Hematocrit/severity Of Anemia

[Rice Cakes]

Hello, I tried eating a high-calorie diet for several years, and then taking iron supplements and eating red meat every day for a month or two. Then I had a hematocrit done, and got a 17. Being a man without hemophilia, or a large bleeding ulcer, etc, that's strange.

Now I have a diagnosis of Celiac Disease, but I wonder how normal it is to be so anemic with C.D. alone, so:

-> What was everyone's hematocrit prior to starting the diet? <-

Thanks

[Jestgar]

I never did mine when I was the most anemic. But anemia does go along with Celiac.

Also, if you develop anemia slowly your body learns to compensate for lower iron which is probably why you can have a crit of 17 and not pass out everytime you stand up.

[Ursa Major]

Jacob, I hear that if a man is anemic, he should be tested for celiac disease, as it's often the culprit. There are many reasons for a woman to be anemic, but it is always a red flag for a man, that something is very seriously wrong.

My daughter told me, that one of her friends has celiac disease. When her neighbour (a man) told her he was anemic, she suggested he see his doctor and be tested for celiac disease. He had no other symptoms, just anemia. Well, he got tested, and sure enough, he has celiac disease! And in fact, his villi were flat. Still, he had no gastro symptoms at all.

[chrissy]

you must use a different reference range than the hematocrits i've seen, because 17 isn't very low on the ones they use around here.

ok, i looked this up and it is something different that they measure to indicate anemia that i am referring to.

[DingoGirl]

there are different tests for RBC....hematocrit measures the volume that red blood cells take up in teh blood - I know mine was extremely low before dx, doctor said that the cells had gotten smaller - i.e., low hematocrit.

I was severely anemic before dx, and am now closer to normal....but I can't remember the normal range for all red blood cell levels, don't remember my hematocrit levels, I do remember that my ferritin level was 2, and normal minimum is between 12 and 200, something like that.....ferritin level had gone up to 6 at the four-month mark.

[jerseyangel]

Before I was diagnosed, my hemiglobin had gone down to 8. Six months after I began the diet, it was 14.6.

[Jestgar]

Before I was diagnosed, my hemiglobin had gone down to 8. Six months after I began the diet, it was 14.6.

Yikes!

Glad you made it.

[jerseyangel]

Yikes!

Glad you made it.

Thanks It got a little rough there for a while!

[Ursa Major]

Before I was diagnosed, my hemiglobin had gone down to 8. Six months after I began the diet, it was 14.6.

That can't have been your hemoglobin, or you would have been dead. I am sure it was your ferritin (which was bad enough). Normal hemoglobin levels are from 115 - 155. Or that's what the guidelines are, anyway. I was anemic with my hemoglobin at 120, and was pale, with blue lips, and not enough energy to stand up many days (that is when my ferritin count was 4). It takes a while for your hemoglobin to go down when your ferritin drops.

And Susan, here are the definitions for ferretin levels (copying straight from my lab report):

<18 Probably iron deficient (my comment: this is nonsense, anything under 40 is too low)

18 - 40 Possibly iron deficient

41 - 100 Probably not iron deficient

101 - 300 Not iron deficient

>300 iron overload

My ferretin was down to 4 six years ago, and is now 105 (after a hysterectomy five years ago).

I don't know what my hematocrit was then, as I don't think they tested for it at the time. It is now 41 (and the normal range is 33 - 45.

Obviously, 17 is way too low. But I imagine that being gluten-free will improve it, once the intestines heal and take up iron again.

[Jestgar]

Hemoglobin (Hb). The amount of hemoglobin in a volume of blood. Hemoglobin is the protein molecule within red blood cells that carries oxygen and gives blood its red color. Normal range for hemoglobin is different between the sexes and is approximately 13 - 18 grams per deciliter for men and 12 - 16 for women (international units 8.1 - 11.2 millimoles/liter for men, 7.4 - 9.9 for women).

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[jerseyangel]

Hemoglobin (Hb). The amount of hemoglobin in a volume of blood. Hemoglobin is the protein molecule within red blood cells that carries oxygen and gives blood its red color. Normal range for hemoglobin is different between the sexes and is approximately 13 - 18 grams per deciliter for men and 12 - 16 for women (international units 8.1 - 11.2 millimoles/liter for men, 7.4 - 9.9 for women).

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Thanks Jestgar--I thought I was losing my mind there for a minute

[Jestgar]

Maybe Canada uses a different scale.

[jerseyangel]

Maybe Canada uses a different scale.

That's probably it.

[Ursa Major]

Okay, sorry about that. I guess they definitely are using a different measurement. It says for women, the normal range is 115 - 155 g/L. Meaning, according to this, your hemoglobin had gone down to 80 once, which is obviously pretty bad, but not deadly. And now it's 146, which is even better than mine (mine is now 144).

Oops, my thinking is unfortunately often just black or white, and I didn't realize that different countries use different ways of looking at this.

[jerseyangel]

No worries at all, Ursula

[Rice Cakes]

Ah right, I forgot about ferretin. I keep failing to register any ferretin, which is to say I'm below the threshold of detection. Which is pretty low.

[BostonCeliac]

hey rice cakes -- looks likes there is some discrepancy about levels, but if we're on the same wavelength, mine started at an 18, 1 month gluten free went to a 28, but my doc said that for my age (26) it should be in the triple digits... so now I'm taking iron pills to try to get it up there... will be re-tested in about 2 months...

[GFBetsy]

One of the things that my mother thought was oddest about going gluten free was that she lost the urge to chew ice. She always thought that she "Just liked" to chew ice, and didn't realize that chewing ice is a sign of Pica, which comes from low iron levels. When she first asked for a glass of ice water, drank all the water, and then asked for more water (instead of sitting there eating the ice) we were shocked! But since she went gluten-free and her iron levels have normalized, that desire to eat ice has simply vanished.

Not that that information was completely on topic . . .

[Rice Cakes]

hey rice cakes -- looks likes there is some discrepancy about levels, but if we're on the same wavelength, mine started at an 18, 1 month gluten free went to a 28, but my doc said that for my age (26) it should be in the triple digits... so now I'm taking iron pills to try to get it up there... will be re-tested in about 2 months...

Ok thanks!

One of the things that my mother thought was oddest about going gluten free was that she lost the urge to chew ice. She always thought that she "Just liked" to chew ice, and didn't realize that chewing ice is a sign of Pica, which comes from low iron levels. When she first asked for a glass of ice water, drank all the water, and then asked for more water (instead of sitting there eating the ice) we were shocked! But since she went gluten-free and her iron levels have normalized, that desire to eat ice has simply vanished.

Not that that information was completely on topic . . .

Yeah I thought that was a really weird question for a hemotologist to be asking me. I thought "WTF eat ice? Like food?! Eat?! !! ??" but I guess I do like to munch on ice...? Is that so wrooooong? (Nothing else, it's only ice, because my stomach feels better when it's cold.) He acted like I was a looney, and eating ice was dangerous.

Thanks for your responses everyone!

[jerseyangel]

I never had the urge to chew ice when I was anemic, but my mom--who is chronicly anemic--has always done this as long as I can remember.

[BostonCeliac]

I LOOOOOVVVEEE to chew ice! It's a horrible habit!

It definitely started around the time I became anemic. I'm hoping the urge goes away, I still like/crave it. I still freeze my water bottles & only drink them when they're "crunchy" -- haha... it was actually my Mom who thought I was anemic when I started chewing ice - I got tested, and sure enough, low iron!

[Rice Cakes]

Gosh, well I just got my results from my blood drawing yesterday:

RBC 5.32 (ref 4.7-6.1)

Hgb 13.4

Hct 41.8

Serum iron 49 (ref 45-182)

I'm not even sure what to say. How did my anemia go away that quickly? I began the diet at the beginning of June, wtf?

[jerseyangel]

Amazing things can happen when you finally begin to absorb nutrients correctly! As I said above, mine completely turned around in 6 months, and I had been anemic for years.

[GFBetsy]

Looks like you're doing better! And, yes, going gluten-free for even 3 months can make that much of a difference (and you've stuck with it for 5 already). Hooray! As for eating ice being dangerous . . . not really! It's just a sign of other problems. Though my Dad always did threaten my mom with broken teeth . . . but she never did end up with any!

[jennyj]

I went to the doctor a few years ago for tiredness and paleness. The doctor did some blood tests and sent me back to work. A few hours later I get a phone call from her nurse that went:

Jenny, this is Meghan at Dr.----- office. She would like you in the hospital now.

Me: Is there a problem???

Well your blood work came back. We'll see you at the hospital. Stop by the clinic and pick up your admittance papers.

Me: Ah, OK

I went and told my boss I had to leave and go to the hospital. They asked why and I just shrugged. I called my dh and drove to get him. This all happened in a course of 15 minutes. My cell rings and I hear"Jenny, this is Meghan where are you? I say I will be there in 5 minutes. To make a long story short when I arrived I was immediately sent to lab to confirm my hemoglobin of 6. It wasn't the same by then it was 5.9. I had an immediate blood transfusion and was there for 5 days.

I have since been dx with celiac but still have to have iron infusions every 6 months. But I feel better.