Worried about polycythemia

Hi Vincent, I have an epo of 8, well last time it was tested it can change my heamoglobin and heamocrit and red blood cells have been high for two years, you can have a normal epo with PV, but usually it's low like below 3 for a minor diagnosis. Have you had a JAK2 test? Or a JAK exon 12? I was worried to death too and we've all been there on here, I've no diagnosis yetmyself however with me been jak2 - and JAK exon12 - a normal epo it's less likely it's like 5% chance something really low That I have PV, I've relaxed more and my blood has gone down a little, still above what it should be but I'm not too concerned. I noticed your platelets and white cells are within normal range too, that's good news too, with PV in a lot of cases your platelets and red cells rise, that's one thing that worries me because my platelets are rising and now over the 400 mark, but still nothing to be alarmed. There's lots of people here to support you over your journey of a diagnosis and some are far more knowledgeable because they have lived Many years with PV. Are you seeing a specialist?

Hi Vincente  I just looked @ your numbers.  Your RBC & platelets are well within normal range.  Your hematocrit is high normal range is 37-47.  Your hemoglobin is a little high.  Normal 12-16.  You're really not presenting classic Pv numbers.  But I'm not a dr and suggest you see an oncologist or hematologist for further testing.  Maybe a test to see if you have the jak2 mutation and get on anti-anxiety meds.  Good luck.  Zap

Hi Vicente

First, your Hb and Hct are not that bad, your other counts look good, including your EPO, which is above normal. Your Hb range will be between 12-18, some settings use 17.5 as the high end, some even 17.0, but I think that might depend on where you actually live. I have had similar numbers as yourself. Most PV patients have a sub normal EPO, although sometimes it can be within the normal range. I doubt your low blood pressure would be a symptom/sign, as its usually the other way around, high. I've mentioned a recent study on here before, that looked at the EPO levels of normal healthy adults, and the numbers varied, but an EPO of 5.4 mU/ml was within the range. In fact, two thirds of the healthy subjects had an EPO that ranged between 3.3 and 10 I believe, with females tending to have higher EPO's than men. Most patients with PV have a mutation of the jak2 v617f (95-97%, with some studies as high as 98%), the remainder have a mutation in the ja2 exon 12, around 3%. Thus, vertually all PV patients have a mutation in the jak2 gene. The first test they'd do would be the jak2 v617f, as it is by far the most common of the two. Hope that helps...  

If you do not have any sickness, you may be in the early stage of developing PV. but need to get the test result of  JAK2 ...Richard Law