Labs and My Saturday morning adventure

[DonRobbie]

So I spent Saturday at the ER after I collapsed twice after getting up this morning. The second time I hit the floor the wife woke up and almost called an ambulance before I managed to convince her I could get myself to the car. I was very pale with cold skin. I felt incredibly weak and "foggy". Came within a hair's breadth of being admitted but the ER doc changed his mind after talking to the GI doc on call. Verdict seems to be I have a GI bleed and was dehydrated. I already knew I have blood in my stool (apparently from hemorrhoids). So I was turned loose with a scrip for Protonix and orders to call the GI practice on Monday.

I just got my lab results in the mail from visiting my GP last Friday for painful elimination and blood in my stool. I'd already flagged D as a concern. ER doc looked at my history and said that My hemoglobin had been very consistently at 14.5 for years , dropped to 14.1 at the labs taken last friday, and when he checked them today I was in the high 13s. He didn't mention it but I noticed my Red Blood Cell count was low. I'm assuming this means I need to get more Iron. Here are my labs from the GP. Are there any other time bombs I need to catch?

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I hope you are feeling better and get good answers from those who, unlike me, are qualified to chime in.

 

[LorettaLynn]

Yikes I hope when you call on Monday they can see you quickly and get you sorted out! Good luck!

 

[JackieOnLine]

I hope you are feeling better and get good answers from those who, unlike me, are qualified to chime in.

this for me, too

sounds very scary for both you and your wife!

 

[southernlady]

Oh my! Hope you get sorted out soon.

One test that you need is ferritin. That’s your savings account for your iron. Your others can be fine and you still be anemic.

 

[chevtow]

Your D is dropping and was low to begin with. Like that around 100.

 

[Larra]

Were you dehydrated when you went to the ER? If so, this could falsely elevate your hemoglobin/hematocrit levels, meaning that while the levels you posted do not constitute anemia, maybe after tanking up with fluid the levels would be lower.

 

[Settledownnow]

Hope you are feeling better! Was your blood pressure low? Keep an eye on your potassium and protein they are getting low.

 

[Settledownnow]

Oops! Strike the potassium and protein comment. I wrongly assumed the first column was the older lab results and the second column was the latest. My bad.

 

[k9ophile]

You'll get better answers from a doctor than from me, yet I always thought a marker for dehydration was the BUN. Yours appears to be normal. My lack of medical knowledge does not negate my wishes for you to feel better. I'm just a little confused about the labs that can indicate dehydration.

 

[LorettaLynn]

Did you get an appointment with the gastro office yet? I recommend you take your lab results with you. Hope you’re feeling better!

 

[DonRobbie]

Unfortunately I can't get into the GI practice until the end of May (and that's with the Nurse Practitioner). My Colonoscopy is the week before that. My suspicion is the blood in my stool is from hemorrhoids and/or a fissure so I'm not overwhelmed with hope that I'm going to find a solution at my visit. Seems like going super low card is triggers the lightheadedness so I have backed off a bit on that. Too many carbs sets off my guts so I'm trying to thread the needle.