CBC test results 3/6 mo. - Re: Tired all the time.

At Paclap.com, you can print out a very complete lab orders list.

docs.google.com/Doc

That is the comprehensive lab list that you need to have drawn.

~Becky

As everyone noted, no one can confirm or deny an iron problem without iron related labs.  There are many causes of anemia and iron is only one of them (though it is the most common).

The CBC can provide some clues, but they aren't definitive. 

Your capacity to absorb iron from food is impaired.  Your capacity to absorb iron, period, is impaired.  Sometimes supplements just don't do everything for us on the first try.

OK, same, same without all the numbers, which you are getting.

So, I'll go with the reminder that you get NO iron from food, tho it's fine to eat it.

And ferrous sulfate was the same as nothing at all. Further, a dose of 130mg elemental was about 1/3 of what you needed as a DS.

I'm not yelling at you, just listing why things went south.

Back to your regularly scheduled program........

All the advice you are getting here --- please follow it.

I am have been on total bed rest, by order of my surgeon & Hemo, since Monday.

I blacked out & fell down.  I have let my Iron numbers get way out of control low, and I know so much better than that.  I am an overachiever, and just couldn't / wouldn't take the time away from work.

I had to get labs drawn this morning under the supervision of a R.N., in a hospital, taken in & out via wheelchair, spending two hours prior to & after in a hospital bed.  First to make sure my vitals were good, after to make certain I didn't black out again.

My ferretin is a 2, down from a 4 in Feb, and down from a 5 in October..... yes, I should have been doing something for over a YEAR now.

I take supplements 8 times a day, including pro-ferrin, I slug down 120g of protein powder a day --- I am a compliant DSer.  I am a damn pushy ***** when it comes to advocating for my own health, too.

I'm also close to being a dead DSer because I have put work, family, and everything else ahead of just getting my ass to a Hemo and getting this taken care of.  Don't be me.

Just being anemic doesn't give you enough information - you don't know if it is due to iron, b12 or folate.  With your numbers it is hard to tell since iron usually  shows a low MCV, b12 usually shows a high MCV.  So, yours might be a combination of both. You need to get more information and probably more labs drawn - iron, ferritin, iron sat%, B12, folate, B6, b1 and copper,  These can all cause anemia.

The iron you are taking is pretty useless.  You wont' absorb any iron with ferrous in the name - you need to take either carbonyl iron or heme iron.  Heme is very expensive, so most start with carbonyl iron.  You can get them at vitalady.com - they are 60mg per capsule and they have the necessary vitamin C already in the capsule.  The amount you need to take depends on your iron and ferritin levels.