Sleep Apnea and Red Blood Cell Count

My PCP sounded the alarms after I was on CPAP for a few months. My red blood cell concentration had fallen precipitously. He said that it fell from very high to near normal, but he was still concerned about the sharp drop. After running many tests (and finding nothing out of the ordinary), he concluded that severe Sleep Apnea must elevate red blood cell count in a manner similar to living at a very high altitude. I don’t think that this was in a the medical literature (at least not at that time), it was just his supposition after ruling everything else out with lab tests.

So maybe this is something for the doctors to look for to question the presence of Sleep Apnea!

And maybe your doctor needs to re-educate himself about things... I've never heard of this before and there could be lots of other incidental reasons for it. Your doctor himself admitted to just having guessed at an answer!

DH is so good he doesn't use a doctor, he wanders the internet instead, asking useless questions about obscure things, Jim

This has been discussed through the years on here and one post from January of this year by Sleeprider contained a link to the Wiki article. Polycythemia. https://en.wikipedia.org/ ... lycythemia The article gives low oxygen as one possible cause, and sleep apnea can cause low oxygen. Seems the jury is still out on whether sleep apnea can cause either polycythemia or erythrocytosis But the conversation is being had in medical circles. Found a few things on PubMed. Could it be that the OP's doctor is ahead of the curve?

There are hundreds of processes going on in the human body, maybe thousands, all are affected by Sleep Apnea, and everything else in the world. Most things we can't do much about, many things we shouldn't. D.H. seems to want to investigate everything no matter if it has reason or worth. If he really was wanted to learn, reading is a good wad, Goggle can help, but in the end there are few answers, just more guesses. My guess is attention is the reason for obscure posts. Jim

The topic itself may have value to someone who has received these abnormal test results. Speaking from my own experiences, the state of not knowing is a hard place to be. Even when one cannot change anything about a condition, gaining any bit of understanding of what is going on can be helpful.

Regardless of the identity, motive or pattern of the poster, if the topic is reasonable it may help someone. About a week ago this OP brought up a topic that was helpful to me by jogging the thought of a connection that hadn't crossed my mind. Even though I've always had broken sleep, I never showed centrals on my reports. The past few months I've been seeing a few every night and wondered why. Hadn't made the connection that the timing coincides with noticing my breathing has worsened and I need to see a doctor to see if my interstitial fibrosis needs to be addressed. Haven't seen a doctor for it in several years. May not be connected, but it merits investigation. Just saying, as long as the topic is valid we can't judge what's useful to the entire forum based on our own needs.

Julie wrote:And maybe your doctor needs to re-educate himself about things... I've never heard of this before and there could be lots of other incidental reasons for it. Your doctor himself admitted to just having guessed at an answer!

He ran every conceivable test for anything that could explain this. Only after all the tests came back negative out did he give utterance to this.

Note that this was in late 1999 or early 2000, and I have not had any problem related to red blood cell count.

So it was something that occurred 16 yrs ago and has apparently resolved? So why did you post as if it was a new thing now? WTH?

Julie wrote:So it was something that occurred 16 yrs ago and has apparently resolved? So why did you post as if it was a new thing now? WTH?

I am suggesting a possible method for screening for Sleep Apnea. After all the tests were negative the doctor seemed convinced that this was the case. The fact that I have not had any further issues related to this seems to confirm that.

Because the current, lame, ineffective methods keep the HMO and insurance company bean-counters happy.
It is all about the bottom line, or haven't you noticed?

chunkyfrog wrote:Because the current, lame, ineffective methods keep the HMO and insurance company bean-counters happy.
It is all about the bottom line, or haven't you noticed?

To find Wisdom, Follow the Money works most of the time. Find who gains $$$, the answer is close by. Jim

chunkyfrog wrote:Because the current, lame, ineffective methods keep the HMO and insurance company bean-counters happy.
It is all about the bottom line, or haven't you noticed?

Perhaps, but if this does prove an accurate screening method, then everybody should be happy.

Low 02 may affect red cell counts but it's unlikely to be much help as a diagnostic tool for OSA. Low 02 is a factor in many (very many) conditions but has little to do with obstructive events or even centrals believed to have neurological origins. It may be PRESENT incidentally in those, as it is in all the other conditions, but would be far down the line I think in specifically diagnosing OSA.

D.H. wrote:after running many tests (and finding nothing out of the ordinary), he concluded that severe Sleep Apnea must elevate red blood cell count in a manner similar to living at a very high altitude. I don’t think that this was in a the medical literature (at least not at that time), it was just his supposition after ruling everything else out with lab tests.

Your doctor should read the summary of some of the literature. It's very easy to find.

Julie wrote:I've never heard of this before

And if Julie hasn't heard of it, it must not be true.

You express a good level of arrogance to go along with your ignorance, Julie.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ncbi+ap ... 8&oe=utf-8

ChicagoGranny wrote:

D.H. wrote:after running many tests (and finding nothing out of the ordinary), he concluded that severe Sleep Apnea must elevate red blood cell count in a manner similar to living at a very high altitude. I don’t think that this was in a the medical literature (at least not at that time), it was just his supposition after ruling everything else out with lab tests.

Your doctor should read the summary of some of the literature. It's very easy to find. . . .

I don't think that this was available on 1999 or 2000 when he decided this. Also, I don't know what research he may have done beyond ruling out all the other known causes.