Finally got my 6 month labs at 7 months postop - HELP

So I got my results today but will not see my doctor for a week. I have always been borderline with the iron, but the results are not looking too good.

Anyone else have experience with whacky iron levels? I am not currently taking any iron supplements. These were my out-of-range numbers:

IRON - 16           Ref(50-170)
FOLATE 35.9     Ref(3.1-17.5) (strangely high?)
HGB 9.3              Ref(13.0-17.2)
HCT 29.4            Ref(37.0-50.0)
MCV 76.6            Ref(80.0-98.0)
MCH 24.3           Ref(25.4-34.6)
RDW 16.7          Ref(11.5-14.0)

All comments welcome - thanks!

Hi, I don't have any comments on what you posted, but I found that when I posted my FULL set of lab results, I got a lot of helpful information from the experts here.  Even things in the "normal" range were sometimes a little too low or a little too high, especially in combination with other results.  May i suggest that you post as much as you have?  Also, if you post everything, then the experts can tell you what tests you might be missing.

(I ended up putting all the info into MS Word and then pasting that in the message box.)

You're iron isn't wacky, it's low, which is to be expected when you aren't taking any iron.  And it's very, very low.  Did they check your ferritin, too?  You may end up needed iron infusions but you may be able to avoid that if you take action right away.  You need to take iron, lots of it.

I recommend carbonyl iron because we absorb it well and it does not cause constipation, at least not usually.  Take it at least two hours away from your calcium and take it with vitamin C.  You need 200 mg C for every 30 mg iron.

How were the rest of your labs?  Vitamin D?  B12?  Total protein?  Vitamin A?  Copper?  Zinc?

Most of us realise that low iron will give lead to low hemoglobin (as you have) at some point as our red blood cells need iron for their production.  FYI the high RDW and low MCV (which are measures of red blood cell size range and volume) are compatible with iron deficiency as well.   You definitely need to do something about your iron intake.

Andrea.

Thanks for your replies. I did have a call into the surgeon's office and the nurse called me back this afternoon. We are going to try supplements 3 x per day with Vitamin C for 4 weeks and if no marked improvement, off to the hematologist I go for some infusions.


Good night all - I am sleepy lol

 What about iron supplements??