New to anemia. What to expect?

Posted by John Taylor @jdtay87, Mar 14, 2023

I’m a 35 year old male. Bloodwork I had done in the hospital last month while being treated for foot pain showed that my red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were all low. Not low enough to cause symptoms, but low enough to be flagged.

My doctor also did bloodwork while testing me for gout, and it also showed low hemoglobin. My doctor’s plan was to wait four weeks and test my blood again, then start investigating. I still have about two weeks to go.

What worries me about my anemia is that I don’t think it is caused by an iron deficiency. The fact that I had gout, which is usually caused by foods that happen to be rich in iron, makes me think this. If my anemia isn’t caused by an iron deficiency, I think it’s likely to be indicative of a much larger problem, like maybe cancer. I don’t know, am I getting worried over nothing?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Blood Cancers & Disorders Support Group.

michey | @michey | Mar 18, 2023

In reply to @colleenyoung "Hi @jdtay87, @michey is right. Everyone is different. There are many different types of anemia. And..." + (show)

Colleen, Sorry I repeated your link. I should have read it first before posting below!

John Taylor | @jdtay87 | Mar 18, 2023

For kicks, I thought I would post my numbers, since I just got access to the second set today.

2-13-23 (Hospital)
RBC - 3.94 million
Hemoglobin - 11.0
Hematocrit - 33.4%

2-25-23 (Doctor’s Office)
RBC - 4.38 million
Hemoglobin - 12.3
Hematocrit - 36.7%

So my anemia improved quite a bit between the hospital and my doctor’s appointment. That second RBC is actually in normal range, but the hemoglobin and hematocrit are still slightly low. I’m a bit less worried now, I guess.

jillyg | @jillyg | Mar 18, 2023

In reply to @arla "Did they test for Ferritin, serum iron, or iron plasma? It’s possible to be getting enough..." + (show)

Vitamin C aids in absorption when taking iron supplements. I have been dealing with iron deficient anemia, have had several iron infusions and waiting for three weeks to get labs again.

arla | @arla | Mar 19, 2023

In reply to @jdtay87 "For kicks, I thought I would post my numbers, since I just got access to the..." + (show)

That’s a good jump in hemoglobin!

arla | @arla | Mar 19, 2023

In reply to @jillyg "Vitamin C aids in absorption when taking iron supplements. I have been dealing with iron deficient..." + (show)

Thanks! I took the iron supplements with orange juice, empty stomach before and after, for 6 months, and unfortunately they still didn’t work. There was no improvement in any of my iron markers. Hopefully the infusion I got works.

John Taylor | @jdtay87 | Mar 21, 2023

So, I went in today to follow up on my gout, and besides testing my uric acid again, they ordered another complete blood count and a peripheral blood smear for my anemia. Not sure if they’re testing my iron, but they did take four vials of blood, so maybe. They scheduled my next appointment for July, so I assume they’re only going to contact me if something’s wrong with the labs. I’ll let you guys know if they do.

John Taylor | @jdtay87 | Mar 27, 2023

Well, my uric acid was still high, so they put me on allopurinol, but as for my anemia numbers, they said everything had returned to normal range. Time to say goodbye to this thread, I guess.

John Taylor | @jdtay87 | Apr 19, 2023

Sorry to revive this thread. I went to the doctor on Monday with fatigue. They took three vials of blood and a cup of urine, but I don’t have results back yet. I wanted to talk about the possible link between anemia and gout, since my gout is flaring up a bit again tonight despite the allopurinol.

It is said that hemolytic anemia can cause high uric acid levels, because of uric acid being released from all the red blood cells being destroyed. As to what causes hemolytic anemia in adults, there are a variety of things. I’ll just have to trust my doctor to spot whatever this is.

Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Apr 19, 2023

In reply to @jdtay87 "Sorry to revive this thread. I went to the doctor on Monday with fatigue. They took..." + (show)

Hi @jdtay87, Sorry to hear that your gout is flaring up again, in spite of the medication. Hopefully that settles down for you soon.
Your blood numbers a few weeks ago didn’t show that you were anemic any longer, which is really good news, though you still developed gout. Did your doctor feel there was a correlation? How about kidney function numbers?

A little article from Mayo about high uric acid levels and potential causes:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/high-uric-acid-level/basics/causes/sym-20050607
I had a family member with gout and through changes in diet it really helped to avoid repeats. You may have already checked these out but they’re worth looking at again.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/gout-diet/art-20048524
https://www.healthline.com/health/gout#home-remedies
I also found this conversation in our forum with other members who have gout. You might find some useful information to help with your symptoms and recurrences.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-is-the-treatment-for-gout-experiencing-for-first-time/
Has your doctor talked to you about food and diet to help prevent gout?

John Taylor | @jdtay87 | Apr 20, 2023

Just got my lab results back. Nothing notable except that my uric acid level is still high. I guess I shouldn’t have bumped this thread. The thing is, I have no idea what’s making my uric acid level high. I thought it might be hemolytic anemia, since I had anemia and gout at the same time when I started this thread, but I guess I can rule that out now. Thanks for everything everybody. I’ll go check out some gout threads.

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