Iron Deficiency?

Hello Everyone:

I'm a 41 yr old caucasian male. In October 2010 I had a physical done 5 days after running a half marathon. CBC results showed Hgb was 14.2, Hct was 42.8 and RBC was 4.58. I inquired about the low RBC and was told by the doctor that they were only concerned about Hgb and Hct and even though they were on the lower end of normal that was OK.

I have recently been undergoing treatment for a dull pain in my right abdomen with occasional bloating. I had a abdominal ultra sound and liver function test that were both OK. My PCP diagnosed IBS and I have a follow up with a Gastro Doc in a couple weeks to confirm this. In the meantime I have taken a second CBC and CMP for comparison to the October test. The second test showed Hgb of 14.8, Hct 44.1 and RBC 4.86. This test also measured serum iron which the first test did not. It was 60ug/dl. However, this lab indicated a range of 40-155ug/dl as being normal. Most sites I have seen indicate that 65 is the lower limit for adult men.

I donated blood in July 2010 and January 2011. I also was training for a marathon until about 2 weeks ago. I had worked up to about 14miles before deciding to drop out because of my health issues.

My question is, could the blood donation and training account for the lower numbers on the blood tests? And how low is a serum of 60 considered to be for an adult male? Are there any tests you would recommend?

Thanks,

M. VanDorn

Below is a full comparison between my Oct 2010 and April 2011 tests:

Value    Oct10   Apl11
Hct        42.8    44.1
Hgb        14.2    14.8
MCHC      33.3    33.6
MCH        NA    30.5
MCV        94    91
Platelets  175   197
RBC        4.58     4.86
RDW       15.1     13.6
WBC        5.0   6.5
Iron        NA   60