Beta Thal Minor... Or Not?

I'm so happy to find this site. I spent a lot of years ignoring my various issues, mostly because it was easier to buy into "Minor doesn't DO that".

I was diagnosed BTM as a child. Now, at age 36, I'm wondering. I've been in touch with Eileen at CAF, and she's trying to get me pointed in the right direction. I'm starting to think that I  was possibly either misdiagnosed or incompletely diagnosed, but I honestly have no idea. As many Minors know, Minors are not as asymptomatic as we're "supposed" to be. I've a long string of suspect problems, including miscarriage, mood issues, gallbladder disease and removal at age 28, severe intolerance to muscle exertion, and the list goes on.

Anyway, recently I had a bad reaction to Macrobid, a rather vile antibiotic. I then learned of a contraindication for anemics, so I got myself to a nearby clinic and had a CBC done. The good news is that I did not tank my RBC, so I'm relieved about that. But the whole thing did kind of wake me up to the fact that ignoring my blood disorder doesn't really make it go away. So here I am, and here are my current numbers:

(Out of range bolded for ease of reading)

CBC incl diff/plt   - Collected 5/29/12
Test   In Range   Out of Range   Reference Range
White Blood Cell Count   7.6      3.8-10.8
Red Blood Cell Count   4.89      3.8-5.10
Hemoglobin      10.6 L   11.7-15.5
Hematocrit      33.8 L   35.0-45.0
MCV      69.1 L   80.0-100.00
MCH      21.7 L   27.0-33.0
MCHC      31.4 L   32.0-36.0
RDW      18.0 H   11.0-15.0
Platelet Count   252      140-400
Absolute Neutrophils   5442      1500-7800
Absolute Lymphocytes   1588      850-3900
Absolute Monocytes   418      200-950
Absolute Eosinophils   129      15-500
Absolute Basophils   23      0-200
Neutrophils   71.6      %
Lymphocytes   20.9      %
Monocytes   5.5      %
Eosinophils   1.7      %
Basophils   0.3      %


Any insight would be appreciated. I don't have insurance at the moment, but at least CBCs are fairly cheap. I'm still recovering from the reaction to Macrobid, so the internet is about the only thing I have the energy for at the moment.

These values all indicate thal minor.

Hemoglobin      10.6 L   11.7-15.5
Hematocrit      33.8 L   35.0-45.0
MCV      69.1 L   80.0-100.00
MCH      21.7 L   27.0-33.0
MCHC      31.4 L   32.0-36.0
RDW      18.0 H   11.0-15.0

The doctors are just wrong when it comes to thal minor. Miscarriages? Yes. We have heard from hundreds of thal minors who have had multiple miscarriages. Gallstones? A direct result of the destruction of defective red blood cells, hemolysis. Muscle fatigue? Lack of oxygen because of low Hb level.

I suggest some inexpensive supplements. Natural vitamin E complex (do not use synthetic E. It is a terrible product that should be banned). 1-2 mg folic acid daily. B complex. Calcium with magnesium in no less than a 2:1 ratio, along with vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common. If you can get tested, do so, but I would suggest at least 2000 IU daliy. The folic acid and vitamin E can also work to help prevent miscarriages.

Welcome!

Thank you for your response, Andy!

I'm already taking D3, at 5000 IU. I've been taking it for a while, although I've only recently managed to be consistent. Just in the past week I also started taking Folic Acid, 800 mcg. I tried adding a B-Complex also but, perhaps because my system is still recovering from the drug reaction, it made me feel awful. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try half a dose of just B-12 (I think they are 533mcg capsules) for a few days and go from there. I used to take a B-Complex with no problems. It didn't seem to do anything, but at that time I tolerated it just fine.

Calcium is a problem for me. As a former smoker and a thal AND a lifelong skinny runt, I know I'm at risk for osteoporosis, but calcium at supplement levels triggers depressive cycles for me. (I'm Bipolar Type II.) I'm trying to improve my dietary calcium intake, though.

Magnesium has an unpleasant affect, but there are different forms so I may just have to find one my lower GI tract can tolerate better.

I don't have any vit E, so I will work on getting that.

CAF seems to also be in the "Minor doesn't DO that" camp, but the response I've gotten indicates a desire to get me going in the right direction regardless of what is actually wrong with me, so that's good for my psyche at least.

I seem to cycle in my activity tolerance levels, though not concurrently with my mood cycles. I've always been able to tolerate walking, but not much beyond that. I'll go a few months where I can walk as much as 5 or 6 miles a day, then I will start having fatigue so great I can barely clear the block I live on. It doesn't help that I have hellish menstrual cycles. I no longer can tolerate hormonal birth control, so I just live with it. If hysterectomies were elective, I'd have already had one - it's that bad.

@Bobby - Thanks for the welcome!

I'm so glad to have found this site. The hardest part for me is finding people who understand the fatigue issues, so it's nice to find people who get it.