High red blood cell count

[Zubius]

Anyone else have this problem, is it consistantly high or does it vary? If you've had this problem, what was the diagnosis and how was it corrected?

I've been working with my doc over the past year to get a handle on this with no luck yet. We can't pinpoint where the problem is, we've tried adjusting diet ratios, eliminating or adding foods and I even stopped training for 6 weeks.

Total cholesterol goes up when my red blood cell count is high -

Total/LDL/HDL
190/120/33 - 11/05/2008 @260lbs 33%bf
237/173/42
230/170/45
219/158/38
236/200/50 - current @ 195lbs 12%bf
(triglycerides have always been in the 55 - 80 range)


about me - Over the past 1.5 years I've lost 65lbs, down to 195 now. My diet is consistant, 50p/40f/10c (+/- 5%) and I lift 3 days/cardio 3 days per week. I take a daily multi and have 1 protien shake pwo, no other supps. I do not have a heart condition nor have I had any injuries in the past 8 years.

i should also mention there are no health issues in my family history, my parents are both in their 70's and take no perscription meds.

Let me know if I should post specifics on the diet....



Thanks in advance!

[Emma-Leigh]

Anyone else have this problem, is it consistantly high or does it vary? If you've had this problem, what was the diagnosis and how was it corrected?

I've been working with my doc over the past year to get a handle on this with no luck yet. We can't pinpoint where the problem is, we've tried adjusting diet ratios, eliminating or adding foods and I even stopped training for 6 weeks.

Total cholesterol goes up when my red blood cell count is high -

Total/LDL/HDL
190/120/33 - 11/05/2008 @260lbs 33%bf
237/173/42
230/170/45
219/158/38
236/200/50 - current @ 195lbs 12%bf
(triglycerides have always been in the 55 - 80 range)


about me - Over the past 1.5 years I've lost 65lbs, down to 195 now. My diet is consistant, 50p/40f/10c (+/- 5%) and I lift 3 days/cardio 3 days per week. I take a daily multi and have 1 protien shake pwo, no other supps. I do not have a heart condition nor have I had any injuries in the past 8 years.

i should also mention there are no health issues in my family history, my parents are both in their 70's and take no perscription meds.

Let me know if I should post specifics on the diet....



Thanks in advance!
Firstly: How high is 'high' for your red cell count? Do you need therapeutic phlebotomy?
Secondly: Are any other blood counts high? < White cells? Platelets?
Thirdly: Iron studies < what do they show?

Other relevant history:
1. Do you smoke?
2. Do you live at high altitude?
3. How much cardio do you do?

[Zubius]

Firstly: How high is 'high' for your red cell count? Do you need therapeutic phlebotomy?
Secondly: Are any other blood counts high? < White cells? Platelets?
Thirdly: Iron studies < what do they show?

Other relevant history:
1. Do you smoke?
2. Do you live at high altitude?
3. How much cardio do you do?


Thanks for the reply Emma... I don't have exact numbers for the "high" red cell count but I will get it tomorrow, along with white cell, plateletes (& iron studies if available) while at the docs' office. The doctor noticed a pattern to my higher than normal cholesterol when the red cell count was high.

As far as I know, I do not need therapeutic phlebotomy(maybe i do and my doc has not considered it).

- yes, I've been a smoker for 20 years
- don't live in a high altitude
- cardio = 3 days at the gym when the weather is bad, otherwise I'm mountain biking 60+ miles per week
- blood pressure has always been 120/80

[Emma-Leigh]

Thanks for the reply Emma... I don't have exact numbers for the "high" red cell count but I will get it tomorrow, along with white cell, plateletes (& iron studies if available) while at the docs' office. The doctor noticed a pattern to my higher than normal cholesterol when the red cell count was high.

As far as I know, I do not need therapeutic phlebotomy(maybe i do and my doc has not considered it).

- yes, I've been a smoker for 20 years
- don't live in a high altitude
- cardio = 3 days at the gym when the weather is bad, otherwise I'm mountain biking 60+ miles per week
- blood pressure has always been 120/80
^ you have answered your own question with those answers:

Smoking is one of the commonest causes of 'polycythaemia' (high red cell count).
It does this because the Carbon Monoxide from the cigarettes binds to the oxygen transporters in the red cells of the blood and prevents them from carrying oxygen around. This means your body is starved of oxygen and, as a result, your body tries to make more red cells to carry that oxygen (which you then go and fill with cigarette smoke and the cycle continues).

The damage you have done to your lungs with smoking will also likely be causing your body to be chronically under-oxygenated - as it damages the thin membranes of your lungs and stops oxygen diffusion... This essentially ends up with less oxygen going into your blood and will have the same impact on your red cells.

Sleep apnoea can have the same effect.

There are other causes that are also important to rule out (certain types of cancers, for example), but the above are obvious causes that your doc may have missed.

^ If I were you - I would go and talk to your doctor about stopping the smoking - and getting your lungs tested for smoking related lung disease.

[Zubius]

1 month later -
I've had 2 more more blood tests done by different doctors and have come to the conclusion that my first doc is an idiot... Both blood test completed this month are fine, except my LDL (still at 198).
I had 1 of the new doctors request copies of my previous blood tests and they saw no relation of high red blood cell count to higher cholesterol. My rbc has been 5.02 - 5.09 over the past 5 years and all other counts/levels are normal.

It never occurred to me that I should doubt my doctors advice until now, especially since I've been going to her for 5+ years.....

In the meantime - I've quit smoking(3 weeks ago) and started taking crestor to lower the LDL's along with a modified diet recommended by my new Doc. :)