Well i went to an interal medicine dr yesterday (my rheumy is on vacation
I've had problems with anemia all my life. An interesting story...my
internal medicine doctor had gone away for a year...so his
replacement was covering for him for a year. Well my IM doc knows me
and knows that I'm always anemic. So the replacement has a pap smear
done and a routine check up...blood comes back anemic. I'm on MTX and
prednisone at the time with heavy monthleys..so she wants to send
me to a colon doctor for a colonoscopy and told me I could be bleeding
inside from the meds or something :o I try to tell her that I'm
ALWAYS anemic...but she wouldn't listen and the nurses kept calling my
house, this was during Thanksgiving and the Christmas Holidays...so
it's ruining my holiday...I finally told them when they called back
that I'm going to a RD in Jan, if he says something is wrong I will
call them back.
Well I go to the RD and my blood is normal for a person with RA/MTX and
all that, I AM anemic but not to the point where the replacement doc was
saying....NOTHING WAS/IS WRONG WITH ME! I worried, stressed and
cried thru the holidays thinking I was messed up.
Now I feel much better knowing I'm normal...well as normal as you can
be with RA....so you may want to have your RD check you out....I am
leary after this last experience.
I've been having problems with a low white blood cell count for a while now. What caught my eye in your post was that your white blood cell count is 9.5 and that your doctor said it should be 12-18. I thought to myself...that's strange, I was told that normal is 4 and that I was as low as 2.5 and that was when I was taken off MTX for a month until it got back up to 3.something...My doctor said he would call me if it got that low again and if it does, to go off again and wait for it to go back up.
So I looked this up and found this info on white blood cell counts
White blood cell count: The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the blood. The normal range for the white blood cell count varies between laboratories but is usually between 4,300 and 10,800 cells per cubic millimeter. This can also be referred to as the leukocyte count and can be expressed in international units as 4.3 - 10.8 x 109 cells per liter.
I have no answer to your question...just was wondering about the white blood cell count.
Kelly
ok maybe im a little confused then. is the white blood the same as hemoglobin? Well cause thats what im talking about. I looked at my paper work and it said hemoglobin was at 9.5. does that help at all or am i juat really confusedOk Teacher comes out in me again...
Hemoglobin is the part of the blood that carries oxygen to your cells. Low HG means low O2 in your body and that can lead to fatigue. HG usues iron as the main element to carry the O2. When you become anemic you are low in iron.
White blood cells are in your blood to fight infection. They race to the part of your body that doesnt belong there (a virus or something) and eats it. It then comes out of your body in various ways (mucus from nose, pus from a cut, etc) The bad thing about RA is that the body sees our synovial fluid as the part that doesnt belong there and it attacks it.. making us swell, and then swelling leads to pain.
TO fight anemia without taking supplements, make sure you are eating foods high in iron, cereal with extra, etc. or you can take supplements. DO NOT OVERDO the iron tho.. it cangive you MAJOR constipation if too much. You may get some constipation at first with the supplements, but increase your fiber and you will be ok. You can get iron pills at any store that carries vitamins.
Good luck and hopefully i didnt bore you all to death...
Teacher mode off... for 6 more days!
no that helps alot... the IM doctor i saw yesterday was right out of residency so he didnt expalin it too well. So im just gonna have to eat ALOT better lol.... thanks hunHi,
My rd told me that my bloodwork showed that I was anemic too. From what I've read, about 70% of RA patients are. As for what to do/take, I'm not sure. I haven't been eating well for a few years, so I am now really trying to eat more protien and less sugar-hoping that will eventually help.
So I guess I don't have an answer either. But I might try a low-dose iron pill to see if that helps. Unicorn-I love your teacher mode. It really helps alot!!