Concerned about potential PV - Blood work results

Allergies, blood and immune system
1

Hello, I'm a first time poster. I'm hoping that some of you will be kind enough to offer me some feedback on my blood work. My doctor showed no concern at all, but my blood work looks a little suspect to me. I made an appointment to see a Hematologist, but unfortunately I can't get in until late October. Some symptoms I've experienced are fatigue and ocular migraines. I'm on preventative medication for my migraines, cymbalta, which has worked wonders in keeping them at bay. Anyway, my results are in the link below. Again, I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the matter. Take care.

https://puu.sh/x8BeW/6f39e9fdba.png

2

Auto WBC 10.6 Thous/mcL 3.8 - 10.8 Thous/mcL

RBC 5.82 Mill/mcL 4.20 - 5.80 Mill/mcL

Hemoglobin 16.9 g/dL 13.2 - 17.1 g/dL

Hematocrit 50.2 % 38.5 - 50.0 %

Mean corpuscular volume 86.3 fL 80.0 - 100.0 fL

MCH 29.0 pg 27.0 - 33.0 pg

MCHC 33.6 g/dL 32.0 - 36.0 g/dL

RDW 14.1 % 11.0 - 15.0 %

Platelet Count 243 Thous/mcL 140 - 400 Thous/mcL

MPV 8.9 fL 7.5 - 12.5 fL

Segs Relative 65.2 % 38 - 80 %

LYMPHOCYTES ABSOLUTE COUNT 24.9 % 15 - 49 %

Monocytes Relative 7.3 % 0 - 13 %

Eosinophils, Absolute 2.1 % 0 - 8 %

Basophils Relative 0.5 % 0 - 2 %

Neutrophils Absolute 6911 Cells/mcL 1500 - 7800 Cells/mcL

Lymphocytes Absolute 2639 Cells/mcL 850 - 3900 Cells/mcL

Monocytes, Absolute 774 Cells/mcL 200 - 950 Cells/mcL

Eosinophils, Absolute 223 Cells/mcL 15 - 500 Cells/mcL

Basophils Absolute 53 Cells/mcL 0 - 200 Cells/mcL

In hindset, I'll just post the results in plain text.

3

If you're thinking Pv, your platelets are in normal range. With Pv, they are usually elevated. However, your hematocrit is high. It should be 42 or lower for a female, 47 or under for a male. Your RBC & wbc are slightly elevated.  You would need further testing for a dx. Like the jak2 mutation or or other mutations. Your symptoms are classic of Pv but isn't enough to make a dx.  You're not in any danger so October seems to be ok until you see a hematologist.  Good luck. Zap

4

Thank you for the feedback. I'm a 25 year old male. The most pressing issue waiting until October is being stuck in my thoughts. I'm extremely anxious.

5

I know you're anxious.  It's common with this disease. We've all been there.  If you feel you can't wait, perhaps a different dr. Are you seeing an MPN specialist or a regular hematologist?  Most hematologists have limited knowledge of MPNs.  However, your numbers look pretty good right now and as I said you are not in any danger of anything happening.  Try and stay calm.  It's hard, but you are in pretty good shape so keep that in mind. This is a good group and have a lot of answers so ask away. It does help. Zap

6

To be honest, I'm not sure what kind of hematologist I'm seeing. My GP made no mention of irregularities in my blood work aside from elevated cholesterol. Are these numbers indicative of PV? I appreciate the support. I understand that it's not something that can be definitivety diagnosed with with my numbers being so slightly out of range. I was almost certainly dehydrated when I got my blood taken. I have an appointment with my GP on September 5th and I will request new blood work and make sure I'm adequately hydrated.

7

Hi you are most likely going to see a regular hematologist, which is how my journey began. My platelets were raised on a routine cbc.  I had more blood work done by him including the Jak2 mutation which is indicative of Pv. It would be very helpful for you to have that test added to your blood work. Again, your numbers look pretty good to me except for your hematocrit. There could be other reasons it's so high, I'm not a dr.  In the meantime, stay hydrated and try not to worry. I don't think you have Pv. Stay away from foods high in iron, limit your consumption of meat and stay hydrated. Also, watch your alcohol consumption, it's dehydrating. Zap

8

The best thing for you to do is to wait until you have visited your Haematologist and undergone the tests required to give you a positive diagnosis.   You will not be prescribed any specialist treatment until you have completed this as these tests are required to assess your situation.  So you must be patient for now until you have seen your specialist but even so, the tests carried out will not be available immediately.  As Zapamania has said there is nothing in your readings forwarded that give any real cause for concern.  Take comfort in that CDOS.  We have all been through the system.   Best of luck.

9

Hello

I am also a first time poster

Put a short post on today

I would just like to hear from others who have lived with this for a while about what to expect ,etc

You are very wise to be seeing a haematologist. Too bad you have to wait so long.

Perhaps you can tell them to call you if there is a cancellation, if that's possible for you

The first time I saw my specialist he ordered U/S of abdomen and spleen, and had bloodwork done to see if bone marrow was working as it should. Then in 2 wk. I had my diagnosis and treatment.

Good luck to you

Chris

10

Your blood results are very similar to mine, with the exception of a slightly elevated RBC. My problem is hemoglobin, which in turn raises Hematocrit. I was at 59% when I was diagnosed. From there it was brought down to 41% via lettings. Then I went several months before needing any treatments, then suddently it started going up again. I'm DX with the secondary condition without a known cause yet, I'm trying to nail down what my habits were the time it remained down...only thing I can think of was I quit drinking my daily 3-4 beers then started back about the time it started going up...but I was drinking grapefruit juice at that time too, so hard to know for sure. The lettings were rough on me in the start, but I finally felt better once they became fewer. 

If you're immediate concern, before you can see a doctor, you may consider doing what I may have to do due to insurance issues (Yes, I live in the US). It's been about 6 weeks since I had a CBC/letting, can't really afford it (I usually get them every 5-6 weeks), I may just go give blood. At 50%, donating a pint will probably take you down to safe limits. You're Hematocrit is high, but not criticle yet. I think you can give blood every 2 months or so, that should be more than enough in both our cases from the sounds of it. The goal is to prevent clots from thick blood. Donating will thin out your blood and drastically lower your Hematocrit levels, probably to normal levels.

11

Hello christine,

You will now probably realise that PV is a very serious and rare disorder.  Each patient needs to undergo blood and other medical tests by a Haematologist before a diagnosis is offered and the treatment commenced.   Each individual is treated separately and their treatments prescribed solely for them, taking into account the tests that were made.  The same treatment will not be prescribed for another patient, however similar the symptoms may be.   Further, consider that the outlook for PV is for the long term.  There is no current cure (except a stem-cell transplant possibly) but new and effective drugs are still being tested and in the pipeline and will eventually come on-stream for general use.  Stem-cell treatment is a formidable undertaking not without some strong risks and only considered for younger patients.  As time passes you will be visiting your specialist who will continue assessing your treatment and well-being and adjusting treatments as necessary.  If you need further considered information look at the Related Information section at the bottom right of this page under the Polycythaemia headings where there is much to peruse.  Of course, you still have the opportunity of using this forum.  Best of luck.

Peter.