MDS - "Yellow" skin tone
 

I'm often dismayed to see how "yellow" my skin tone is at times. I know that MDS patients can be pale, but is this yellowish tone typical of MDS?

My last CBC which is fairly typical showed the following lows/highs: WBC 1.3, Neut 0.6, Lymph 0.4, Mono 0.4, RBC 3.34, Hgb 112, MCH 33.4, PLT 147. Nothing drastic there!

Except for globulins which sit around 21, my 4-weekly UEC/LFT results have been normal all year with average Bilirubin 17. My LDH average is 177.

Is there anything else that could be causing this yellow tone or is this normal for MDS patients? Are there other tests besides CBC, UEC and LDH which I should be requesting. I feel reasonably well most of the time.

Do you by chance eat or juice a lot of carrots?

Ashy color
 

I notice that on my husband, but his is more ashy colored tinged with yellow. dr just said ashy- and said his eyes were not yellow, so they werent worried.

Do you mean a bilirubin of 1.7 or 17?

Iron overload can cause an ashen/grayish color in the skin.

I am also ashen-gray with a tinge of yellow. Not the best look :) I probably should eat more carrots and don't have iron overload. I am not sure what the cause is...

Thanks for contributing to this discussion.

1. No - don't eat a lot of carrots.
2. How would I know if I'm suffering from iron overload? I shouldn't be as I don't have transfusions of red blood - only infusions of gamma globulin which are plasma-based (clear)
3. The normal range for bilirubin on my blood results is 3-20 and mine is 17.
4. The whites of my eyes aren't yellow (that sounds odd!).

Maybe it's cancer colour, though I don't think of myself as having cancer as my blasts are in normal range. I've seen people with other types of cancer who look yellowish.

Cheryl,

Iron: At some point, they probably tested your ferritin levels. If they are high, that usually indicates too much iron. If it's been a while, you could get them to test it again. Transfusions are not the only cause of iron overload. So find out what your ferritin is. It's always good to know the baseline level.

Anemia: The lack of red blood cell can change your skin's color. Especially if you have warm/yellow/olive undertones naturally then it would be more apparent with the lack of blood.

Nutritional: Insufficient B & C vitamins, magnesium and copper can affect skin color also.

Marlene

Thanks Marlene. I'm freckly rather than olive complexioned, but on checking, my husband's base skin colour (inside wrist) is much pinker than mine so maybe I naturally have a yellower skin base, but I've never noticed my face looking yellowy until the last couple of years. I'll ask my GP if I can have copper, B12 and ferritin tested again as it's a long time since I had those done.

I've been told the same thing - that I looked quite 'yellow'. I know this may sound funny but I feel it changes a lot, from pale to yellow/ashen to pink (and often in the same day!). It became really quite distressing for me and I think it impacted my interactions with people, becoming more shy, less social than I otherwise have been. (Liver tests and all that have been consistently normal).

But in the last year, it's become especially apparent to me as my Hgb has largely recovered in this time and a more 'normal' complexion has returned; people have been commenting on how 'much better' or 'well' I look and I can clearly see it -- not so yellow anymore.

I think it is an often under-appreciated sign of profound anemia; as I live and work in a busy large city, every day I am in crowds - on the train, the street, the bus - and I observe people's complexion more. From time-to-time, I will notice the same pallor in the faces of others and quietly hope they are getting their blood tested.