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Any thoughts on anemia with no bone marrow or genetic issues
My hemoglobin, RBC, and HCT have been low ever since I had hip replacement surgery and then a few months later 2 days of gushing nosebleeds. This was all almost a year ago, but my counts have not recovered. I had a recent bone marrow workup showing nothing. My hemoglobin recently tanked down to 10.1, but my PCP is not as concerned as I am. My LDH is high and my haptoglobin is low. I have RA so my PCP thinks it is just from chronic inflammation, but my SED rate is low and has been consistently low for about 3 years as my RA is well controlled. I am having repeat lab work in a week. My iron is low normal, but saturation is low. Anyone have any thoughts? I am concerned with a GI bleed or with autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
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Bleeding gums too?
I'm going to throw something out there to consider...my husband has stage 4 esophageal cancer and is currently in remission. In July, he started feeling poorly, blood counts were extremely low and he was found to have hemolytic anemia. The cause was the question. He was in kidney failure, heart failure and still severely anemic after 2 blood transfusions. He underwent endoscopy to make sure the esophagus looked good (it did) and a colonoscopy because they were certain it must be from a GI bleed. Both tests were negative. His counts were still unusually low and the shape and size of his RBCs prompted our oncologist to order a Babesia panel (a tick borne illness). Sure enough, it was positive for parasites (nasty) that were literally destroying his RBCs, thus the hemolytic anemia. After 2 rounds of antibiotics and anti-parasitic medication, he is finally clear of the infection and feeling better. We live in CT and the entire Northeast is considered endemic for ticks. My husband was never aware of having a tick bite and this type of tick doesn't cause the bull's-eye rash so it'd be hard to notice if not in a visible area.
I just wanted to throw my idea out to you. You might want to ask your doctor about this simple blood test. I hope you find an answer soon.
Thank you. I live in northern Vermont, and we have tons of ticks as well. I will ask my PCP. She has this idea that my new 'normal' is to have hemoglobin in the 9s and 10s. I would like to know why it has dropped and what to do about it since I have fatigue and increased shortness of breath. I have heart failure, so I already have some SOB, but I do not need more!
Thanks for the suggestion.
@barbarian1 A bit, but nosebleeds and bruising. Fatigue and shortness of breath are the biggest issues.