 (Reference Range: 1500-7800 cells/uL)
  • THE ABSOLUTE MONOCYTES- 656 (Reference Range: 200-950 cells/uL)
  • ABSOLUTE BASOPHILS- 17 (Reference Range: 0-200 cells/uL)
  • ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES- 5237 H (Reference Range: 850-3900 cells/uL)

I will schedule an Anaemia appointment with my GP because the worst mistake is making diagnoses with Google. If I had based my diagnosis on Google, I would probably have cancer or be on the verge of death.