I got results back from my blood tests today and my hemoglobin was 11.1 and my hemocrit was 33%. I had the blood test last Tuesday the 7th, but about a week or 2 before that I was able to give blood with a hemoglobin level of 12.6. What could be a cause in such a sudden drop?? I have an eating disorder and have been restricting and purging, but my nutritionist said it shouldn’t drop that much that quickly. I’ve also experienced chest pain (I had it constant for about 3 days last week), pain in my right lower back sometimes when I pee, and swollen lymph nodes behind my right ear. Also about a month or so ago I had visible blood in my urine. My nutritionist also mentioned something about my BUN levels being abnormal. Is there anything to be concerned about??
Answered by Maria/MDHealthForum.com Team
You can not afford to take those symptoms lightly. In your case, the drop in hemoglobin level could be the complication your eating disorder. Inadequate food intake could lead to anemia because your body does not get sufficient amount of vitamins and dietary minerals that are required to produce red blood cells. A further drop in hemoglobin level may cause life-threatening complications such as cardiac problems.
Another manifestation of eating disorders is dehydration due to inadequate fluid intake and it is one reason why your BUN level is not within normal range. The pain in your lower back and presence of blood in your urine could be due to infection or kidney disease.
Some people would probably force you to eat but it won’t be easy for you to so. Eating disorders are rather complicated in nature and can’t be cured overnight, overcoming it would require professional help. Now that you are suffering from dangerous effects of eating disorder, it’s best to see your primary care physician who will take your health history, perform physical examination and request for blood test. From there, treatment plan will be formulated.
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