I got a nice fat letter from the Peace Corps the other day. I was crushed when I realized that it was not my medical clearance, it was a letter stating that I’m anemic and need more tests done. Great. :mad:
At this point, I’m looking at my original CBC results and am curious as to what they mean and how easy they should be to fix. This is not asking for medical advice, as I’m going to the health center after finals are over. I’d just really like to know what I’m looking at on paper and what I might be dealing with as far as correcting them.
I think I’ve been borderline anemic for the last 6 months or so. I used to donate blood all the time, but around then I’d go to donate and I’d be just barely under the acceptable range for iron, but next time I’d be ok. It was kind of hit and miss. My lab results don’t look to far from the low end of normal to me, but then I don’t even know what they mean, so I could be wrong.
Anyway, on to the results (only the “abnormal” ones included):
Someone with more human based knowledge will be along in a bit,
In the mean time, I’m here
They are looking at the HCT, or hematocrit. That is the measure of how much iron is in your Red blood cells. Normal human females are supposed to vary from 35% to 47%, so you just missed the cutoff. Your MCH, or mean corpuscular hemoglobin is also low, with normal human values being above 30. So not only do you have less iron overall but you have fewer hemoglobin molecules per red blood cell. Since your red cells are of normal size (MCV of 80 is right on the low end) then your cells are most likely lacking hemoglobin because they didn’t have enough iron to complete the molecule properly.
Looks to me like you’re slightly iron anemic, but not much. Good news, you can fix it. Eat raisins and red meat. Ask the Peace Corp to let you re-test in a few weeks.
My clinical pathology skills are weak though, so if I’ve misinterpreted something, any one please correct me.
An MCH below 28% does usually suggest iron defficiency anemia (although I’ve seen 27% listed as normal still). For women, excessive mentrual flow can mess up that result or low dietary iron intake. You might want to talk to your doctor, get retested to monitor your results, and ask if you should take supplements or if you just need to be a bit more dilligent with your diet. Your values aren’t scary low or anything.
IIRC, a lot of young men and women in my college dorm had slightly low iron because the residence food was crap. The one time they tried a blood donor drive at the dorm, only a small handful of people made the cut.
I’m a guy and my HCT was pretty poopy while I was a student and I ate like a goof (I think I was in the upper 30s and adult men should be 40-54% or so).
ETA: I once found an awesom website that explained how to interpret CBC results, I’ll post it when I can find it.
I used to give blood all the time, as in every 8 weeks or so when they would come around. After a few years this caught up to me and I as slightly anemic when I went to the doctors once. I ended up taking some iron supplements and now don’t give as much as I used to and everything is back to normal.
Just don’t go nuts with the iron supplementation. You could cause the bacteria in your gut to over-proliferate. Just make a few more iron-heavy food choices, like dark leafy green salads and oatmeal for breakfast. No biggie
And before you start with any kind of supplements, check with your regular doctor first and get a follow-up test.
A few months ago I asked a GQ question about hematocrit levels because my sister wasn’t able to donate platelets (we do a monthly donation+movie night sibling bonding thing). In her case, things like dehydration/overhydration (from drinking tons of water to rehydrate during/after sports) and her menstrual cycle were affecting her HCT results because of her overall fluid levels, whether or not she was retaining water, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I didn’t want her to tell me about.
(“Lalala-TMI-lalala-I can’t hear you-lalalala!”)
Now that she isn’t doing summer season sports, her levels are all pretty consistenly on the lower end of normal, but normal enough to donate.
ONE single test may not be the greatest indicator. Another test will give your doctor a better idea because he/she can look at your MCV and red cell distribution width (RDW) to determine whether or not supplements are the right route or whether you just need to eat better.
Creamed wheat is an excellent source of iron by the way.
Boo. I mean, I already eat oatmeal at least 2-3 times a week. I get the salads with the dark healthy-looking leaves in 'em. I eat my fruits and veggies! I usually don’t eat a ton of junk food. WTF, body? :dubious:
I guess I’ll be talking to my doctor, which sucks, because I hate her. I could have know this two months ago, but she failed to tell me about while she had the test results right in front of her. She did, however, have me seeing specialists and trying to get forms filed and getting all concerned about a condition that I did not really have. I knew I shouldn’t have gone to Student Health.
Swallowed My Cellphone, the test they do for iron levels at the blood donation centers is a Packed Cell Volume, or PCV. For that test, they take some of your blood and put it in a tiny tube, and then they spin that tube in a centrifuge. This makes the red blood cells separate from the liquid part that those cells float in, called plasma (that yellow stuff all your platelets are collected in). They then use a measuring tool to see how much of that original sample was just red blood cells as opposed to liquid plasma. The PCV is a quick and cheap test that is mostly accurate, but, as your sister found out, it can swing by a few percentage points depending on how hydrated you are. Sometimes, a couple of points are important. (Sorry if that explanation was simplistic. Not sure how much you know)
The tests hawksgirl had are much more accurate, and less likely to be swayed by hydration. In fact, they are the very tests you are encouraging her to have done
I feel your nutritional pain, hawksgirl. The worst part about bell curves is there are always folks who are perfectly normal at the bottom of the curve.
It’s pretty normal to have some abnormalities on the CBC.
When I did my Peace Corps app, I had a whole handful of slightly ‘off’ results. They made me do the test again after a few weeks, and it came back around the same. I got my medical clearence and invitation the next day. Since then I’ve done a number of CBCs and I’ve never had one exactly perfect. For the most part, if the levels are somewhere where they need to be and don’t represent some kind of pattern, they just re-test to make sure things arn’t changing for the worst and wave your through.
Anyway, hang in there. Medical clearence is a pain in the butt, but patience and perseverence are the most important attributes of a Peace Corps volunteer. I know people who spent years dealing with their medical stuff (though it could be rosier- I only took six months) but they are here and having a great time.
If you have any more questions about Peace Corps, feel free to email me.
I am not a doctor, nor am I your doctor, but my iron trends toward lower numbers. I already eat a decently iron rich diet. I manage to keep it up over 12 by taking a “women’s one a day” vitamin that has iron with my health care practitioner’s blessing. It’s just enough to boost my iron levels without being so high as to risk overdoing it (which is a risk of iron suplements). When I’ve been forgetting my vitamin, it shows.
I agree w Solfy. When I was first diagnosed as iron anemic, my doc had me on iron supplements. Once it got back to normal, I switched to a multi. I also can tell a huge difference when I don’t take my vitamins. If you’re having heavy menstruation, you might want to talk to your doc about hormonal birth control too. It helped me a great deal in that aspect.
Your H&H isn’t too bad, but it could be the microcytic results flag for me as lower than I usually see among outpatients. Just observational as a lab rat. Take iron supplements, that deficiency is very common among women your age.
Ok, I’ve started taking a multivitamin with iron and eating more meat. My doc is being pretty uncooperative and dense…again. I asked how long I should wait before I get the extra tests done, and she said to ask when the Peace Corps wants it. Well, the Peace Corps’ answer is always “now,” I meant medically how long should it take to raise my iron levels high enough. Trying to communicate with this woman is impossible since I can only get a hold of her via email. So do you guys have any thoughts or experience?
It can take a while. Despite taking a daily multivitamin with 100% of the RDA for iron, I was diagnosed as fairly anemic (HGB of 9) in 2006. Adding an iron supplement of about 140% of the RDA, I just managed to beat anemia with this last blood test (HGB of 12-ish).
However, I’ve got a lot of challenges: vegetarian, heavy periods, drink a lot of tea. The iron from supplements is poorly absorbed. Try drinking orange juice or eating kiwi with the supplement; Vitamin C helps with absorbtion. I’d say go ahead and add an extra iron supplement, it’s very rare that premenopausal women OD on iron barring some genetic issue. I had a friend who had the same issue you do (Peace Corps, low iron), she buckled down and started eating liver a few times a week, you absorb a lot more iron from animal sources than from plant source.
