Red Blood Cell Count 10.5

[dennis in se pa]

CORRECTION - Hemoglobin is what it is. I have often heard it referred to as red blood cells by doctors and hospitals.
I get a checkup every 6 months. Age 66 on Medicare. Last spring I asked my doctor if I don't hear from him about the results of my blood test am I to assume they were OK. He said yes. Tuesday I returned for my 6 month checkup and he went over my test results from 6 months ago. Turns out MY RBC (hemoglobin) was 10.5. I have a call into them to find out at what point do they feel it proper to call the patient and tell them there is a problem.

Any input here is appreciated.

[wdfifteen]

I had to look it up. Looks like RBC of 10.5 is about twice normal. The list of things that can cause it is not pretty.
I certainly think the doctor should have called. In my experience it is rare for any business to keep up with current client's needs unless it will sell something additional.

[dennis in se pa]

Mine is usually 15. Normal is 13-15. We must be referencing different types of measurement.

[dennis in se pa]

Hemoglobin? I thought he said red blood count. He referenced the previous test where it was normal at 15. He says I am anemic.


https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/hemoglobin-iron.php

[Tobra]

Hemoglobin and hematocrit are the numbers they look at. You will absorb iron more effectively if you drink some OJ or something to lower the pH GI system.

Iron supplements will make you constipated, be advised. Maybe eat spinach, worked for Popeye.

[sammyg2]

According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:

The normal RBC range for men is 4.7 to 6.1 million cells per microliter (mcL).
The normal RBC range for women who aren’t pregnant is 4.2 to 5.4 million mcL.
The normal RBC range for children is 4.0 to 5.5 million mcL.
These ranges may vary depending on the laboratory or doctor

Recently my father's red blood cell count was too low to measure (basically zero).
All vital functions ceased.
They pumped in transfusion units as fast as possible and somehow managed to resuscitate and he survived.


This was a result of a bad reaction to chemotherapy for chronic leukemia (CLL) and what they suspected was Richter's transformation.

Richter's syndrome (RS), also known as Richter's transformation, is a transformation which occurs in about 5-10% of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)[1] and hairy cell leukemia into a fast-growing diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a variety of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is refractory to treatment and carries a bad prognosis.[2] There is also a less common variant in which the CLL changes into a Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rarely, transformations to a form of myeloid leukemia have been observed. These extraordinarily rare transformations carry a very poor prognosis.[3] Richter's transformation affects about 5% of CLL patients at some point during their lives.

[sammyg2]

What does a higher than normal count mean?

You have erythrocytosis if your RBC count is higher than normal. This may be due to:

cigarette smoking
congenital heart disease
dehydration
renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer
pulmonary fibrosis
polycythemia vera, a bone marrow disease that causes overproduction of RBCs and is associated with a genetic mutation
When you move to a higher altitude, your RBC count may increase for several weeks because there’s less oxygen in the air.

Certain drugs like gentamicin and methyldopa can increase your RBC count. Gentamicin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections in the blood. Methyldopa is often used to treat high blood pressure. It works by relaxing the blood vessels to allow blood to flow more easily through the body. Be sure to tell your doctor about any medications you take.

A high RBC count may be a result of sleep apnea, pulmonary fibrosis, and other conditions that cause low oxygen levels in the blood. Performance-enhancing drugs like protein injections and anabolic steroids can also increase RBCs. Kidney disease and kidney cancers can lead to high RBC counts as well.

Red Blood Cell Count (RBC): Purpose, Procedure, and Preparation

[ckelly78z]

I just had my blood drawn today before getting another dose of Chemo. My RBC was measured at 4.83....which I guess is in the normal range.

[livi]

I will usually accept a value around 10 in children but I would definitely investigate an adult. Could be normal/harmless but there are a number of causes that will lower the count, some that would benefit from treatment to say the least.
Asuming we are talking about hemoglobin that is.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

.... Turns out MY RBC (hemoglobin) was 10.5. .

Ummm

RBC and hemoglobin are 2 different things

RBC normal - 4.1 - 5.8

hemoglobin normal - 12.6 -14.

[Evans, Marv]

A comment about Medicare - not trying to hijack. I was eligible for ten years before I went on it, because my wife's insurance from her work covered me. My impression is you kind of get kicked to the curb on Medicare, so I'm not surprised your doc/medical facility didn't call you back to discuss the results. When I was on private insurance, they were frequently calling me in, running tests, having consultations on even minor things, etc. Now I almost never hear from them. I commented to a nurse once about the getting kicked to the curb idea and her response was that I may have something there. I'm sure it has something to do with the reimbursement situation.

[dennis in se pa]

For some reason around here they refer to hemoglobin as "red blood count". Had a blood test last Thursday. Just got a call from my doctor's office informing me that my "red blood count" is "normal" at 15. Good news.