Question on blood work , RDW ??

[Gunsmith]

I was looking at my lat blood test and saw that my RDW was high out of range.

What the hell is that? seems to me that I remember somthing about odd sized red blood cells or somthing?

diden't find aything here in a search and the work comp would allow me to use a search engine

anybody have an idea what this is

 

[iprimate]

I was looking at my lat blood test and saw that my RDW was high out of range.

What the hell is that? seems to me that I remember somthing about odd sized red blood cells or somthing?

diden't find aything here in a search and the work comp would allow me to use a search engine

anybody have an idea what this is

RDW = Red blood cell Distribution Width

RDW is a measure of the variation in red blood cell size. A high (>14.5%) RDW means that your red blood show a high degree of size variation. The RDW alone doesn't mean much, it is normally read in conjunction with your MCV (Mean Corpuscular Volume) i.e. the average volume of each red blood cell. Normal MCV is between 78-98 cubic micrometers. Do you know your MCV?


Refs:
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[Gunsmith]

RDW = Red blood cell Distribution Width

RDW is a measure of the variation in red blood cell size. A high (>14.5%) RDW means that your red blood show a high degree of size variation. The RDW alone doesn't mean much, it is normally read in conjunction with your MCV (Mean Corpuscular Volume) i.e. the average volume of each red blood cell. Normal MCV is between 78-98 cubic micrometers. Do you know your MCV?


My MCV was 86.5 , referance range here says 80.0 - 100.00 FL

Thanks for the links , very helpfull , these numbers make much sense now seeing that I was only taking a multi vit once a day and toward the end I wasen't digesting anything like I should so I was likely passing them right out and the lack of iron from no red meat makes alot of sense as well as the stress on my liver from the stupid doses and length I was on.