Low blood protein? And other blood test questions...

[TXBeth]

Anyone here know anything about this kind of stuff? (warning: this may be long, but I'll try to condense).

 

In May, I had a regular physical, which included labs. My blood protein was on the low side of normal (6.3), which the Globulin just a bit outside of normal (2.1). The doctor said it's no big deal for globulin to be low. I was feeling tired a lot, having heart palpitations occasionally, and getting dizzy sometimes, so she also checked my thyroid, which came back normal.

 

Fast forward to now - I have been donating plasma regularly, and my hematocrit from the fingerstick is always borderline low, so I started taking iron supplements. Recently, they took a vial to send to the lab for a more accurate test (they do it every 3 months), and my total blood protein level came back 5.6.

 

The screener at the plasma center said to eat plenty of lean meat, beans, etc., and they will test me again sometime next week to see if it has improved enough to continue donating. However, everything I have seen online says that eating more protein does not increase your blood protein level. They say that outside of sever malnutrition, low blood protein is a sign of some other problem rather than a dietary deficiency.

 

At this point, I'm not really concerned about donating plasma, but I'm wondering if low blood protein is something I should be worried about. Should I call my doctor and tell her about this outside test?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Beth

 

P.S. Almost forgot, if it matters, the other abnormal result on my bloodwork was that creatinine was a tad low (.53), which the doctor also said doesn't matter.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Don't know anything about it, but bumping it for you. Maybe some nursey-type people will know more.

[TXBeth]

:::bump::: anyone?

[Twigs]

Total Protein:

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/tp/test.html

 

Creatinine:

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/creatinine/test.html

 

 

Here is a quote from Lab Tests Online about reference ranges. Unless you are absolutely sure that your 2 protein tests were done by the same laboratory using the same methods, don't try to compare the 2 values (6.3 / 5.6) you received.http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/ref_ranges.html

 

In general, reference ranges are specific to the laboratory that produces the test results. For many analytes, different laboratories use different kinds of equipment and different kinds of testing methods. This means that each laboratory must establish its own reference ranges using data from its own equipment and methods. The laboratory must supply your test result with an accompanying reference range on the laboratory report. Consequently, there is no such thing as a standard reference range. Of course, each test does have a theoretical reference range that we could include on this site, which can be found in many books and other online sources, but it may have little diagnostic meaning for you. You and your doctor should apply the reference range supplied by the laboratory performing the test.

 

Best wishes