29M, Low RBC, Hematocrit, and Hemoglobin Levels and Fatigued

ubuffman2001

New member
I am a 29m with CF. I have good lung function, FEV1 around 90 percent and normal sugar levels. I have suffered from severe fatigue for about 5 years now. I was treated for mild sleep apnea even having a surgery to correct a slightly deviated septum. Last June I had a sleep study and it showed no signs of any sleep disturbances.

About a month ago, my doctor had a CBC performed and also checked my B12, folate, and ferritin levels. The out of limits results are below:
C02= 32mEq/L (high)
RBC = 4.36M/uL (low)
hemoglobin 13.6g/dL (low)
hematocrit = 39.7% (low)
MPV = 12.2 fL (high)
NEUT = 81% (low)
Lymph = 12% (low)
Cos = .21K/uL (high)
Folate Serum = 16.2ng/mL (high)
Vitamin B12 = 1534 = pg/mL (high)

Can anybody with medical background provide some guidance on how these levels could be affecting my energy levels? I did take an iron pill (ferrous sulfate) about a week before getting these tests done for 2 days. I noticed that when I woke up I was tired, but if I took a nap, afterward I had much more energy. This only worked for 2 days, then the pill lost its effect. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
 

ubuffman2001

New member
I am a 29m with CF. I have good lung function, FEV1 around 90 percent and normal sugar levels. I have suffered from severe fatigue for about 5 years now. I was treated for mild sleep apnea even having a surgery to correct a slightly deviated septum. Last June I had a sleep study and it showed no signs of any sleep disturbances.

About a month ago, my doctor had a CBC performed and also checked my B12, folate, and ferritin levels. The out of limits results are below:
C02= 32mEq/L (high)
RBC = 4.36M/uL (low)
hemoglobin 13.6g/dL (low)
hematocrit = 39.7% (low)
MPV = 12.2 fL (high)
NEUT = 81% (low)
Lymph = 12% (low)
Cos = .21K/uL (high)
Folate Serum = 16.2ng/mL (high)
Vitamin B12 = 1534 = pg/mL (high)

Can anybody with medical background provide some guidance on how these levels could be affecting my energy levels? I did take an iron pill (ferrous sulfate) about a week before getting these tests done for 2 days. I noticed that when I woke up I was tired, but if I took a nap, afterward I had much more energy. This only worked for 2 days, then the pill lost its effect. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
 

ubuffman2001

New member
I am a 29m with CF. I have good lung function, FEV1 around 90 percent and normal sugar levels. I have suffered from severe fatigue for about 5 years now. I was treated for mild sleep apnea even having a surgery to correct a slightly deviated septum. Last June I had a sleep study and it showed no signs of any sleep disturbances.
<br />
<br />About a month ago, my doctor had a CBC performed and also checked my B12, folate, and ferritin levels. The out of limits results are below:
<br />C02= 32mEq/L (high)
<br />RBC = 4.36M/uL (low)
<br />hemoglobin 13.6g/dL (low)
<br />hematocrit = 39.7% (low)
<br />MPV = 12.2 fL (high)
<br />NEUT = 81% (low)
<br />Lymph = 12% (low)
<br />Cos = .21K/uL (high)
<br />Folate Serum = 16.2ng/mL (high)
<br />Vitamin B12 = 1534 = pg/mL (high)
<br />
<br />Can anybody with medical background provide some guidance on how these levels could be affecting my energy levels? I did take an iron pill (ferrous sulfate) about a week before getting these tests done for 2 days. I noticed that when I woke up I was tired, but if I took a nap, afterward I had much more energy. This only worked for 2 days, then the pill lost its effect. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
 

Havoc

New member
Do you have a lot of GI problems? The first thing that comes to mind with a low HgB/HCT and fatigue is a GI bleed. Sometimes you will see red blood, but more often the blood is old and will appear dark like tar in the stool (although the iron supplements will cause dark stool as well). Sometimes there isn't enough blood to make a noticeable difference at first.

Another symptom that can be telling is abdominal pain. A gastric ulcer will be painful when you eat, while a duodenal ulcer will hurt before you eat and get better after a meal. Depending on your doc they may go ahead and treat with something like nexium and carafate/sulcrafate, or they may want to do a barium study or an endoscopy first.
 

Havoc

New member
Do you have a lot of GI problems? The first thing that comes to mind with a low HgB/HCT and fatigue is a GI bleed. Sometimes you will see red blood, but more often the blood is old and will appear dark like tar in the stool (although the iron supplements will cause dark stool as well). Sometimes there isn't enough blood to make a noticeable difference at first.

Another symptom that can be telling is abdominal pain. A gastric ulcer will be painful when you eat, while a duodenal ulcer will hurt before you eat and get better after a meal. Depending on your doc they may go ahead and treat with something like nexium and carafate/sulcrafate, or they may want to do a barium study or an endoscopy first.
 

Havoc

New member
Do you have a lot of GI problems? The first thing that comes to mind with a low HgB/HCT and fatigue is a GI bleed. Sometimes you will see red blood, but more often the blood is old and will appear dark like tar in the stool (although the iron supplements will cause dark stool as well). Sometimes there isn't enough blood to make a noticeable difference at first.
<br />
<br />Another symptom that can be telling is abdominal pain. A gastric ulcer will be painful when you eat, while a duodenal ulcer will hurt before you eat and get better after a meal. Depending on your doc they may go ahead and treat with something like nexium and carafate/sulcrafate, or they may want to do a barium study or an endoscopy first.
 

blundergirl

New member
I'm not a nurse yet, so take this with a grain of salt. HgB(hemoglobin) is the protein in your blood that carries your oxygen around your body. If your HgB is low, it means your muscles and organs aren't getting the optimal amount of oxygen. Do you have a pulse oximeter? You could check and see what your oxygen saturation level is to help confirm that.

(edited b/c I'm a dork and abbreviated HgB wrong!!! And that's why you shouldn't take advice from people on the internet. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">)
 

blundergirl

New member
I'm not a nurse yet, so take this with a grain of salt. HgB(hemoglobin) is the protein in your blood that carries your oxygen around your body. If your HgB is low, it means your muscles and organs aren't getting the optimal amount of oxygen. Do you have a pulse oximeter? You could check and see what your oxygen saturation level is to help confirm that.

(edited b/c I'm a dork and abbreviated HgB wrong!!! And that's why you shouldn't take advice from people on the internet. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">)
 

blundergirl

New member
I'm not a nurse yet, so take this with a grain of salt. HgB(hemoglobin) is the protein in your blood that carries your oxygen around your body. If your HgB is low, it means your muscles and organs aren't getting the optimal amount of oxygen. Do you have a pulse oximeter? You could check and see what your oxygen saturation level is to help confirm that.
<br />
<br />(edited b/c I'm a dork and abbreviated HgB wrong!!! And that's why you shouldn't take advice from people on the internet. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">)
 

ubuffman2001

New member
My pulse-ox is usually 98-99% so don't think that is the problem. My sleep study last June showed my oxygen levels were normal, above 90 percent while sleeping, but I do wonder just as an experiment if sleeping with oxygen would improve my energy.
 

ubuffman2001

New member
My pulse-ox is usually 98-99% so don't think that is the problem. My sleep study last June showed my oxygen levels were normal, above 90 percent while sleeping, but I do wonder just as an experiment if sleeping with oxygen would improve my energy.
 

ubuffman2001

New member
My pulse-ox is usually 98-99% so don't think that is the problem. My sleep study last June showed my oxygen levels were normal, above 90 percent while sleeping, but I do wonder just as an experiment if sleeping with oxygen would improve my energy.
 

Havoc

New member
Other than the kind of caffeine-like boost that you get with high percentage oxygen, no. That and you would likely eventually develop a tolerance to high concentration oxygen and coming down to 21% would be like, trying to run a marathon at high altitude. If anything sleeping with O2 would be detrimental to your energy, not to mention annoying.
 

Havoc

New member
Other than the kind of caffeine-like boost that you get with high percentage oxygen, no. That and you would likely eventually develop a tolerance to high concentration oxygen and coming down to 21% would be like, trying to run a marathon at high altitude. If anything sleeping with O2 would be detrimental to your energy, not to mention annoying.
 

Havoc

New member
Other than the kind of caffeine-like boost that you get with high percentage oxygen, no. That and you would likely eventually develop a tolerance to high concentration oxygen and coming down to 21% would be like, trying to run a marathon at high altitude. If anything sleeping with O2 would be detrimental to your energy, not to mention annoying.
 

falbie13

New member
Hi,
First of all dont sweat these lab values. I am an ER nurse and I am in school to be a Physician Assistant so I read CBCs all the time. It looks like you may have anemia of chronic disease. You H&H is actually on the low side of normal and the fact that your lymph and neutrophils are not elevated is a good sign---they rise when you have an infection.
As for your vitamin B12 and folate levels, they would be low if you were having major absorption problems, as they are absorbed mainly through the gut. Since they are a little elevated you could have a megaloblastic anemia but that is unlikey, your H&H would probably be much lower.
I hope this helps.
 

falbie13

New member
Hi,
First of all dont sweat these lab values. I am an ER nurse and I am in school to be a Physician Assistant so I read CBCs all the time. It looks like you may have anemia of chronic disease. You H&H is actually on the low side of normal and the fact that your lymph and neutrophils are not elevated is a good sign---they rise when you have an infection.
As for your vitamin B12 and folate levels, they would be low if you were having major absorption problems, as they are absorbed mainly through the gut. Since they are a little elevated you could have a megaloblastic anemia but that is unlikey, your H&H would probably be much lower.
I hope this helps.
 

falbie13

New member
Hi,
<br />First of all dont sweat these lab values. I am an ER nurse and I am in school to be a Physician Assistant so I read CBCs all the time. It looks like you may have anemia of chronic disease. You H&H is actually on the low side of normal and the fact that your lymph and neutrophils are not elevated is a good sign---they rise when you have an infection.
<br />As for your vitamin B12 and folate levels, they would be low if you were having major absorption problems, as they are absorbed mainly through the gut. Since they are a little elevated you could have a megaloblastic anemia but that is unlikey, your H&H would probably be much lower.
<br />I hope this helps.
 
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