HERE'S MY LABS. AM I ANEMIC?

[thebigpeatowski]

Just wondering iffin I need to stop drinking so much milk and perhaps eat more red meat with OJ instead of coffee?

Thanks so much!!!

 

[AJC]

Well I can't tell you yes or no for certain--but the definition of anemia is a lowered RBC number--which you can see on your lab is in the range of normal.

The only thing on the iron panel that is out of the range of normal is percent saturation of transferrin, which is the iron-transport protein in the blood. (Basically, iron needs transferrin to enable it to get into cells)

"Standard medicine" would probably say no.

Why do you think you may be anemic?

 

[ravster02]

what's your diet?

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Hi guys....thanks for having a look!


My usual diet consists of TONS of goat milk, OJ, coffee, collagen, eggs, raw carrots, cheese, fresh fruit, some green veg, oysters weekly and other seafood too.

I stopped eating red meat like 9 months ago, I lost my taste for it.

Also, I've not been diligent with my weekly liver intake for the last few months. I like liver, but I got out of the habit of making it.

Had some grass fed lamb the other night (after I got these results) and roast beef with OJ for breakfast today cuz I was worried.

I know Peat says to keep iron low, I just don't know what the levels should be. I don't get blood work drawn very often and the % saturation was flagged on the paper copy that my doc gave to me.... I don't understand all of the nuances of reading an iron panel from a Peat perspective.

 

[PakPik]

Hello,
Since I've been restricting and chelating iron for around 2 years, I have also been interested in avoiding reaching a deficient state. So far everything is good, no sign of anemia and my blood counts look like my iron is fine. I personally benefited from analyzing the "RDW" and "MCV" values of the Complete blood count, they can give tons of clues as to iron status, vitamin status and causes of anemia. This is one of my newest tricks :)

This is straight from Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW): Reference Range, Interpretation, Collection and Panels:

RDW is useful in the following conditions:[4, 5, 1]

• Elevated RDW helps provide a clue for a diagnosis of early nutritional deficiency such as iron, folate, or vitamin B12 deficency as it becomes elevated earlier than other red blood cell parameters.
• It aids in distinguishing between uncomplicated iron deficiency anemia (elevated RDW, normal to low MCV) and uncomplicated heterozygous thalassemia (normal RDW, low MCV); however, definitive tests are required.megaloblastic anemia such as folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anemia (elevated RDW) and other causes of macrocytosis (often normal RDW).
• RDW can be used as a guidance for flagging samples that may need manual peripheral blood smear examination, since elevated RDW may indicate red cell fragmentation, agglutination, or dimorphic red blood cell populations.

RDW along with mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is helpful in narrowing the cause of anemia:Myelodysplastic syndrome

Normal RDW and normal MCV is associated with the following conditions:

• Anemia of chronic disease
• Acute blood loss or hemolysis
• Anemia of renal disease

Elevated RDW and normal MCV is associated with the following conditions:

• Early iron, vitamin B12, or folate deficiency
• Dimorphic anemia (for example, iron and folate deficiency)
• Sickle cell disease
• Chronic liver disease
• Myelodysplastic syndrome

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Thanks very much PakPik,

RDW and MCV analysis seems like a nifty trick indeed.....I have tested deficient in B12 (early 2011, 6 months after appendix ruptured). I managed to get it normalized through shots and oral supps.

I didn't get my B12 tested on this visit, but I'm thinking that I should go back for that and maybe some other vitamin testing if they're considered accurate.

My serum vitamin D (25OH) is 40, so even though I'm getting outside daily I think it needs to be closer to 60. The milk I drink isn't fortified.

Cron-O tells me I don't always get enough folate...I have a LOT to learn.

 

[tomisonbottom]

Thanks very much PakPik,

RDW and MCV analysis seems like a nifty trick indeed.....I have tested deficient in B12 (early 2011, 6 months after appendix ruptured). I managed to get it normalized through shots and oral supps.

I didn't get my B12 tested on this visit, but I'm thinking that I should go back for that and maybe some other vitamin testing if they're considered accurate.

My serum vitamin D (25OH) is 40, so even though I'm getting outside daily I think it needs to be closer to 60. The milk I drink isn't fortified.

Cron-O tells me I don't always get enough folate...I have a LOT to learn.

Did you end up increasing red meat to get your ferritin up?

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Did you end up increasing red meat to get your ferritin up?

Hello @tomisonbottom....my apologies for the long delay, I haven't been on the forum for a long time as I've been very VERY busy!

But to answer your question: YES, I did indeed start eating more red meat again (and oysters without coke or coffee too). I had labs done a month ago mid-March which included a full iron panel.

I'm not sure why the results weren't published all together nice and neat like, but this is where I'm at now...gawd, I hope I do this properly, it's been eons since I posted.