Rouleaux blood formation

[t10179uhn]

HI all,

Just saw a naturopath and saw I had significant Rouleaux formation in my red blood cells.  He said it could be from dehydration and also said it looked like I had low protein (I am a vegetarian).  

I am also 14w pregnant and he does not see pregnant women often.  So my question is, could the rouleaux formation be due to my pregnancy, potentially from the higher ESR and fibrinogen levels?

thanks everyone!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
In pregnancy the formation of rouleaux may indicate some infection, anemia, or diabetes (maybe even gestational diabetes). Hence all these need to be investigated. Inflammatory and connective tissue disorders are the other causes. It can also be due to cancer. However, please do not worry about these causes until the normal pregnancy associated causes are ruled out. Please consult a gynecologist once. Take care!