I've have a normocytic anemia for as long as I've had blood tests and nobody can explain it. Ferritin can go low normal but the anemia doesn't respond to iron. I put this out there because factors like anemia amplify a lot of the troubles of old age. including things like falling and cognitive decline. True it is disheartening if a root cause is never found and addressed but, If it turns out to be an easy fix, like iron or b12, somebody can feel a lot better with a low investment. Good bang for the buck.

Interesting brief report with a table on Wikipedia, Jim. Pretty superficial and perhaps obsolete in your terms, but it lists some causes it speculates to be worth considering. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normocytic_anemia.

Thanks Martin. Been down all of this rabbit holes. For this discussion I wanted to make older folks more aware of the potential for mischief the usual anemias have. My impression is that a lot of the time people will look at the big picture, their primary disease or condition, and tend to ignore things they may consider of less consequence. Their doctors might too.
Jim

@johnwburns, I've been seeing low hemoglobin in a string of blood draws over the past year, and low protein. In 2015, the hemoglobin was high. This week, a draw indicated low iron. Endoscopy and colonoscopy show no abnormalities. It's been 7 years since I had peptic ulcers removed, and had to stop taking NSAIDS. I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy, and recently had a spinal cord stimulator implant, which is making a big difference in the burning pain in my feet. I'm a couple of weeks from being 67, and I take meds for neuropathy, depression, anxiety, other pain. I'm trying to figure out what's causing the anemia. Maybe there's another discussion on the subject that has informative conversation.

Jim

I'm 76, female, had hip replacement surgery years ago, surgeon damaged nerve, thus neuropathy. My blessed family doctor came across info that this very old drug called imipramine in low dosage helps tremendously with the burning of the feet. Been on it for years, together with 100 mg of gabapentin a night. Have no burning anymore. Ck with ur doc, see what he says.