My FIL has been sick for a couple of years. He has had chronic sinusitis and has really bad allergies. He lives across the street from a wheat farm and whenever they cut the grain his allergies are worse. He is being treated for sleep apnea, he has type 2 diabetes and diverticulitis. He is tired all the time and had some blood tests which revealed that his hematocrit was elevated, it was 54. He has low iron, however. He has been seeing an oncologist to try to rule out cancers that could cause his red cell count to be so high but so far they haven't been able to find anything. He is going to do the "pill cam" test to see if anything in his intestines looks abnormal.
I was wondering if having a high red count could be at all related to celiac or NCGS. Does anyone know of a correlation? My MIL and he are very frustrated because they can't seem to find out what is wrong. I wondered if he should be tested for gluten sensitivity.
High red cell count, low iron, gluten related?
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Hi NMM,
I'm not aware of any connection between red cell count and celiac disease, or gluten sensitivity.
Does your FIL live at high altitude? People who live at high altitude have a high red cell count, because their body uses that trick to compensate for the thinner oxygen supply. The body will also compensate for low oxygen levels due to poor heart or lung function. IWO, either heart failure, or COPD, (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), can cause a high red cell count. Also, if the kidneys release too much of a protein called erythropoietin, (EPO), that will tend to cause an increase in red blood cell production. Another possibility is that the oxygen-carrying capacity of his red blood cells might be impaired. Surely his doctors would take all that into consideration, though. If none of those is the cause of the problem, then his bone marrow is probably producing too many red blood cells, (which is what the oncologist is trying to determine).
A condition known as polycythemia vera can cause bone marrow to produce too many red cells, but if his white cell, and platelet counts are normal, than that should rule out polycythemia vera. Dehydration can also cause high red cell count, and high hematocrit levels. Is there a chance that he might just be dehydrated?
The low iron suggests blood loss. Has his stool been checked for occult blood?
You didn't mention that he has diarrhea, or dermatitis herpetiformis, which would be indicators of gluten sensitivity. However, it's always possible that he might be sensitive to gluten, but he might be asymptomatic.
It is known that sleep apnea can cause thickening of the blood. You say that he is being treated for it. Is the treatment effective? The high red cell and hematocrit counts could be a side effect of the sleep apnea. Remember, though - I'm not a doctor.
Tex
I'm not aware of any connection between red cell count and celiac disease, or gluten sensitivity.
Does your FIL live at high altitude? People who live at high altitude have a high red cell count, because their body uses that trick to compensate for the thinner oxygen supply. The body will also compensate for low oxygen levels due to poor heart or lung function. IWO, either heart failure, or COPD, (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), can cause a high red cell count. Also, if the kidneys release too much of a protein called erythropoietin, (EPO), that will tend to cause an increase in red blood cell production. Another possibility is that the oxygen-carrying capacity of his red blood cells might be impaired. Surely his doctors would take all that into consideration, though. If none of those is the cause of the problem, then his bone marrow is probably producing too many red blood cells, (which is what the oncologist is trying to determine).
A condition known as polycythemia vera can cause bone marrow to produce too many red cells, but if his white cell, and platelet counts are normal, than that should rule out polycythemia vera. Dehydration can also cause high red cell count, and high hematocrit levels. Is there a chance that he might just be dehydrated?
The low iron suggests blood loss. Has his stool been checked for occult blood?
You didn't mention that he has diarrhea, or dermatitis herpetiformis, which would be indicators of gluten sensitivity. However, it's always possible that he might be sensitive to gluten, but he might be asymptomatic.
It is known that sleep apnea can cause thickening of the blood. You say that he is being treated for it. Is the treatment effective? The high red cell and hematocrit counts could be a side effect of the sleep apnea. Remember, though - I'm not a doctor.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi NMM,
I would be very interested to hear how this has played out for you.
I too have both Collagenous colitis and Lympocytic colitis plus Polycythemia that I have spent the last 9 years trying to discover what is driving the Polycythemia. I have numerous allergies, sensitivities, and autoimmune diseases that keep popping up and attacking different organs as the years go by. I am wondering now if there isn't some connection between the colitis and the Polycythemia. I have heard of Polycythemia with both Chrone's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
I would love to know if anybody else out there has this, and if they have received a confirmed diagnosis with a name or has similar symptoms as well.
Thank you
I would be very interested to hear how this has played out for you.
I too have both Collagenous colitis and Lympocytic colitis plus Polycythemia that I have spent the last 9 years trying to discover what is driving the Polycythemia. I have numerous allergies, sensitivities, and autoimmune diseases that keep popping up and attacking different organs as the years go by. I am wondering now if there isn't some connection between the colitis and the Polycythemia. I have heard of Polycythemia with both Chrone's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
I would love to know if anybody else out there has this, and if they have received a confirmed diagnosis with a name or has similar symptoms as well.
Thank you