Runner with Anemia...What to do?

find the cause...anemia is a symptom, not a diagnosis

What are your ferritin, hematocrit, and hemoglobin numbers?

It is often common for runners to have border-line

hematocrit and hemoglobin counts due to a larger blood

volume. If your serum ferritin level is low (anything

under 40 is low for a male) and has been declining

steadily this could indicate an iron deficiency that

you might need to correct by changes to your diet and/or

supplementation. You need to be careful with supplementing

however, as too much iron can be toxic.

As the previous poster indicated, there are other potential causes of anemia than iron deficiency - you

should follow up with your doctor (or a different doctor if yours isn't helpful sorting this out).

oh no, here comes JonnyO with his "RBCs mature in 6 days"

After talking to a doctor, I recommend taking one pill of "Slo Fe" a day. It will take a few weeks to kick in, but it's worth the payoff. It's also not as harsh on your stomach since it's slow release.

al chemist wrote:

find the cause...anemia is a symptom, not a diagnosis

Well no, weakness, fatigue, etc are symptoms. Anemia is a diagnosis. But there are many different kinds and causes of anemia. For anyone to be helpful here, we'd need all your numbers: hgb, hct, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, then if indicated by the prior #s you go down the decision tree with things like iron panel, folate, B12, retic, hgb electrophoresis, etc.

Without any of that info my first hunch for male runners with anemia is stop taking your NSAIDs as they commonly cause gastric bleeding.

Come on then OPE, please give us your expert knowledge of how long it takes for reticulocytes to enter the peripheral blood in a person suffering from anaemia? or a blood donor? or an athlete recently arrived at altitude?

if you will excuse my English spelling (if you can excuse me for being English)

JonnyO

Ok here are my numbers. At least this is what the doctor's report says: RBC 4.41, hemoglobin normal, hematocrit 39.9. I am too get this rechecked in a month. These were the first tests so I didn't have any previous tests. I am not taking NSAIDs, so that isn't the problem.

What should I include in my diet? What should I eliminate from my diet? I am not one to take supplements, so if I can help this problem with dietary change if possible.

Thanks for all the info!

Oregon East wrote:

Ok here are my numbers. At least this is what the doctor's report says: RBC 4.41, hemoglobin normal, hematocrit 39.9.

Those are within normal limits. What (who) makes you think you're anemic?

The doctor. They are below the limits. Technically she stated that I was slightly anemic.

Oregon East wrote:

The doctor. They are below the limits. Technically she stated that I was slightly anemic.

Your levels are normal:

These are normal ranges:

RBC: 4.10- 5.60

Hemoglobin: 12.5- 17.0

Hematocrit: 36.0 - 50.0

If you have't already get a full CBC, to see what else it may be.

Seems to me that your Hematocrit is pretty low. Would others agree that runners should be in the mid 40s?

Liver and Onions...yum

Pumpkin Seeds...sprinkle on salads, yogurt, pizza, etc...

Oysters and Mussell...double yum...

Happy Yak Meat...

Ostrich Meat...just like Paula does...

EPO

As Chickens would say "Eat more beef"

Kamikaze wrote:

If you have't already get a full CBC, to see what else it may be.

To see what else WHAT may be? The guy' does not have anemia. If he wants to raise his hct to 50 he should move to Leadville.

OE,

What's your ferratin?......

Of course the doc didn't take it. Get it checked. By the time your HGB, RBC and HCT are effed, it's a long time to come back.

TELL the doc you want your serum ferratin checked, then we know what's going on.

Otherwise you have the blood of a female junior high school ice skater...........

I don't know what the hell that means either. Nor would I from a complete blood count. Get the ferratin checked as well or you are just playing golf in the dark.

PS Say high to Ben and the national runner-up trophy from '02!

I'm 32 now, but I remember very distinctly being diagnosed with this problem at age 15 as a HS sophmore.

As a freshman, I made the varsity team & went to States, looking good, but by the 2nd race of my sophmore season, I distinctly remember dropping out of a race at the mile mark after being passed by LADIES at below 8min mile pace. (yeah, I was an idiot for not realizing something was wrong, finally my coach sent me to the doctor).

When the nurse at the doctor's took my blood sample, she said she could tell from the friggin' color I was anemic. Later tests proved a severe case.

KEY: for me, the villain behind my anemia turned out to be my prescription zit medicine (some kind of antibiotic). Turns out it blocked my iron absorption or something.

I was prescribed regular over-the-counter iron pills and was back to kicking everybody's ass (literally from LAST to FIRST, if you can believe it!) within one month. Amazing story. But my anemic period really destroyed my confidence and took years to rebuild. Physically, I was fine, but mentally, those days of finishing LAST really hurt me.

Please, get all your bloodwork done, make sure you are not taking any INTERFERING medications. That's often overlooked.

Get some iron in you, and you can JAM. I went from last to first, so who knows what you can do. Be-warned: taking too much iron can cause health probs, check with your doc.

Note: I heard that long miles in poorly-cushioned trainers may also cause anemia (kills the blood cells in your feet as they circulate, supposedly). But maybe that's BS. Anyway, get more cushioned shoes and run 'dem trails.

-ICE