Diagnosis: Iron-Deficiency Anemia + Understanding the Blood Work
In case you wonder where I’ve been, I’ve been trying to get a hold on my recently diagnosed Anemia. I was experiencing severe cramping in my hands and feet and a level of exhaustion that is only imaginable to those affected by it.
Anemia sucks… It really sucks. But right now, I am unaware of why I have it. Based on my blood tests I am considered iron-deficient and that is what the blood reports are showing. It’s not due to B12 or anything else, I am simply supplementing with iron. I was prescribed some type that was not covered, thankfully I had a past issue with iron being low and there was some remaining iron on my prescription list to be filled. So if you are on disability in Ontario, make sure you have Euro-Fer, that is the one that is covered.
This is what blood test results looks like if you have iron-deficiency anemia.
To get the following information, a CBC (complete blood count) needed to be done so they could measure the level of Hemoglobin and my Hematocrit levels. The CBC measures many different parts of your blood, including counting your blood cells.
First things first, a low Hematocrit and Hemoglobin level indicates anemia, as you can see it’s below even the lowest number of 0.350 and I was at 0.337 L/L for Hematocrit and 108 g/L for Hemoglobin. Hematocrit specifies how much physical room your red blood cells take up in your blood. Hemoglobin is the iron-rich protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body — to me this would explain why I was out of breath easy since the Hemoglobin meant to carry oxygen through my blood was very low.
Next is the MCV, it is a measure of the average size of your red blood cells. Smaller cells typically indicate the “iron-deficient” type of anemia. Mine was counted at 74, the healthy range is 80–100. The acronym MCV stands for Mean Corpuscular Volume.
To determine the cause of your anemia or at least provide a clue to the cause, is based on the RDW (Red Cell Distribution Width) level and the MCV level.
In my case, I have elevated RDW and low MCV, this indicates one of two types of anemia. Iron-deficiency or Sickle cell-β-thalassemia. This really good article by MedScape helps to explain the correlation between RDW and MCV and gives you a basis on how they gauge the potential types of anemia.
High RDW has also been correlated with potential carotid artery atherosclerosis who also have hypertension, which I also have. Never mind that I’m not a doctor, but it does worry me somewhat and I hope that my RDW level goes down as I don’t need another huge worry.
Anyhow, for now I’m taking my iron supplements along with other supplements that are indicated in better absorption, such as vitamin C, B6, B12 and folic acid.
The cause of my anemia is undetermined right now, iron-deficiency can be caused by many things. Since I have a hiatus hernia, it is possible there is bleeding from that, however some medications I am on also increase the risk of anemia, and I’ve now switched off of those. Omeprazole is one of the medications that can lead to anemia.
Sources:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/ida/diagnosis
MedScape — Red Cell Distribution Width
Link between omeprazole and anemia — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3878540/
Iron deficiency and Omeprazole — http://www.currenttherapeuticres.com/article/S0011-393X(16)30115-1/fulltext?cc=y=
Patient stores regarding (omeprazole and iron link): https://treato.com/Omeprazole,Anemia/?a=s