detailed cbc results

i got the results from the CBC my new doctor did on 6/6/07 to check on the whole anemia thing. diagnosis cofirmed.

he prescribed an iron pill to take twice a day to build back up my iron reserves. i go back in 3 months to recheck and he said he may be able to lower the dose at that time, depending on what happens. he said it takes awhile before the body will convert it to red blood cells, so to give it time and i'll eventually have my energy back. (which will be good! yesterday i took a 2.5 hour nap after church i was so tired...and i HATE taking naps!!)

whats interesting to me though, is to see the difference even just 12 days makes when it comes to your blood. i had bloodwork done by my previous dr. on 5/25/07 (before i decided to switch to an internal med doctor and not just a general family dr). for any of those interested in this type of stuff, here's the results that were out of range along with explaination of what it means. you can just skip the rest of this posting if you have no interest in medical stuff, cause you'd prob be bored! :)


carbon dioxide-CO2 reflects the acid status of your blood. Low CO2 levels can be due to either to increased acidity from uncontrolled diabetes, kidney disease, metabolic disorders, or low CO2 can be due to chronic hyperventilation. range 21-33.
may 24=27
june 6=20

hemoglobin-Hemoglobin measures the amount of oxygen-carrying protein in the blood. range 11.7-15.5
may 24=11.1
june 6=10.9

hematocrit-Hematocrit measures the amount of space red blood cells take up in the blood. range 35-45
may 24=34.9
june 6=34.5

mcv-Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is a measurement of the average size of your RBCs. The MCV is elevated when your RBCs are larger than normal (macrocytic),When the MCV is decreased, your RBCs are smaller than normal (microcytic),. range 80-100
may 24=76.7
june 6=73.6

mch-Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) is a calculation of the amount of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin inside your RBCs. range 27-33
may 24= 24.4
june 6=23.3

mchc-Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) is a calculation of the concentration of hemoglobin inside the RBCs. Decreased MCHC values (hypochromia) are seen in conditions where the hemoglobin is abnormally diluted inside the red cells, such as in iron deficiency anemia. range 32-36
may 24=31.8
june 6= 31.6

rdw-Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a calculation of the variation in the size of your RBCs (red blood cells). range 11-15
may 24=16.5
june 6=18.1

platelet count- This is the number of cells that plug up holes in your blood vessels and prevent bleeding. High values can occur with bleeding, cigarette smoking or excess production by the bone marrow. range 140-400
may 24=378
june 6=404

ferritin-Ferritin is a protein inside of cells that stores iron for later use by your body. The ferritin test is considered to be the most specific for identifying iron deficiency. range 10-154
may 24=doctor did not run this test
june 6= 7