

Blood test results- Please help!


So I got my blood test results back today, and I'm not sure what some of them mean. Also, is there anything that jumps out?

WBC Count-7.3
RBC Count-5.35
Platelet count-333



Crohn's Mom

do you have the norm reference you could ad by each ?
Labs seem to all have different ranges, depending on where you go.
It may help to decipher that way :)


Yes, I do have the normal levels but I was not aware that they can vary depending on where I got my blood taken.
Your B12 is low normal, certainly low enough to cause symptoms.

Your ESR and CRP are both high, indicating inflammation.

A Low MCV and normal RDW can indicate chronic disease.

Low MCV and low MCH indicates iron deficiency.

I don't know what meds you are on and how this would effect your results. I would say your ESR and Sed Rate (CRP) are the most concerning.

Hope that helps, that was just based on some information I got based on some of my son's results.


Crohn's Mom

Yes, if you go to different labs (companies) than the normal ranges can vary.
And the labs you go to, could vary from say the labs that I, or someone else here, goes to.


Thanks, I'm not on any medicine and this blood test was done as a base because I've started the SCD diet on January 2nd and wanted to get base results so I can track improvement. I wasn't expecting the results to be normal, but I was just curious as to how severe people think they really are. I am also completely symptom free. Do you think my B12 is low enough that I should be supplementing? (Same with iron).
I would absolutely supplement the B12. That level is quite low.

I would get your levels done on iron levels tested first before you supplement. When my son was low they prescribed iron and followed his levels very closely. He only took it for 5 months and then they took him off of it.

Good luck with the SCD diet, I hope you have some success :)
Your MCV is low and your ferritin is low normal, but given the evidence of inflammation (increased sed rate and CRP), this likely indicates iron deficiency. You may be interested in this article Guidelines on the diagnosis of iron deficiency and anemia in IBD
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ibd.20285/full which mentions:

"Diagnostic criteria for iron deficiency depend on the level of inflammation (Table 3). In patients without biochemical or clinical evidence of inflammation, appropriate criteria are a serum ferritin <30 μg/L or TfS <16%. In the presence of inflammation, the lower limit of serum ferritin consistent with normal iron stores is 100 μg/L (Grade B)."

It also gives normal and lower limit levels for Hgb and ferritin...

Also b12 levels are not that sensitive for b12 deficiency. Take a look here http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Methylmalonic-Acid about methyl malonic acid.


Thanks a lot guys. I figured my iron would be low because I used to get iron transfusions due to anemia. Do you think I could still have the anemia? I originally got tested for it years ago because I had no energy, always tired, etc but that's not the case anymore so I kind of just let it go.

I have an appointment on Friday with the doctor because she wanted to talk to me about it , which is fine but she's probably more concerned about the results than I am because I was expecting them to be how they are but I'll see what she says about supplementing and all that fun stuff


Its healing. Actually, its gotten so much better since starting the diet too. I need to find a good GI so they can actually read my colonoscopy results and tell me exactly how bad it is.
A hemoglobin of 12.9 is anemic if you are a man; 13 is the cut-off for anemia. Sorry I haven't read your whole thread and your picture has a man and a woman.


No worries xmdmom. Is there a decimal there? I'll have to have a look at home. I am a man, does that mean I'm anemic?


Your hemoglobin either 12.9 or 129 which is mild anemia for a man. I would expect your doctor will recommend an iron supplement trail.
It will be really interesting to see if there is any improvement in your CRP and ESR next time. You did the blood test just when you started the diet,and since then your symptoms have improved, right? It will be really encouraging if this is reflected in your next blood test... How often are you planning on doing them?
The range I was given for B12 was 250-1000 but everything I read says that anything below 300 is cause for concern.

Mine was 278 when they found a lesion in my spinal cord at C2C3 (Transverse Myelitis). Now I supplement and mine is in the 650 range.


Wow, according to those mine is quite low. On my sheet it says 250 is the lowest it can be before worrying. Maybe I should still supplement. I'll bring it up on Friday. I can supplement with vitamins right? I dont need the infusions? Are there any foods I should just be eating more of? Same thing with the iron, could I just eat more spinach?

Helena- Yes, I did them the first week I was on the diet, and since then yes my symptoms have improved. In fact, I'm now symptom free.

I'm not sure how often I should get the blood taken. I originally wanted to do a base, then 1 month, then 3 months, then 6 months, then every 6 months but I've reading and the diet says it can take up to 6 months to see any clinical improvements so I wasn't sure if it would even be worth it to take my blood until the 6 month mark? I'm really hoping I can see differences because the physical improvements are great but I want the inflammation to decrease as well
Some people don't absorb the vitamins and need to get a shot. I just take B12 1000mg gel caps. The gel caps are easier to digest then tablets.

If you are choosing not to do meds, and your CRP and SED rate are already high I would recommend once a month until you see improvement in those inflammation levels. I think when you aren't on medication it is even more important to check regularly. Things can get out of hand so quickly. If your inflammation levels are raised you are slowly getting damage. It might take 10 years or 10 months but if it simmers away it will catch up to you at some point.


It's been 3 years since I've been on meds. I just decided that it was time to either make diet changes or go on medicine, so I chose diet, because for me it's more of a preventative thing..although I technically have inflammation. You don't think every month is too much? I'll gladly do it if that's the best route for me. Do you think the doctor's would allow it that often? In Canada we don't pay for bloodwork so as long as they don't think I'm "abusing" it than sure I'll get it every month.
I just think every month until you see some improvement in your numbers. If your ESR and CRP are lower next month then re-evaluate. Unless your Dr. thinks that any changes from diet would take longer than a month to improve things.
I'm with Johnysmom.
I would do CRP and ESR monthly, though I don't really think it's necessary to repeat the vitamins etc that often. I would probably stick with monthly until I got normal readings.