I Had Very Low Iron (all That Was Checked Was

Posted on Mon, 6 Jan 2020

Question: I had very low iron (all that was checked was iron) three months ago. I began taking supplements. Now, my iron is normal (low end of normal) but the doctor order a CBC and I have low hemocrit and hemoglobin. Normal RBC too. Why/how would those two be low with everything else normal? I need to know where to go from here, or if I should just ignore it.

I should add, in the last three months I have had a very weakened immune system. I have caught every cold, strep, tonsillitis, walking pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, ear infection, and MRSA in my ear. Something is making me suck but I'm not sure it's related.

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Iron and ferritin levels need to be repeated. PBS needs to be repeated.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for positing your query on HealthcareMagic.
I suggest you to get iron and ferritin levels again along with peripheral blood smear.
Iron supplements take atleast three months to come to normal.
In case iron levels and ferritin levels are normal, peripheral blood smear (PBS) is also normal, then other causes of low hemoglobin, hematocrit and red blood cell count need to be found out.
Anemia can weaken the immune system and this may be the cause of frequent infections.

Kindly, revert back with the above mentioned investigations for further work up.

Thanks and take care
Dr Shailja Puri

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj