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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / January 2005

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MCV levels

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Mary - 06 Jan 2005 14:14 GMT
The last time I was at my Rheumatologist, he said the blood tests showed
that my MCV levels were elevated.  He had me go to 2 folic acid pills a day
but no other changes.  I have another blood test in about 3 weeks and see
him again the first week of Feb.  Does anyone have any information about MCV
levels?  Thanks.
MaryB
firechief - 06 Jan 2005 19:19 GMT
>  Does anyone have any information about MCV levels?

Only that it is "mean corpuscular volume."
deT notsuH - 06 Jan 2005 19:27 GMT
Among other sites:
http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/003648.cfm
See also section III at:
http://www.lloyd1.com/uthman/nutritional_anemia/nutritional_anemia.html
as well as Part 2 of that series.

MCV is one of the index tests of red blood cell counts.  A high
MCV means you are "macrocytic", (which means your red blood cells
are larger than they should be).  Besides folic acid deficiency,
the other major cause for this would be vitamin B12 deficiency.
Of course, there are other, rarer, causes, too.  If you are
taking MTX, which acts against folic acid, then maybe that is why.
Usually you need to take 400mcg or more when you are on MTX.  If
you eat plenty of veggies and fresh fruit, and are NOT taking
MTX, you shouldn't need more than 400mcg folic acid a day (the
daily value is 200mcg).  There are few side effects of larger doses
of folic acid, HOWEVER, it *can* mask vitamin B12 deficiency (esp
if all they look at is MCV).  But that doesn't mean compensating
by taking more B12.  You may not actually be deficient in B12
(unless you are a strict vegan), but actually have impaired
absorption due to pernicious anemia (lack of a helper called
intrinsic factor) and is common in elderly patients and those
that have lower than normal digestive enzymes.  You can take
tons, but if it isn't going to be absorbed, what good is that?
A funfact that I like about B12 is that the bacteria in our guts
actually cause us to poop out more B12 than we consume, which
demonstrates that B12 deficiency is rarely due to a lack of
availability.  B12 only comes from animal sources, which is why
I said strict vegans can be deficient by diet.

> The last time I was at my Rheumatologist, he said the blood tests showed
> that my MCV levels were elevated.  He had me go to 2 folic acid pills a day
> but no other changes.  I have another blood test in about 3 weeks and see
> him again the first week of Feb.  Does anyone have any information about MCV
> levels?  Thanks.
> MaryB
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deT notsuH             bass-ackwards       ude.hcimu@pcird
Q: "My hair is falling out. What can I use to keep it in?"
A: A shoebox.

Mary - 06 Jan 2005 20:24 GMT
I am on Methotrexate so that may be the cause of it.
Thanks for the resources...I'll check them out.
MaryB

> Among other sites:
> http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/003648.cfm
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> > levels?  Thanks.
> > MaryB
 
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