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Blood test - low sodium levels?

CaraH

Has anyone got any ideas as to what could be causing a lower than usual sodium concentration in the blood?

Reply 1

Ataloss

13

There are lots and lots of conditions that cause hyponatraemia (low sodium level). It is impossible to even hazard a guess without any medical history etc...

Who arranged the blood test and why? Surely they explained potential reasons why it might be low and a future management plan to you.

Reply 2

CaraH

OP

this is not for me - my grandad he has been in hospital with a chest infection and they are investigating what keeps causing this chest infection to keep persisting (they have ruled out lung cancer, heart is fine) - basically his only other medical condition is parkinsons? any suggestions?

Reply 3

Ataloss

13

CaraH

this is not for me - my grandad he has been in hospital with a chest infection and they are investigating what keeps causing this chest infection to keep persisting (they have ruled out lung cancer, heart is fine) - basically his only other medical condition is parkinsons? any suggestions?

I do not mean this to sound rude or nasty and I apologise if it does.

However, if a Consultant physician with access to a range of investigations and a full medical history is struggling to reach a definitive diagnosis there is nobody on this site that is going to be able to do so.

I hope everything works out for your grandad and that a diagnosis is reached soon.

Best wishes.

Reply 4

CaraH

OP

No thats ok, just curious because the doctors at the hospital havent really communicated with us that much! :rolleyes:

Reply 5

Ataloss

13

CaraH

No thats ok, just curious because the doctors at the hospital havent really communicated with us that much! :rolleyes:

Often the best thing to do in this situation is to speak to the Consultant's Secretary to arrange an appointment to discuss your worries. Generally, this will only comprise 5-10 minutes during a ward round - but hopefully that will be enough to give you a clearer picture. Many Consultants are more than happy to do this.

Best of luck.

Reply 6

viviki

14

just to turn this into a general blood test thread, because I don't want to start a new related thread. Having a full blood count done will it show up all vitamin deficiencies?

Reply 7

Ataloss

13

viviki

just to turn this into a general blood test thread, because I don't want to start a new related thread. Having a full blood count done will it show up all vitamin deficiencies?

A full blood count itself will not show up any vitamin deficiencies. It may lead to a suspicion to a Vitamin B12 deficiency, but that is it. It is very rare to test for other vitamin deficiencies by blood test.

A full blood count comprises:-

Haemoglobin level - basically to test for anaemia.
Mean Corpuscle Volume - the size of the red cells (which may give a clue to a vitamin B12 deficiency)
White cell count - basically to look for infection
Platelet count

There are other parts to it - but they are more specialised.

Hope that is useful Viviki. If you have any further question - please feel free to PM me. Best of luck.

Reply 8

viviki

14

Ataloss

A full blood count itself will not show up any vitamin deficiencies. It may lead to a suspicion to a Vitamin B12 deficiency, but that is it. It is very rare to test for other vitamin deficiencies by blood test.

A full blood count comprises:-

Haemoglobin level - basically to test for anaemia.
Mean Corpuscle Volume - the size of the red cells (which may give a clue to a vitamin B12 deficiency)
White cell count - basically to look for infection
Platelet count

There are other parts to it - but they are more specialised.

Hope that is useful Viviki. If you have any further question - please feel free to PM me. Best of luck.

Its B12 that I was wondering about so that is useful info cheers.

Reply 9

Ataloss

13

viviki

Its B12 that I was wondering about so that is useful info cheers.

Cool - glad info was useful.

If the blood test comes back and shows your red cells are large then the GP will probably arrange for you to have another blood test called "haematinics". This will look at a number of things - including vitamin B12 and folic acid - to confirm for certain if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Good luck.

Reply 10

Ataloss

13

lessthanthree

*reps ataloss*

awwwww - thanks lessthanthree. :redface:

Really nice of you - its appreciated. :smile:

Blood test - low sodium levels?

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