Hi,
About a week after my monthly blood test I am sent a print out of my blood test results. Yes I am checked for aneamia every time. If my blood count is low, which it is from time to time, my surgery rings to tell me to make a telephone app. with a G.P. I would think that everyones is checked as a matter of course in our situation. Could you ring the nurse who does your test to check?
Zena x

I`m like Zena, I get a print-out of my bloods about 3 days after the blood tests at my GP surgery. If there`s a problem he always phones me, and about six months ago there was a problem with my iron levels, so I was given a three month course of iron tablets. When they were finished my iron levels were OK, so I`m no taking iron at the moment. If your surgery doesn`t check this you could ask them to.

Kathleen x

I checked with a friend who was head of a bloods lab before RA forced her to give up work a year ago and she assured me that the regular Mtx blood monitoring would include an anaemia test. Thanks for that info on fatigue and infections Sylvia. This makes sense as I've only had one cold in a year and a half whereas before RA I'd get around 5 per year.

Clearly some areas of confusion and misinformation are brewing here!

With RA we have over-active immune systems which basically target bits that it wouldn't normally be bothered with such as joints, lungs, heart etc. Majority of the drugs used in the treatment of RA suppress the immune system (ie it no longer works as well as it should) in order to control the inflammation and any subsequent tissue damage. This leaves us MORE susceptible to infections and hence the need to be aware of this possibility. Some of us are just less prone to common colds etc. and this can change with age and environmental factors, be glad and make the most of it!

The normal methotrexate blood monitoring does include a check for Haemaglobin levels. These are the proteins in the blood that carry oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues and returns carbon dioxide to the lungs. A lower than normal (11.5-18g/dl) count is indicative of anaemia but this is usually checked out by a Ferritin count to check the precise levels of iron in the blood. Those with RA tend to have low Haemaglobin readings due to the nature of the disease, it doesn't always mean that the anaemia needs treating.

The patient monitoring book, for those who are unsure of its purpose, is used to record blood test results and other tests. It is used in instances where there is shared care, such as GP and Rheumatologist, to ensure that all results are available to all parties at all appointments. Be careful when using the guidelines for 'normal values'; often laboratories use different ranges and frequently levels for men are quite different to those used for women. The values also change with a person's age! They are just guidelines!

Hope this helps

Lyn x

I've found a thread that I started some time ago (two years), you may find it interesting. It is about the immune system and a helpline I once rang up and what I was told about my immune system and probably, according to them why I developed RA

http://www.nras.org.uk/m...aspx?g=posts&t=1156

Paula x

Thanks LynW for your clarification - I'm sorry if I mislead anyone about getting bugs etc. I've only been diagnosed for a month and hence have only been taking DMARDs for a month! What I meant is that I haven't been getting many colds etc prior to my diagnosis - in retrospect my RA was very active (lots of pain and swelling) but I didn't know what it was and of course I wasn't taking any RA medication. The nurse explained that the pain and swelling was due to an ever-active immune system that fought off any bugs that I was exposed to plus it attacked my own tissues - however, now that I am on MTX my immune system will be suppressed and I am more likely to get colds/flu etc, so I will need to have a flu jab to minimise that risk.

Fingers crossed that meds work as intended!

Sylvia xx