Hey all,

I'm wondering if anyone has ever had experience with a low red blood cell count. I get my bloodwork done every three months due to the medication I'm on for Ulcerative Colitis. My Dr. said everything looked good on my last report, but it shows that I'm low on the red cell count. My hemoglobin and hematocrit are in the normal (albeit lower end) range. I've been anemic before, and know that it makes exercise really difficult. But now that I'm not technically anemic, I'm wondering if the low RBC is having adverse effects on my training.

I'm only obsessing about this right now because I felt like crap the whole time during my last 23 km. ski race, and it just occurred to me that it might be a deficiency.

I'm also wondering if anyone has gone from being a vegetarian to an omnivore and experienced any increase in performance. I don't like the thought of having to eat meat, but if it will help get my blood count up, I may consider it.

Thanks,
Kate