Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone else had a Bone Marrow biopsy done. I just had one done on Monday. I don’t get the results back until next week. I have EM on my feet and now it’s been crawling up my ankle and chins. Along with EM I have Diabetes type 2, anemia, and two types of neuropathy. So far all the tests they have been doing on me are comming up fine. I hope they find the cause to why I have EM and anemia. Is there anyone else that has the same things as me? And if so, what is your treatment plan?
Thanks, Christina
Anemia is fairly common in pre-menoposal women. (I don’t know if you fall in that group.) I had anemia prior to my erythromelalgia diagnosis. My primary care physician was very concerned, as anemia is unusual in young men. I was sent to a hematologist and diagnosed with an iron deficiency. I responded well to an iron supplement and my hemoglobin/hematocrit rebounded promptly. The cause of the anemia remains of unknown origin. I began having EM symptoms roughly 12 months after the anemia resolved.
I have not had blood work in 2 years and don’t know my current blood count. I don’t feel lethargic and presume the anemia has not returned.
Dear Arz, Have you considered a DNA test? The gene for primary EM is the SCN9A. You may have secondary EM because of your other ailments but it would be interesting perhaps for you to know if your genetic make up could be the major cause. 23&me does genetic testing; and if you don’t add in your ancestry test, the price is reasonable. Good luck. Patricia
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Wow…I didn’t know pre menopause would cause anemia. I will definitely discuss this with my dr.
I got my bone marrow biopsy results back. I have no blood disease nor cancer. I just hope and pray every day that they will figure EM out and help us all with a cure.
Thank you for your feedback!
Sincerely
Christina
Thank you Patricia for that information. I have thought about doing a DNA test just don’t have the money right now.
Women lose blood during menstruation. If a woman frequently has a heavy menstrual cycle, she may become anemic. Anemia is caused by the loss of or inability to create blood. The reason your doctor likely did a bone marrow biopsy was to determine if you had the later, an inability to create blood due to disease. A hematologist can often tell if you have an anemia caused by frequent or heavy menstrual cycles simply through the size and color of your red blood cells. It would appear as a microcytic hypochromic anemia. Microcytic means the red blood cells are small and hypochromic means they are pale (lacking hemoglobin).
Thank you carterdk for that information but I haven’t had a menstrual since 2012. I have had an ENG and a colenoscopy. Those showed up nothing. So then I took a PillCam and that showed a tiny ulcer in the spincter in the stomach. The dr believes this is the cause of my anemia. But I don’t know…