high red blood count

[jann1033]

Just wondering if anyone else has this. I am just a little above the high normal (was told just To watch it)

My hypothesis was an increase in an attempt to carry more O2 due to prolonged problems.

 

[jann1033]

I was just thinking if it occurs in others, I was curious if it could be due to prolonged oxegenation problems,didn't see anything written about it anywhere. Volume isn't high, just RBC, heme. Just interesting I thought.

 

[TigerLilea]

Are you dehydrated at all or have sleep apnea? Both of those can cause RBC to be on the high side.

 

[jann1033]

Dehydrated no, sleep apnea just had a study done but haven't gone over the results yet. I don't have any symptoms of sleep apnea except in my chart where they insist on saying I'm sleepy when I tell them I fatigued lol. The tech who gave me the study said I had apnea twice that she thought was due to my position. They said I breathed shallowly a number of times which the rheumatologist Interpreted as sleep apnea. I'm going to ask the difference between that and shortness of breath.

They said the shallow breathing was when i woke up but the electrodes kept slipping off my head, I was having night sweats, so they kept waking me up to reattach. It was kind of a joke since I was supposed to be "asleep" 7 hrs. but actual time sleeping was under 5 due to them waking me up to reattach and untangle stuff as the nasal breathing thing kept moving around. Somehow I think the test was less than accurate Lol

Interesting about the RBC though, husband really does have severe sleep apnea but his RBC is normal (mid). Do you know why that could make it high? Guessing dehydration would be decreased volume but wonder why apnea would. If not I'll ask the sleep specialist when I go in.

 

[Kati]

Yes, I have routinely higher than normal range RBC's. Drs are not too worried about that but I notice

 

[Martial]

Look into Upper Airway respiratory resistance it is sub class sleep apnea but much harder to catch, good to learn about even if it is not the cause of your raised blood cells. I have the opposite problem, always borderline anemic lately.

 

[SOC]

Dehydrated no,

Are you sure? Many of us have low blood volume leading to OI. Most of us don't realize we're constantly dehydrated because it's "normal" for us. You might have high red blood cell count because the total number of red blood cells is normal, but the amount of water (essentially) in your blood is low, so there's more red blood cells per unit blood volume.

 

[Kati]

Dehydrated no.

The absolute RBC count is an absolute count. My hematocrit is always middle of the road.

 

[SOC]

Dehydrated no.

The absolute RBC count is an absolute count. My hematocrit is always middle of the road.

Really? My absolute RBC count is not the total number of red blood cells that I have in my body. That would be a HUGE number of cells. It is the total number of red blood cells in one microliter of blood. So blood with too little water, but the normal number of red blood cells will show up with a high number of red blood cells per microliter of blood. A normal number is around 4 x 10^6 cells per microliter of blood.

Your lab may do things differently, of course.

 

[jann1033]

Are you sure? Many of us have low blood volume leading to OI. Most of us don't realize we're constantly dehydrated because it's "normal" for us. You might have high red blood cell count because the total number of red blood cells is normal, but the amount of water (essentially) in your blood is low, so there's more red blood cells per unit blood volume.

I've always read the color of your urine is a good indicator, very pale/ almost clear=good hydration

 

[SOC]

I've always read the color of your urine is a good indicator, very pale/ almost clear=good hydration

That applies to healthy people. If, as is true for many PWME, your kidneys are taking too much water out of your blood, you will have a lot of water in your urine so it will be pale/dilute, but because too much water is going into the urine, there is not enough in your blood and other cells, so you become dehydrated. So we can have dilute urine AND be dehydrated.

 

[Rlman]

My Hemoglobin, RBC, Hematocrit are all slightly high or just below high for over 3 years since CFS began.Pre CFS they were much lower. I do urinate excessively and feel dehydrated, but don't think I have low blood volume because Blood Pressure is normal and my veins protrude from arm for blood draws. I guess Red Blood Cell Mass test is the best to prove if low blood volume is the issue. @jann1033, are your hemoglobin and hematocrit also high? That really weird @Kati that your hematocrit is ok, I thought it would be high if RBC is as well. What do you think @SOC?

 

[halcyon]

I've had high RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and albumin levels on multiple occasions when I've been super sick and ended up in the ER. The times that I've had tests when feeling a bit better they were all normal. Every doctor I've asked has told me it was due to dehydration and I tend to agree.

 

[SOC]

What do you think @SOC?

Not all cases of low blood volume present with low BP. I had high normal BP prior to my diagnosis. I also had tachycardia. I benefit a great deal from increasing my blood volume with fluid-loading, Florinef, and verapamil (for tachy). That treatment has actually decreased my BP a bit.

 

[Rlman]

Not all cases of low blood volume present with low BP. I had high normal BP prior to my diagnosis. I also had tachycardia. I benefit a great deal from increasing my blood volume with fluid-loading, Florinef, and verapamil (for tachy). That treatment has actually decreased my BP a bit.

how did you diagnose your low blood volume? did you also have excessive urination and dry mouth?

 

[Master4thDegree]

My remission started to take hold well when I removed the excess red blood and febrin from my blood. I feel stronger and cognitive issues have resolved. Antibiotics may work long term now. There is a theory that white cells including NK cells can't function in our viscous blood. I wished i had known about this sooner.

 

[Olena]

My hemoglobin is high, also with my husband. It can not be a coincidence or a bad dream. This is clearly an infection.

 

[CFS_for_19_years]

My hemoglobin is high, also with my husband. It can not be a coincidence or a bad dream. This is clearly an infection.

Infections don't cause high hemoglobin. Dehydration produces a falsely high hemoglobin measurement that disappears when proper fluid balance is restored. Other causes are listed below.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/hemoglobin_levels/page4_em.htm

What Does High Hemoglobin Mean?

High hemoglobin levels mean that measured hemoglobin levels are above the upper limits of normal for the age and sex of the person (see above normal values). For example, a 19 year old that has a detected hemoglobin level of above 17.7 g/dl would have a high hemoglobin level. Some causes for high hemoglobin levels are as follows:

• Living at a high altitude
• Lung disease (emphysema, COPD)
• Cancer
• Tobacco smoking
• Bone marrow disorders (polycythemia vera)