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Should I be worried? Female, young, 121 lbs, 5'5"
What am I actually looking at here? I’d really appreciate some clarity on these results.
Thanks!
prothrombin time (PT) - 0.95 ref. range: > 70
prothrombin time (INR) - 1.0 ref. range, therapeutic window: 2.0 - 3.5
prothrombin time (PT ratio) - 1.0 ref. range: up to 1.12
activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) - 28 ref. range: 25-38
activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT ratio) - 1.0 ref. range: 0.8-1.2
fibrinogen activity - 3.8 ref. range: 1.8-3.5
I also have KKS—I can post the values that are out of whack if they're related to this.
P.S. Should I stop taking my birth control pills?
Maria Fisher46 said:The results point toward moderate microcytic anemia—most likely iron deficiency. A lot of those symptoms you’re feeling can be chalked up to the anemia, even if it doesn't explain everything. If this isn't being caused by heavy periods—and I'm assuming it's not since you've already seen a gynecologist—then you need to dig deeper to find the actual root cause. That usually means checking out the digestive tract. Also, I'm not sure if this was done yet, but you really should get routine lab work completed—beyond just a CBC and thyroid tests—including a urinalysis and testing for occult blood in your stool.
You mentioned you're taking a syrup, which I assume is an iron supplement. There could be several reasons why your iron or hemoglobin hasn't bounced back yet: maybe it's just been too short a timeframe—you won't see a significant hemoglobin rise until at least 4 weeks, and iron levels don't normalize until after the anemia itself is corrected—or perhaps the underlying cause hasn't been resolved, or there's some kind of absorption issue.
If possible, you should also get your ferritin levels checked. Once you have all those routine lab results in hand, you really ought to follow up with an internist.
Thanks for the response. I actually had the same thought—that we should probably check the stool and ferritin before jumping straight to a hematologist. I've been taking iron for over a month now (using two different brands because I couldn't handle the first one, but I stuck with the second one); my hemoglobin has gone up by about 10 points, I think it was around 79.
Since you mentioned stopping the iron due to the stool issues, do you think it would be okay if I skip my dose this morning if I'm doing the bleeding test tomorrow morning? Is it alright to just pause the treatment like that for three days?
Thanks.
Hey everyone.
Female, 5'5", 121 lbs, 28 years old
Thyroid panel:
T3 - 1.7
T4 - 85
TSH - 3.9
CBC is mostly normal except for:
Hemoglobin - 93
Hematocrit - 0.290
MCV - 23
MCHC - 319
RDW-CV - 22.4
Iron - was at 3, dropped to 2, did another test today and it's back at 3 (I'm taking syrup but nothing is changing—these tests were spaced out close together because I had other stuff drawn, so they repeated them)
UIBC - 61
WBC - 4.31
Platelets - 208
Red blood cell - 4.05
The reason I got my thyroid checked (got an ultrasound scheduled right after this) is because I am absolutely exhausted. My heart races—just intermittently, mostly in the morning, though my EKG came back fine—plus insomnia, more frequent bowel movements, and shorter menstrual cycles (saw a gynecologist, no polyps, no fibroids, ovaries aren't polycystic). I'm incredibly nervous, totally drained, just wiped out. They sent me for these tests to rule things out if everything else looks okay.
My doctor told me to redo the CBC and iron... and the OBGYN suggested I might need a gastroscopy and a colonoscopy.
For those of you who deal with this stuff, what do you think? 😢 Thanks