Low red blood cells and low Corrected Calcium

hollyann · January 2010

hollyann · January 2010

Ok what in the world does this mean?.....I LOVE my onc but she did not explain this enough to me..She said I needed to see my PCP about my thyroid cause it is a little swollen.....Here is what my blood test said about my RBC's and all that:

RBC......4.03 ...Normal is between 4.2 and 5.4

HGC.....11.7.....Normal is between 12.0 and 16

HCT.....34.8.....Normal is between 37 and 47

also Corrected Calcium is 8.6....Normal is between 8.8 and 10.5.....

Now my onc said everything was fine and said I was ok.....If I am ok then why are these levels so low????............Does this mean I am anemic??.......Or is there something wrong with my parathyroid since my thyroid function was fine at my last PCP visit??.........I am so confused and relieved to know WHY I feel tired so much and winded..........Please help.......Thank you.........

barbe1958 · January 2010

Lucy, I have no answers for you but am curious to find out what others have to say. My iron is low enough that my doc gave me a prescription iron med even though I was on iron supplements! Hang in there, an expert will show up an minute... Laughing

NativeMainer · January 2010

hollyann-

All of the results your test show are so close to the normal range that they are within the eror tolerance of the equipment used to run the tests This means, that if they ran the same test on the same blood again the results for each test could be within the "normal" range. The "normal" range is determined statistically, so 5% of all people have a normal reading above the range and 5% have a normal reading below the range. Readings this close to normal are considered normal unless there is a trend. How do your results compare to the last time the test was run? Or during treatment?

I've seen labs this close to the normal as a result of the person having drunk a glass of water a few hours before the blood was drawn, or if just a drop or two too little blood was taken.

To give you some perspective, a person is not considered for a blood transfusion until the HCT is less than 25. However, some people begin to feel short winded when the HCT is less than 40%. The short windedness can be from thyroid problems, or from stress, or from chemo/radiation long term after effects. Most likely there is an element of deconditioning involved, too. It's a very rare person who can get through treatment while maintaining their physical fitness. If the tumor was on in the left breast and you got radiation, even the best systems still cause lung and heart damage that may not show up for years. If you got rads to the right there is still going to be lung damage.

NativeMainer · January 2010

Sorry--I forgot to say that the corrected calcium level is dependant on the blood protein levels. If your protien level was a touch low then the corrected calcium will be a little low too. Blood protien levels are very dependant on protein intake. If you had eaten less than the recommended amount of protien for a few days before the test that would read a little low.

hollyann · January 2010

Native, thank you so much for your help.....Unfortunately (or fortunately however you look atit) I did not do chemo or rads.......I have had a history of anemia and had a transfusion a couple of years ago......Just this past November I had a low RBC and had to have a B12 shot which was not a pleasant experience as I had severe diarrhea for 2 days after........I haven't been on here for a couple of days because I have been working odd hours at the store........

leaf · January 2010

If this was a corrected calcium level, then they should have already corrected for the protein /albumin in your blood.

But I agree with Native, your numbers are waaay too close to normal to worry about.

I had a low calcium level (don't know the number) immediately after half of my thyroid was removed ~ 15 yr ago. Your parathyroids are usually embedded in your thyroid, or at least in the vicinity,but they didn't find any parathyroids in the thyroid half that was removed or in the vicinity. So the doc put me on 3 grams of elemental calcium/day (that's like 6 Oscal-500s/day), that's in addition to the ~1 quart of milk/day that I've drunk since age 5.

hollyann · January 2010

Thanks, ladies!......I am going to my PCP this week and let him redo the tests.......He had already given me a B12 shot last month and said he would recheck in 3 months but to clal back if I had problems.....i have trouble catching my breath alot especially after walking across the parking lot (which is level) going to work.........The last time I had this problem I ended up with a transfusion.....I definitely DO NOT want that!........I eat greens just about everyday and drink milk and eat cheese all the time.......I love mixed greens like collards and turnip greens ....And I love spinach salad .......I'm beginning to think I may be over reacting though and just freaking over nothing.......I AM on thyroid meds for hypothyroidism...I take 75 mg of synthroid every day....BUT my thyroid was ok last time I had it checked which was in November or December...........AH well...If it ain't one thing it's another......Thanks again all!......

Low red blood cells and low Corrected Calcium

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