Just when I thought I understood the condition I was surprised when someone I know with classic symptoms of Haemochromatosis was told by their doctor their blood test was normal, in fact bordering on anaemic. Could an ignorant GP misinterpret the results? What else could this be?
View 12 RepliesI have recently been told by the doctor that I may have PCOS. However I have a few questions around my recent blood test results and therefore was wondering if anyone could help answer some of my questions.
To give a little bit of information on my background, I have suffered from back and chest acne since I was at high school. I also got it on one cheek on my face which has left scars. My chest and face cleared up by the time I had finished high school but my back acne was still severe and until this day it is still really bad. ( I am now 21). Obviously over the years I have been seeing a dermatologist who has given me many forms of medication and creams. NOTHING WORKED. I have also recently been on Roaccutane. HOWEVER... I have had problems with my cervix and bleeding and never got on with the implant that I had to go on whilst taking Roaccutane because I wasn't allowed on the pill as it cause my cervix to produce abnormal cells and bleed. I therefore was sent for tests and scans and it was then that the hospital sent over a letter to my doctor who said they suspected I have PCOS because of the cysts on my ovaries. The doctor however did not read this until after I suggested to him that as the Roaccutane did not work, maybe there is something causing my acne that we are missing, and it was then that he finally discovered the letter about them suspecting I have PCOS. (Roaccutane apparently does not work with PCOS).
Anyway... this leads me on to my question. I have had the blood tests which was meant to be on the 21st day of my cycle but I have come on my period late and therefore was wondering if this will affect the results? My results came back normal. I haven't had my 3rd day cycle blood tests yet though however. Can your tests still be normal if you have PCOS?
Hi, for the past 2 weeks I have been getting these symptoms, dizziness, nausea, lightheaded, weak, headaches, neck pains, and tired. It is getting severe and im worried. I have had urines tests and blood test, they are all negative. Its constant and all day, it never goes away although some hours are worse then others. I have been on a medication called pristiq which is an antidepressant for almost 2 years, I tried increasing the dose in case that was causing it but it didn't work, can anyone help me please? Thank you
View 5 RepliesI had chicken pox about a month ago and now have "battle scars" on my face. I have several spots of skin discolouration on my face, some with an accompanying slight "cratering"..
I think I can live with the "cratering" but the discoloured skin spots are visible from far and I have no idea of how to remove these discoloured spots. Some have suggested using lemon juice on a regular basis on those spotted areas but I am not sure if it will cause or trigger more discolouration.
Anyone got any good experiences to share on how to deal with the discoloured spots from chicken pox? To date, I have only tried to use make-up concealers but the routine is driving me crazy as I have been very active and I am not used to applying make-up previously.
Does anyone else dread Routine Blood Tests scared that they are going to detect some "Blood Cancer"? I've been looking up Leukemia and Lymphoma symptoms all morning. I'm getting a CBC for Fertility treatments.
View 1 RepliesWell as it appears my vit D is a bit low. It's 18 and my Iron is 10. For a very long time now I've been feeling quite unwell to the point I can barely function at all. It's been a long struggle trying to find out what's wrong with me given that all of the tests I ever did were excellent. I'be for a while now I had an iron deficiency, but I haven't known about vit D up until yesterday. These are my symptoms has anyone had this?
- breathlessness
- extreme fatigue
- lingering anxiety
- muscle weakness
- muscle stiffness
- occasional numbness
- internal tremors
These are the most common ones and I don't always experience all of them. Also it's like I always feel a need to warm my body with warm water bottles and such. It's gotten to the point I never leave my bed even when I feel better because I'm afraid I might feel unwell. And I know this is so bad because on top of everything my body is getting deconditioned, but I can't make myself do it because I get so anxious.
Weekly blood removal was ordered by my hematologist. Being needle phobic I knew it wasn't going to be fun. Since being misdiagnosed since 2007 my iron levels were greatly increased. After going for my first blood removal, I was concerned since after trying both arms, they were unable to get the 500 ml due to the thickness of the blood and the small veins, I believe they were only able to get 50 ml Has anyone else experienced this? Or does anyone have any recommendations on how to get more blood out?
View 6 RepliesSeen a pain doctor who suggested I get mr thyroid checked although it has always been normal but he said I should get my parathyroid tested my gp has only ever done 2 test in his 25 years of being a doc.
View 1 RepliesI had a baby back in April 2014 at which time my other labs were within normal limits except for my Hgb and Hct (7 and 24 I believe). I recently followed up with my primary care doctor for symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath (especially with exertion), and the biggest symptom- extreme fatigue. When I get up in the morning I feel like I've never slept, and by the afternoon I feel like I need to go back to bed for the rest of the day. I realize I have a 3, almost 4 month old baby, but she sleeps through the night for the most part, so it's not like I'm not sleeping at all through the night. I had labs drawn last week and the main results were as follows:
Ferritin, Serum- 7 (15-150)
TIBC- 415 (250-450)
UIBC- 368 (150-375)
iron saturation- 11 (15-55 %)
iron, serum- 47 (35-155)
rbc- 4.93 (3.77-5.28)
hemoglobin- 11.5 (11.1-15.9)
hematocrit- 37.5 (34.0-46.6)
mcv- 76 (79-97)
mch- 23.3 (26.6-33.0)
mchc- 30.7 (31.5-35.7)
rdw- 17.1 (12.3-15.4)
platelets- 317
WBCs, Thyroid, B12, and HgA1C all looked good. From what I've read, it seems that I may have iron deficiency, but because the hemoglobin and hematocrit are within normal limits it is not classified as anemia. What I don't understand is I just spoke with my Dr. office, and the nurse said the doctor checked off my lab results and didn't put a note in that she needed to see me for a follow-up. The nurse asked me if I had any concerns about my lab results. I guess I'm just not sure if my lab results are "off" enough to be causing my symptoms, or if something else is going on. Should I be started on iron supplements? I'm just not sure where to go from here.
Is it possible to have endometriosis in the gall bladder even though the tests for gallbladder problems comes back negative or normal?
View 4 RepliesMy wife has been having an issue since Thanksgiving where she vomits about 1.5-2 hours after eating. It started happening once per week, then around Christmas it started happening twice a week and then two weeks ago it started happening after every meal, regardless of what she ate. She would vomit after something as simple as an english muffin. Our doctor ordered an ultrasound and everything came back normal (gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, liver). After that test, her doctor placed her on Zofran and that has controlled the vomiting as long as she takes it. If she stops taking it, she throws up after eating. Today she had an endoscopy and that came back normal as well. No hiatal hernia, no ulcers, no tumors and no pre-cancerous polyps. Slight signs of gastritis, but not sure that can cause these symptoms. They did take some samples to send out for biopsy to test for signs of infection or bacteria, but we won't hear back for 5 days. They also did a blood test and she is not pregnant and all of her bloodwork came back normal. She cannot go on like this. Other than the vomiting, she feels fine. She feels normal about 5 minutes after vomiting as well. Does anyone have any ideas?
View 2 RepliesAbout two years ago my left foot became swollen. If I measure it around the top and under the arch it is 2-3 cms more in circumference than my right foot. I've been to the doctor a few times, had X-Rays, blood tests for all sort of things, including DVT. treatment for possible gout, etc, but the doctor hasn't come up with anything. His opinion the last time I saw him was that it's water retention and I'll just have to live with it. Obviously I'm not particularly happy with that.
Has anyone got any thoughts on it? Why would it only affect one foot, and can anyone suggest any self treatment that might be useful, or further options I can proceed with through the help service?
My 40 year old sister in law has periods of dizziness and nausea on waking. Sometimes it can last for a few hours. The other day, she actually fainted. She has had hormone and heart tests which came back normal. She has young children so I'm concerned it could happen when she's alone with them. Does anyone have any ideas on what this could be? She's quite an anxious person so I wondered if it could be a nervous condition.
View 6 RepliesI am having deadly pain in my right chest below breast, while i cough,sniff. I had a cough two weeks ago. I check up for doctors , i did x-ray and video x-ray it shows everything normal. Doctor gave me pain killer and ask me to take until i feel ok. He suggested me to do physiotherapy.and also suggested me to take rest. I can't sleep laying backside down. i can't even move things using right hand. When i cough or sniff i have a deadly pain. Doctor said that the muscles between the ribs have problem. I am worried about it. It is effecting my daily life.
View 9 RepliesJust recently I was diagnosed with a small goiter & nodule on the left side. The doctor ordered all of the tests (TSH, T4 and TPO antibody level) and everything came back normal. The biopsy on the nodule is normal as well. Benign and no signs of cancer. My concern now is regarding my goiter & nodule. If my test results are all normal, what caused it to enlarge? What do I do to shrink it? My doctor will not give me anything because he said there's nothing wrong with my thyroid. The functions are normal. It just enlarges for a reason sometimes.
View 2 RepliesI initially found out I had mild iron deficiency about 6 months ago and the GP didn't tell me to take anything. I've been taking floradix on/off (finished a bottle) and redid my blood work with a new GP. The results seem to have gotten slightly worse, but this new GP also just recommended to take a multivitamin. Neither doctor seemed concerned. Anyway, here are the latest results (this new doctor didn't test ferritin; my old result 6 months ago was a 3)
Hemoglobin - 11 (low)
MCV - 78 (low)
MCH - 25.2 (low)
RDW - 15.6% (high)
TIBC - 538 (high)
UIBC - 480 (high)
Iron Saturation - 11% (low)
Iron Serum - 58 (normal)
Vitamin B12 - 348 (normal)
Anyone know exactly how bad my case is? I am located in NYC; if anyone has a good doctor that takes iron deficiency more seriously, can they recommend the doctor?
These were done during a regular physical exam and my regular dr. said I was definitely anemic, but she never did do an iron panel. After thinking back on my symptoms, I had several..headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, rapid heart rate with exertion, and shortness of breath with exertion. Three weeks ago I was started on iron supplements. Here are my abnormals or near low normals from 3 weeks ago:
RBC 5.45 (4.00-5.36)
Hgb 12.5 (12-16)
MCV 74 (81-98)
MCHC 30.9 (31.2-35.2)
RDW 24.2 (11.0-14.5)
anisocytosis present
hypochromasia present
ovalocytes present
She determined that my anemia was due to menorrhagia and I then made an appt. with a GYN.
The GYN looked at these labs and said this is NOT anemia. She then ordered an iron panel, which she said was normal:
Iron 142
TIBC 356
Ferritin 14
She called today and again said this is not anemia, but some other blood issue must be going on. She mentioned thalassemia and suggested that my regular dr. refer me to a hematologist. I am so frustrated and confused. I can't see my regular dr. until Mon. but I'm thinking it's still anemia?
Here are my lab results:
WBC 6.6 (4-10.8)
Ly 25.8 (20.5-51.1)
Mo 9.7 (1.7-9.3)
Gr 64.5 (42.2-75.2)
Rbc 3.74 (4.2-6.1)
Hgb 10 (12-18)
Hct 30.3 (37-52)
Mcv 80.9 (81-99.9)
Much 26.8 (27-31)
Mchc 33.1 (33-37)
Rdw 14.5 (12-15)
Plt 218 (130-400)
Mpv 8.2 (5-10)
My iron and ferritin were normal (don't have a copy of the results, just was told they are normal). Also, b12 and d are normal.
What kind of anemia does this look like? I DO have a history of iron deficient anemia, but my ferritin was like a 3.
Below are my symptoms. Saw the doc about a week ago, and symptoms are much worse than then. I am on an iron supplement.
Extreme exhaustion
Weakness
Shortness of breath
Chest pains
Extreme lightheadedness/dizzy spells/near syncope
Basically I am hardly functional. I have gone home early and missed a couple days of work, because I literally couldn't do it. I have had to spend almost whole days in bed. Very small things wear me out. I was placing items in a box (that was on my lap) at work today and got weak and short of breath.
Does this not seem crazy for a hgb of 10?? I have been in the 8 range, and while I felt really, really bad, I was not this dysfunctional.
Also, I have been having the dizzy spells/lightheadedness/near syncope and some actual syncope for over a year. The drs are still trying to figure this out. They are a good deal worse right now.
Any thoughts or advice?
I have not long found out that I have hemochromatosis (iron overload) as well as hepatitis C (very stable with normal LFT). My venesection attempts were unsuccessful due to small veins, so I was put on Rx Exjade 14 days ago to chelate the excess iron. It gives me liver and kidney pains - its side effects involve liver and kidney issues and possible failure of. I have just got the results of my liver function and was very surprised had all my liver enzymes have risen significantly in such a short time. I have ceased taking Exjade as of today. Is there any other less invasive chelate?
View 3 RepliesHad a blood test for this the other week and got my results back. It's says 200 but next to it says (180-900). Is mine low and need medical attention.
View 1 RepliesI am 53 and have 600 ferritin 71% iron saturation. I have done phlebotomy 2 weeks in a row. hemoglobin is now 132 . Therefore I could not give blood. Why is my Hemoglobin low when my iron is high. By the way my ferritin dropped to 475
View 2 Replies