What causes low blood counts?

Best to ask your doctor, since it could probably result from a number of different conditions. Anemia usually has to do with a shortage of red blood cells or iron. Your doctor will know better than anyone else will in this specific case, though.

Welcome to Fluther. I’m a doctor and will try to help. As mentioned above, there are a number of things that can cause anemia. As a woman, the likeliest explanation is iron deficiency, owing to blood (and iron) loss during mentruation, pregnancy (iron transfer to the fetus) and birth (heavy blood loss). Coupled with possible poor iron intake, and you can become iron deficient. Now, with that said, I assume your doctor has done a battery of tests already to determine the cause of your anemia. Iron deficiency is easy to determine with blood tests, and, if you are iron deficient, you should certainly be taking iron supplements. Beyond that, the nature of the preliminary tests will direct the subsequent evaluation, so it is tough to speculate without knowing the results of those tests.

1st hand experience-don’t just accept it as a “woman” thing over the long term. I was a 5–6 times a year blood donor and so was tested often. Once or twice a year I would be just a little too anemic. After 45 I finally got a job with excellent health insurance and the doctor started to question it. We did the whole thing, high iron foods to iron tabs-nothing improved. Then she started looking for something including a couple of fecal occult samples. Meanwhile I began to FEEL anemic, difficulty standing up, walking, lower energy. But I just thought, pre menepausal, older woman-get used to it. Then one day walking quickly across a room I couldn’t catch my breath and was rushed to the ER. It turned out I was seriously anemic. Again a lot of tests including sigmoidoscopy-nothing. Finally a second colonoscopy in 3 years-stage 2 colon cancer.

If there is something wrong-find out why.

@galileogirl. You are correct that not all anemia evaluations (or other low blood count evaluations) are the same. Only a doctor who can take a detailed history and do a physical examination can sort out whether there are warning signs of a serious problem (such as yours) or not. Some of these would include jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), stomach pains (possible ulcer), vomiting blood (ulcer and other things), change in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss and fevers.

As for your diagnosis of colon cancer, you are fortunate to have had a persistent and curious doctor. However, it is quite possible that you actually had two issues, namely, iron deficiency from daily losses, AND, eventually, iron losses from gastrointestinal bleeding accompanying your cancer.

Shilolo, my point is don’t accept something chronically off as just a ‘woman’ thing.