Does anyone else have low platelets but high haemoglobin/red blood cells/haematocrit

[mermaid]

This is a bit of a long shot, and may well have nothing to do with ME/CFS or at least it may just be part of my own version of it, and no one else's. However, I have inevitably been interested in my own blood tests to see if anything ever appears in them that may throw light on what is going on in my body, and causing the symptoms. Some things I have improved over the years by this approach, or by Serendipity. I have had an ME/CFS diagnosis since 2009.

I had a full blood count done this month, as I am due for an operation. My blood tests available to me online via my GP only go back to 2011, and I have long noted that my platelets are chronically low, but not so low that any action would be taken. I had thrombocytopenia in pregnancy 40 years ago, so this is perfectly possible to be related to this time, which would mean its autoimmune. The lowness is usually fairly stable, though I noted that this month's result was lower than usual. I happen to know that one low platelets side effect is fatigue. Another side effect is to thin the blood.

As a result of my test this year, the haemoglobin has gone over range slightly, and so they have done checks for blood clots (I have none apparently). High haemoglobin is not good news as it thickens the blood and that can cause blood clots, leading to strokes/heart attacks. I checked the history of this test, along with red blood cells and haematocrit and was surprised to see that since 2011, my test results had been in range, but high in range in all 3. A side effect of high haemoglobin is fatigue. It's possible that the highish haemoglobin is autoimmune also.

I do wonder if the low platelets and the high haemoglobin cancel each other out, in terms of the consistency of the blood! I do hope so.

My BP has always been low, thought he systolic has gone up a bit, but the diastolic has gone down, and some mornings I feel very wobbly as it can go down to the low 50s, with below 60 considered below normal. I am now 72 and have wondered about my heart function. I do wonder if I should go to the GP to ask for this to be investigated, though at present I am waiting a repeat of the haemoglobin test and may contact the GP after that has been done. UK GPs are over busy and not very responsive, but mine is pretty good, and I also have access to a private GP if not.

 

[Garz]

these days CBC's are done by automated machine

i don't think they can reliably count platelets if they are activated and clumping / aggregating

something they do when triggered by inflammation, clotting, pathogens etc

i have a chronic bacterial infection that was driving CFS/ME symptoms matching all of the symptoms surveys here perfectly - including PEM

my platelet counts would occasionally be low - or low normal

i would also occasionally have other mild anomalies - suggesting something going on in my blood- high or low haematocrit, haemoglobin etc - but never far out of range - not enough for my GP to take any notice

but when i looked at my blood properly under a microscope - like CBC's used to be done - there was no shortage of platelets - they were just all clumped together in one large mass

 

[vision blue]

@Garz
Wonderful post. Glad i came back and hapoened to see this.
I was also recently wondering if recently lowered platlets meant my liver was worsening- but that was blood taken in ER for a bscterialmGI infection and i likely was swimming in inflammation and platelet clumping.

Thanks much for the bloods lesson

How good a microscope doni need to see my blood cells? Anything i can get and attach to a cheap tablet? I like your pic btw.

 

[Garz]

any decent quality biological compound microscope will do - cheap ones are around £300 on amazon
you need a 40x objective and a 100x oil immersion objective - and abbe condenser - but that's about it

i did it with an old Watson microsystems microscope from the 1960's that cost me £25 on ebay - but took a lot of work refurbishing and adapting ( i wouldn't really recommend used microscope's as they are usually knocked about, damaged, deteriorated - and alot of work to put right )

in any case - that is not really the main barrier - the real issue is teaching yourself to understand how to do the work and understand what you are really looking at

95% of people that get a microscope start seeing things in their blood that they do not understand - and since they feel ill / have health issues - immediately convince themselves what they are looking at is the cause

more often they are looking at normal biology - artefacts of the staining process - Brownian motion etc etc

its an underrated technique - has many benefits - but has fallen out of favour because its not automated and needs a skilled human operator - and for that reason its a learning curve

i have been considering setting up to provide it as a service - but i am not quite there yet

 

[Garz]

PS to produce photographs - you need a little more equipment

the above photo was taken with an old iphone and a home made adapter- its not ideal but it just about works well enough -

after that there are dedicated microscope cameras - and industrial HDMI cameras that can be adapted

there's no real limit to what you can spend - and every different solution has compromises one way or another

 

[vision blue]

Thanks. Problem is there are alot of projects like this on the list so likely wont get done
Ithat first microscope you mentioned, canThe images be viewed on a scren rather than thru an old school microscope itself?

Woukd be nice to teack wbc count over tine from hone is one use

 

[Garz]

yes - you can view images on a screen - but a camera is needed for that

you basically select the digital camera you need in terms of resolution and field of view - and fit it to the microscope where your eye would normally sit - with some form of adapter

the camera then connects to PC, monitor or tablet etc

there are programs that let you stream video from your phone camera to another device - erg PC, tablet, smart TV etc so that is another option

yes, you can use it for CBC, as well as red blood cell morphology, fibrin and amyloid deposits etc

i would avoid the cheap microscopes with built in screens - poor quality - not up to the job

 

[mermaid]

these days CBC's are done by automated machine

i don't think they can reliably count platelets if they are activated and clumping / aggregating

something they do when triggered by inflammation, clotting, pathogens etc

i have a chronic bacterial infection that was driving CFS/ME symptoms matching all of the symptoms surveys here perfectly - including PEM

my platelet counts would occasionally be low - or low normal

i would also occasionally have other mild anomalies - suggesting something going on in my blood- high or low haematocrit, haemoglobin etc - but never far out of range - not enough for my GP to take any notice

but when i looked at my blood properly under a microscope - like CBC's used to be done - there was no shortage of platelets - they were just all clumped together in one large mass
View attachment 54060

@Garz I admire your ability and interest in checking out your own platelets under the microscope!
I will certainly bear in mind the concept of the clumped platelets. The only thing is that in my case, they have been low now for years - maybe 15. Admittedly not an identical score, but maybe less likely than your own results as so frequent especially as I had an autoimmune disease ITP years ago which causes low platelets ?

However, like you, I now see that some of my test results recently could be faulty. Happily the haemoglobin one was retested and is now back to just in range. I suspect in this case, drinking a lot more water pre test made all the difference. I also had an odd pre diabetes result - all but one of the tests they did were perfectly normal but one, the triglycerides, was out by one point above range. When they redid it, the result wasn't just a couple of points better, but way better, more like my older results which I compared it with, which makes me thinks that one was an error.