Blood test interpretation help

A little help please if anybody has seen similar to this. I recently got a private finger prick blood test for rheumatoid factor, which included a full blood count.

Results came back with some abnormalities with recommendation to discuss with my doctor, only I have complete doctor burn out paranoia from this protracted COVID going on for weeks and too many doctor discussions- I shrink at the thought of even one more.

The abnormalities are:-

Mean Corpuscular Volume HIGH 103.5 fl (normal range 80-99fl)

Mean Platelet Volume HIGH 14.3 fl (normal range 7-13 fl)

Haematocrit BORDERLINE HIGH 0.445 (normal range 0.33-0.45)

I have hypothyroidism which is treated and was not dehydrated when I took the blood although, like most of us, I always feel dehydrated, no matter how much I drink.

 

A slightly high mean corpuscular volume is not in necessarily of any great importance but it could be a sign of either folate or B12 deficiency. It also occurs in untreated or inadequately treated hypothyroidism. It can also be due to effects of certain drugs. The commonest cause in the population is relatively high alcohol consumption.

Platelet volume is of no clinical interest.

The haematocrit will be a bit higher if the MCV is high and in general is not a useful measure. What matter are the haemoglobin level, the MCV and the MCHC (the concentration of haemoglobin in the red cells which goes down with iron deficiency).

 

Many thanks for this- I went vegan about a year or more ago and haven’t remembered to take b12 for quite a while now so that would explain it. I’ll hit the b12 and repeat in a few months. That’s really helpful thank you

ETA practically zero alcohol consumption for several years and hypothyroidism was recently checked and well controlled

 

Thanks Trish. That is a really sensible idea and I probably would do if I hadn’t been having almost weekly calls to the GP with these ongoing COVID symptoms.

I also ended up going by ambulance to A and E at the weekend as I spoke to NHS 111 for advice on worsening chest pain and breathlessness. My ankle had started swelling again where I recently broke it so I just wanted reassurance from nhs 111 that it couldn’t be a blood clot but of course it doesn’t work like that- I ended up feeling like a total fraud!

The whole thing was just really embarrassing, although the paramedics were lovely I did feel the a and e doc wanted to put it down to anxiety, although he actually diagnosed Costochondritis which is basically inflammation of the rib cage I think.

Anyway, the more I deal with doctors, the more I can feel my mental health suffering.

I will wait and see how my lung symptoms settle over the next month. If they don’t reduce I will have to go back to the GP anyway and will mention the blood test then.