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i had a blood test and results came back that i had abnormally large red blood cells anyone else had this problem?

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donna_sd93
donna_sd93

I had a blood test because I was feeling tired all the time, I was losing weight rapidly with no obvious reason I'm down to 6 and a half stone from 8 stone, my bones are always aching (which isn't normal as I'm only 20 years old), I get blurred vision that comes and goes and have severe headaches. Anyway it came back that I wasn't anemic in fact he said all blood were perfect except for the fact that I have abnormally large red blood cells. Anyone else been told this? And what did it turn out to be? Thank you in advance for any answers x

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • bencooper
    bencooper

    Posted

    Yes, I had a blood test which showed this. The GP who had sent for the test was young, keen, but not very thorough. He insulted me by suggesting I was an alcoholic. I asked him if my medication could have caused this problem. He looked horror stricken and I realized he hadn't noticed the medication.

    However, I hope your are receiving further investigations because your condition sounds as though something is going on which must be sorted out.

    Look up macrocytosis. I think there is something on this site about it.

    Good luck.

  • donna_sd93
    donna_sd93

    Posted

    Yeah he said he'd usually see it in alcoholics in people my age but he said from the liver function tests he can see I'm not, he's quite confused about it and is gonna give me a more thorough test on my liver and checking vitamin levels etc,

    he said there's definitely something going on and because of the weight loss he has to figure it out quickly, he believes the key to finding out why I'm getting all those symptoms lies in the blood cells so hopefully the road to diagnosis isn't too long I'm already getting impatient and frustrated.

    I hope you find your answers I've had a few tricky doctors in the past its like they want u in and out, even with this problem now a couple of months back a doctor didn't run any tests just told me it was all in my head that's what bugs me the most they try to make out u don't know that somethings wrong.

    Thank you for the reply and the advice it was very helpful.

  • ccoles
    ccoles

    Posted

    Hi,

    Although this is normally in people over 60, it can happen in people under that age so look up:  

    Temporal Arteritis.

    Some general symptoms also commonly occur. These include tiredness, depression, night sweats, fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss. These may develop gradually and may be present for weeks or even months before a specific symptom such as headache or visual loss develops.

    Also people often have this with the temporal arteritis:Polymyalgia rheumatica

    Around half of people with giant cell arteritis also develop polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), a related but less serious condition. PMR causes inflammation of the muscles and sometimes joints, resulting in symptoms that can include:

    shoulder, neck and hip painstiffness of the affected muscles (which is often most obvious after waking up)

    The symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica can develop before, after, or at the same time as the symptoms of giant cell arteritis.

  • ccoles
    ccoles

    Posted

    Sorry, meant to say.......

    Hope you're on the mend soon......

    Cheryl smile

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