New Here

Hi everyone,

I am new to the site and have a presumed diagnosis of Thalassemia Minor. A couple of years ago I was experiencing some female health issues. My dr. ordered a CBC and discovered that my hgb was at 4 and I had no iron. I was immediately admitted to the hospital, had a 6 unit blood transfusion, emergency hysterectomy (due to uterine fibroid tumors) and another 2 unit blood transfusion after the surgery. I was then placed under the care of a hematologist and was given iron by IV over the course of the next few months. It was presumed that this would resolve any remaining issues with my blood  work. It didn't.

While my iron levels and Hgb were brought up to acceptable levels, my MCV stayed below normal and no amount of iron supplements changed that. My hematologist said that the only explanation was that I had thalassemia. He didn't really explain much about it, just that it was genetic and said it was nothing to worry about. He said he could test me for it, but there was no treatment. Just keep taking my iron tablets, have my GP test my blood every so often and come back if I have any problems. I decided to do some research on my own and of course, found out that it is something to be concerned about. I now have a new GP and when I told her at my first visit a few weeks ago that my hematologist seemed to think that I have Thalassemia, she immediately ordered 12 different tests to check for problems that she said thal minors often experience. Unfortunately, my health insurance will not cover the electrophesis test to conclusively determine whether I have thalassemia because I've had a hysterectomy and will not be passing it on to a child and I do not have any biological children. I did get a copy of my latest blood work, however.

RBC 5.38
HGB 13.7
MCV 80
MCH 25.5
MCHC 31.9
RDW 13.7
My iron levels are all within the normal range.

From what I understand, those numbers would seem to point toward Thalassemia, but if anyone with more knowledge would like to take a look and give me your opinion, I would appreciate it.

This looks like a great site and from the short time I've been on here, I have learned a great deal. I'm glad there's a place to gather and share information.

Hi Whitewing,

I'm assuming the low iron was due to blood loss from the fibroids. This should be corrected by now, so you should only be continuing iron if an iron panel of tests shows you are deficient, and you've stated that your iron is now normal. Iron should not be continued if it isn't needed.

Your numbers are borderline for thal minor. For beta minor, MCV, MCH and MCHC would usually be a little lower. Your numbers are right on for an alpha thal silent carrier, including the normal Hb level. The RBC count is also elevated, indicating thalassemia may be present. This number is lowered in iron deficiency. A hemoglobin electrophoresis might help, but if it's alpha trait, an electrophoresis probably won't reveal it. A DNA analysis would answer most questions, but insurance would be needed. It could be either, but from the limited information available, it looks more like alpha trait than beta trait. Without the possibility of passing it onto children, it does make a tougher case for getting insurance coverage for testing, as thal minor is officially considered to be asymptomatic, even though it is symptomatic for many people.

Hi Andy,

Thank you for your response. My current doctor had advised continuing to take iron because although my iron levels were within the normal range, they were on the low end of normal. My total iron was 61, my % saturation was 21 and my iron binding capacity was 292.