• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Blood testresult

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
J

Jill

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Went for my annual check up last Thursday and today the medical centre receptionist called and asked me to take another blood test in a month's time with a follow up appointment with the doctor a week later.

When questioned, the receptionist said it was to do with iron and wasn't the HbA1C as I first thought. Now I wish I'd asked more. Anyone else experienced this? Could it be anaemia (I'm vegetarian) or something to do with kidneys?

Help!
 
Hi Jill, give them another ring and ask what your test was for and what the result is, and how does that compare to the normal range. It sounds like it was a full blood count to check for anaemia. Annoying if you were due for an Hba1c that they didn't take that sample at the same time - nobody enjoys having blood drawn! 🙂
 
the only suggestion I can offer is to phone the health centre and ask them. They have you records and will know why the other test has been requested. It could be anything or they just want to make extra sure.
 
Had the same thing, happen with me. They took a reference level off the iron tests and was put on iron tablets and then retested again to see if my iron levels were stable.

If levels don't stabilise, they will then do further tests, to identify what the cause is.

The doctors did several repeat iron tests over a few months, at the end of it I am on 3 iron tablets a day.
 
Thank you for your replies. I probably should ring the medical centre again. Pav - sounds similar to me so perhaps I need not worry too much. I assume you are OK now - hope so anyway.
 
I am ok, just have to take the tablets, no unpleasant side effects like with some other meds.
 
Anaemia due to iron deficiency is by no means unusual in vegetarians but if the anaemia was serious, they wouldn't leave it for a whole month. It can be a temporary thing or a long term thing. They will want to monitor the situation over a period of time to get to the bottom of it.

It is a symptom of many possible diseases so isolating the cause is rather like going through a series of checks starting with, does it get worse over time? As has been said, if you still have low levels in a month's time, they may prescribe iron tablets and ask you to come back in yet another month.

If you are worried, you can sort of speed the process up yourself by ensuring that you eat plenty of iron rich fruits and vegetables, a list of which you can find on the web. Keep a record and tell the doctor what you have been eating. He will be pleasantly surprised to have some data to work with.
 
Jill said:
Went for my annual check up last Thursday and today the medical centre receptionist called and asked me to take another blood test in a month's time with a follow up appointment with the doctor a week later.

When questioned, the receptionist said it was to do with iron and wasn't the HbA1C as I first thought. Now I wish I'd asked more. Anyone else experienced this? Could it be anaemia (I'm vegetarian) or something to do with kidneys?

Help!
Click to expand...

Hi Jill,
The same thing has just happened to me. When I rang in for my results they said that I was anaemic and needed another blood test. They said it could be due to kidneys but I won't know till Thursday. I had my blood test today so will keep you posted.
 
Hope it is realised that anaemia will mess up/invalidate your A1c (which is all about red blood cells after all) if you've had one at the same time. I think they still use a fructosamine test to measure overall BG control in people with low red blood cell count?
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for help and advice. All duly noted and will be acted upon.🙂
 
Following on from the above, I now have the results from the blood test as follows:-

White blood count low - 3.4 (I understand 3.6 - 11.00 is the normal range).
HbA1C - 39 (but possibly inaccurate owing to blood irregularity).
Total cholesterol 6.3. HDL 3.7. Ratio 1.7 (would like to know my triglyceride count but it apparently isn't measured for some unknown reason).

Alan said we're allowed to ask silly questions so here's mine - does anyone know if it is possible to have a low WBC after a day of hard physical labour? The day before the test I exhausted myself painting the garden fence and shed. It took all day and I was whacked after I'd finished or was I whacked because of the low WBC? Totally confused.
 
Jill said:
Following on from the above, I now have the results from the blood test as follows:-

White blood count low - 3.4 (I understand 3.6 - 11.00 is the normal range).
HbA1C - 39 (but possibly inaccurate owing to blood irregularity).
Total cholesterol 6.3. HDL 3.7. Ratio 1.7 (would like to know my triglyceride count but it apparently isn't measured for some unknown reason).

Alan said we're allowed to ask silly questions so here's mine - does anyone know if it is possible to have a low WBC after a day of hard physical labour? The day before the test I exhausted myself painting the garden fence and shed. It took all day and I was whacked after I'd finished or was I whacked because of the low WBC? Totally confused.
Click to expand...
What is WBC?

FWIW Metformin (if you are on it) can stop the body absorbing Vit B12 and cause anaemia. The remedy is to have B12 injections. Suggest you discuss this with your Dr.
 
Pattidevans said:
What is WBC?

FWIW Metformin (if you are on it) can stop the body absorbing Vit B12 and cause anaemia. The remedy is to have B12 injections. Suggest you discuss this with your Dr.
Click to expand...

WBC White Bloodcell Count 🙂 I'm afraid I don 't know the reasons why it might go low, sorry Thelis.
 
Jill, I understand there are lots of possible reasons for low WBC. You will probably have to have your arm stabbed again to investigate further. :(
 
Hi Jill, first of all if it is to do with your iron results that would be a iron deficiency anaemia and isnt caused by Vitamin B 12 deficiency - completley different type of mechanisms involved.

White blood cells are the scavengers/protectors of the immue system so if you are low in them it sounds as if you might be fighting off some type of infection especially viruses. That being said some people just have a naturally low count (my hubby being one of them) and he has n9 effects from it at all so they may need to do a few more tests to establish what is normal for you. good luck
 
Thank you. I shall just have to wait and see what the next blood test (in a month's time) shows. I'll be seeing the doctor a week later to discuss.:confused:
 
When I was having chemo treatment for cancer, testing your WBC was something they did before each treatment. If your WBC was not back up to normal, i.e. above 3.6, they postponed your next chemo, until it was ok. Chemo destroys the WBCs so it was obviously important to have a reasonable level to start with!
I kept failing the test, and because of the way it worked, often I was not actually rejected until I'd made my way to the hospital, so it got very frustrating. In the end my very last scheduled treatment was cancelled altogether "Who knows which of the treatments is the one that actually kills all the cancer cells!"
Anyway, 8 years down the line, (with no cancer recurrance), my regular D blood tests always show us a very low WBC, and every time the lab passes a comment back to the clinic about it. But it's usually around 3.2, and I have absolutely no problems with that
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top