[tinathebug]

Initial Blood work at time of diagnosis.

by tinathebug on Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:35 pm

Many of you post that blood work brought myeloma to your doctor's attention and then further tests confirmed it. What were the changes in the normal CBC that caused your doctor to become suspicious?

I was tested for myeloma due to right-side neuropathy and terrible burning bone pain. My doc did an X-ray which revealed a spur on the right knee and a bony island on the right hip, none of which concerned her. She also ran all the blood work for myeloma: M-protein, light chain etc. According to her, these were all normal and I was not given the results.

I have had iron deficiency anemia all my life due to another disorder and wonder how my doc can tell the difference between my current anemia and possible myeloma anemia.
My last CBC with diff:
Calcium: 9.4
Total protein: 6.4
Creatinine: 0.58 low
Anion Gap: 2 low ref range 3-11

When I was initially checked for myeloma in February, I was having fluctuating calcium with the highest being 10.6. Since then it has consistently been normal. My main concern now is the increase of bone pain (mainly back) and the low anion gap but my doc is not concerned. Should I be?