—EXPERTS CALL IT: “Complete blood count (CBC)” or “hemogram” —IT
TELLS YOU: Whether your immune system is fighting infection, whether
you are anemic and whether you have a bleeding or blood disorder —TAKE
IT: Every three months if you’re on meds. If not on meds, with your
annual physical and for symptoms like fatigue, fever, bruising, bleeding. —RESULTS IN: 1 day
M. Lo Talks: “I don’t ever want to go through that again,” Michelle says of her encounters
with anemia. “I didn’t even want to get up and take a shower or do
things for my kids. But the last two times, the Procrit pretty quickly
brought me back to normal.”
Counting blood cells—red ones, white
ones and platelets—is fast and easy, and the test is a staple for
HIVers. It can offer key evidence to support a diagnosis for common
complaints, such as anemia—a problem for Michelle—or, worse, pneumonia,
bone-marrow disease or cancer. And it can monitor some of the side
effects of HIV meds.
DEFENSE! White blood cells (WBC), produced in your bone marrow, are your body’s front line against
infection—what it’s all about for HIVers. A high WBC count suggests a
battle is already underway; a low one could be caused by the effects of
HIV meds, HIV itself or a bone-marrow problem. A normal count is
between 3,500 and 11,000 per cubic millimeter of blood.
THE RED TEAM Hemoglobin
(HGB) helps the other kind of blood cells—the red ones—carry
vital oxygen from your lungs to all your other cells. It runs low in as
many as 20 percent of HIVers (with women and African Americans
especially vulnerable), resulting in a condition called anemia that
causes fatigue, listlessness and shortness of breath.
Some
HIVers get anemia from the virus’ effect on their blood cells, but most
do because of the meds they’re taking. The AZT in Michelle’s current
Trizivir regimen tends to make her anemic, for instance. Drugs like
Procrit stimulate red blood cell production and almost always give your
HGB (read: energy) the necessary boost. Procrit has worked twice for
Michelle. And HIVers who are also iron deficient may be helped by
taking iron supplements (but ask your doc first).
On the other
hand, HIVers on testosterone replacement (for an HIV- or drug-induced
drop in your sex drive or muscle mass) or anabolic steroids (for
wasting) may see hemoglobin run high—and risk damage to the liver and
other organs. Normal HGB for men is 13 to 17 grams per deciliter, while
for women it’s 12 to 16.
Hematocrit (HCT) tells you what
proportion of your blood consists of red blood cells. A low result
(like Michelle’s) confirms you’re anemic; a high one could be from
smoking (or living at a high altitude), but dehydration, lung disease
and certain tumors can also make it spike. For men, a healthy range is
39 to 50 percent; for women, it’s 36 to 46 percent.
CLOTS AND DOTS Platelets
are the tiny, round disks that make your blood clot—and stop
wounds from bleeding. HIVers are prone to low platelet counts (the
condition is called thrombocytopenia). Pink dots on the shins or the
upper palate are early signs that yours are low. The average platelet count
is 140,000 to 400,000 per microliter; the risk of bleeding increases
below 40,000.
