i'm still anemic - i'm still freezing in 25 degree weather, and i'm still exhausted. but, the pills are apparently working, and i should stick at them.
my cbc is a little better than previous cbcs, with everything in the normal range except those large rbcs, which are just a tad big. but, again - the mcv's range for this lab are smaller than standard. i have four data points now, and the mcv is in the 95-97 range for each of them; this lab puts the cut-off for "normal" at 95, but most suggest up to 100 is normal.
i wanted to test for spleen bleeding, because my shoulder has been bugging me (and that's apparently a symptom of a ruptured spleen). the tests came back fine. they tested for reticulocytes to determine if i'm overproducing to compensate for blood loss and it's fine - indicating that i was probably producing almost no blood at all, previously. there's no blood in my urine (and no nitrites, either). and, my urine albumin is so low they couldn't even calculate the ratio.
so, there's no evidence that i'm bleeding anywhere, and i'm reacting well to the iron pills - suggesting it was an absorption issue. as previously, every other test except the iron-related ones have comeback more or less ideal.
annoyingly, the lab didn't release zinc levels, which would help me better understand the nature of the absorption issue. i'll have to call the doctor and ask for the full report to be mailed to me on monday, as that's the only actual actionable result here, given that i know the pills are working.
so, i guess i need to sleep it off until it gets better.