It's 3:30am, so I'll check back later. Just got home from work. Ever had a B12 level? Had anyone mention macrocytic anemia? Ask your doc.

Stuff about CBC and the parts thereof

This will tell you about those mysterious names: MCV, MCH, etc.

You'll have select ALT and GFR to learn about them. Gotta go to sleep, early appt for my first Simponi in 6 hrs!

Thanks Rumble,

How did your Simponi go?

No reaction, no improvement of symptoms, but it's only been a few days...lol. I'm flaring badly right now. Guess the Enbrel WAS doing something. I had thought at one time that my stamina was better, as was my morning stiffness. Then I decided it wasn't just before I changed meds. Now, I think it was. <sigh>

I'd like to start some steroids, but need to wait to see if my [*bleep*] manager will let me off to redo my RFA-SIJ on 6/29. If she does (and I'm skeptical), I'll need to start that taper on 6/28, though pain doc is saying no. I had an epidural on my lumbar spine on 5/31 and a cervical 3 weeks before that. She thinks that's too much steroid too close together. I don't think she understands inflammatory disease entirely. What if I took daily steroid? Never get an epidural?? Not sure what I'll do on that.

But know I don't want to wait till 7/13 for this RF, but will if she gives her blessing on the steroid taper to reduce the inflammation from the procedure. Make sense? I'm so tired and sore and need to take hubby to get his second cataract surgery in the morning. It's 12:48 am and he needs to be at check in in 6 hrs. Best get to bed....yawn. Then I have to be at work at 4pm. Maybe a nap before then....hopehopehope.

My doctor has told me for ages my MCV is high. I just got a new doc and she wants to get to the bottom if it once and for all. It can be caused by excessive drinking so its hard to get a doc to look beyond that. Its usually just over 100, around 101 or 102 or something like that. I'm quite sure its from the AS, but I've stopped my daily wine with dinner for a month so they can rule that out.

Of course, stopping my nightly wine has put me in to a flare! You can't win.

High MCV could be due to macrocytic anemia...deficient in B12, possibly.

Yes it is maccrocytic anemia, or at least that's what one doc told me years ago. Interestingly the new doc did not tick off the B12 box on the blood work requisition I need to do in 3 weeks - I wonder if I should just tick it off myself? No one would be the wiser!

I also have hashimotos (autoimmune) thyroiditis, which can also cause high MCV.

I'm really trying to pinpoint why I am feeling so fatigued lately, whether its the AS, the thyroid, the anemia, the full time working mom thing... or some fantastic combination of all of those things.

sigh!

hiya,

low B12 was fairly common with anemia before the biologics came out due to malabsorbtion, we get inflammtion along the poart of the bowel where we absorb B12. I always used to get abig imrpovement with a good vitamin b mix ( not just B12) seemed to calm down nerve pain and shakes numbness etc and fatigue. But if you are inflammed enough to have anemia and low b12 you WILL be fatigued and probably feeling quite horrid from experience ( I usually had toxic colon starting up ) but the last time I had a major infection and ended up very sick for quite some time. So please be careful.

Dave