Extra Red Blood Cells

spud188 · ‎09-23-2010

Had my regular blood work done and have too many red blood cells making it thick and sticky.Am now going in for weekly theraputic phelbotomy,they take out a pint each time.

Have any of you had this problem or know anything about it??.I am not finding much on the web.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

I know someone with the same disorder. It was discovered in his 20's, and he described it as a mild inconvenience through his 20's, 30's, and 40's. He was in his 50's when he was diagnosed with diabetes, gout and several other health issues. He suffered a serious heart attack last year, and there were some complications in his recovery, related specifically to this blood disorder. Please make sure you follow your physician's advice regarding treatment options, to keep your situation under control. Best wishes to you.

PhatCat · ‎03-10-2010

Myeloprolifertive disorder, Polycythemia Vera. My husband has had this for years. He started out with having phelbotomy twice a week and then once a week. After a few years it didn't help anymore and he started chemo meds about 5 or so years ago (hydroxurea) sp. He sees his hematologist every three months and has been doing well with the chemo med.

Good luck to you.

maddiecat · ‎03-09-2010

My neighbor has this. She was diagnosed in her mid-40s and is now 54. She jokes that her blood has the consistency of grape jelly! She goes for a phlebotomy about once a month.

You'd think that she would be tired and sluggish all the time. Not at all. She works full-time and is always busy around her house.

spud188 · ‎09-23-2010

Thank you for sharing.

luvsthecoast · ‎02-11-2014

Hi spud. I've been a lurker on these boards for a long time but I'm signing up now to respond to you. I have PV. When it was finally diagnosed my numbers were really high so I had to go in every day for phlebs. Now that they're where they should be I go in monthly for blood tests and sometimes need them every month; sometimes I can go a couple of months. Have you had to have a bone marrow biopsy? It's amazing how much better I felt once I got past the initial phase of having them all the time and now have my blood at the proper level.

ETA: I would love to hear from you, your experiences, etc. It would be nice to have someone to go through this with....

PhatCat · ‎03-10-2010

On 2/11/2014 luvsthecoast said:
Hi spud. I've been a lurker on these boards for a long time but I'm signing up now to respond to you. I have PV. When it was finally diagnosed my numbers were really high so I had to go in every day for phlebs. Now that they're where they should be I go in monthly for blood tests and sometimes need them every month; sometimes I can go a couple of months. Have you had to have a bone marrow biopsy? It's amazing how much better I felt once I got past the initial phase of having them all the time and now have my blood at the proper level.

ETA: I would love to hear from you, your experiences, etc. It would be nice to have someone to go through this with....

luv, I didn't mention the biopsy, didn't want to scare the poor girl.

Glad to read you're doing so well just having phlebotomy, that's wonderful!

Wsmom · ‎03-09-2010

sorry...wrong thread!!

Lapdog · ‎12-18-2012

I also have Polycythemia Vera. My doc also talked about a bone marrow test but I asked if I could try the draws first. I only had to have the therapeutic draws once a month. I am lucky, I had quit smoking and my levels now remain normal without the draws. I had the draws for about a year. Best wishes.

Reever · ‎03-14-2010

I dread getting blood tested because of the anxiety created waiting for test results to come back. It can take over 10 days to hear back if everything is normal or not. My doctor really goes over them with a fine tooth comb and even tests for Vitamin deficiencies.