Hi everyone. I was refused at blood doning last November due to low haemoglobin. So I've been trying to get my levels back up, through diet and at times iron pills.
I've had another test but the results are puzzling because they refer to one thing that wasn't mentioned before.
I've tried to Google it but still don't understand!
The results last time were very detailed.
This time there's only 2 things mentioned.
The thing I've not heard of before is
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, the result being
8 mm/h with a range of 0.00 to 15.00
The other result was for c. Reactive proteins which is
2mg/L , range being 0.00 to 5.00. Last time it was 3mg/L.
I don't know what to make of it. Can anyone help please?
Thanks
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sueoathall
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Both of these tests are measuring inflammation in your body. For instance people with rheumatoid arthritis have high inflammation. Your results are in range. I’m sure someone else will help you out on how to increase your ferritin effectively. However, I thought that a sign of inflammation was high ferritin rather than low…so I’m not sure why the doc was looking at this.
By the way, giving blood is a way of lowering ferritin if your blood levels are too high. My levels were way over and I’ve been giving blood regularly for a few years and now my levels are actually rather low!
In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency
Has GO prescribed iron supplements
Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones
Thank you for your long reply. That will keep me busy!I'm taking several vitamins etc and eating all the things you've mentioned. Still taking iodine, I'm sure someone on here suggested that. Maybe that's the wrong advice?
I'll get back to the GP and ask about another full blood count etc. I thought that was what the last test was for! I'll read up on those links later. Thanks again
No I'm not vegan or veggie. The tablets I'm taking are B + 1. B complex and iodine from zen naturals. I can't see how to find Seaside Susies iodine test posts. Thanks
Click on "Read the list of available tests" and on page 3 of the pdf you'll see
Urine Iodine Test:
Specimen requirements: Urine
Cost: £71.00
Order Code: END25
Turnaround time: 5 - 10 days
Iodine is an essential trace element, vital for healthy thyroid function. Adequate levels are required to enable the production of T3 and T4 thyroid hormones, whilst also being required in other areas of health.
Deficiencies can lead to impaired heat and energy production, mental function and slow metabolism. Urine iodine is one of the best measures of iodine status. This test is not performed as a loading test, but can be used to establish existing levels or to monitor iodine supplementation.
I was refused at blood doning last November due to low haemoglobin. So I've been trying to get my levels back up, through diet and at times iron pills.
Low haemoglobin indicates that you are anaemic. This is something that a doctor should not ignore.
Anaemia can be caused by multiple things, not just low iron, so taking iron and just hoping for the best is not the right thing to do. For example, you might have anaemia caused by low vitamin B12 or low folate or low iron or low ferritin (iron stores), or even a combination of these things, plus there are several other conditions that cause low haemoglobin.
Your doctor should do a full iron panel consisting of :
serum iron
transferrin saturation
transferrin or total iron binding capacity
ferritin
He/she also needs to do a Full Blood Count and should test your folate and B12.
Having CRP tested with an iron panel is a good idea but you've already had that done with the ESR, and they are both well within range, so it probably isn't worth repeating them.
For a summary of conditions that cause anaemia you should find this helpful :
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