question...please help

Hi everyone....I have not been on board sice a year ago when I was getting ready for surgery. So, please allow me to give you a short version of my story and ask your advice.  I had surgery in April a year ago.  I had the lap RNY.  Well, right  before surgery we found out that after 4 failed ectopics and 5 failed IVFs I had a rare blood disorder called factor v leiden.  It is a blood clotting disorder.  So, the dr puts in a IVC filter to catch any clots adn when I had surgery they did the compression hose, heparin, etc but I developed major blood clots in both groins.  The only thing that saved my life was the filter.  So now I take the coumadin every day.  Well, to make things short....I have lost 118 pounds!!!!YEAH!!! but I do have problems.  I have had major chest pains, light headedness, fatique, superficial blood clots in my legs, etc.  Well, I go every Monday to get my  blood drawn for the coumadin.  I am taking a high dosage of it.  As well I take in the AM...przac, 6 iron tablets with 1 viatmin c, milk thistle, sublinqual b-12 adn multivitamin.  At pm it is multivitamin, ambien, xanax, milk thistle, calcium, coumadin and vitamin b-12.  Every 3 weeks I get the b-12 shot.  Today I had cipro added for UTI.  My hemoglobin today was 13.  OK...is this level too low or just right.  The dr is ordering a pulmanry function test to rule out anything lung wise and I have already had the  nuclear stress test and hoter moniter.  Heart looked great.  So, do any of you have any advice.  Waht is the right numbers for hemoglobin?  How do you get it up and keep it up?  (ok...that could be sort of strange question!!! lol) Please...I just need energy to go!!!!  HELP>>>>>thanks in advance... Wendy

 welcome back  congrads on your weight loss but so sad that you have to go thru this I have no ideal about the blood count but just wanted to say hi & thinking & praying for you that all is going to be ok ,have a good week :)

Thanks Becky....how's your tummy tuck process going?   Wendy

Welcome Back! I am not sure about the blood count but if you check on WebMD, you should be able to find out those values.  Also call your Dr. Sorry to hear about the rough road. Hope this helps.

when i was pregnant they would check our hemoglobin and when mine was 13-14 they would say it was "Excellent" .. i think if it goes below 10 its bad. hope u feel better!

Hi Wendy.  Sounds like you have been through the wringer.   Welcome back to the Board.  I don't know about hte blood count, but wanted to say hi and offer encouragement.

The normal reference range at our lab for hgb is 13.9-17.2 g/dl. This will vary slightly depending on the lab.  A hormone called erythropoietin is excreted by the kidney which stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. For this to work there needs to be that proper amounts of building blocks such as iron and protein. If your hgb is low, you may not be making enough because one or more of  the factors is lacking. Or, you could be loosing more hgb due to bleeding secondary to anticoagulation therapy. Either way, you need a diet rich in protein and iron. Your doctor should monitor your H&H, INR, Coumadin and iron levels periodically. You should consult a nutritionist. Many of the foods that are high in iron such as green leafy vegatables are also high in vitamine K, has the opposite effect as the Coumadin.  Are you seeing a heme-onc specialist?

Hi Wendy. I just had my 6 month checkup and my iron was very low.  I went to my PCP today to talk about it and he said it was a 10.  Normal is about 13.  What he told me is that if I needed surgery right now I might not be able to have it because I don't have enough blood in my body.  1 gram of hemoglobin equates to about a pint of blood.  So I'm about 2-3 pints short of a full deck right now.  So he told me to take 1 pill (325 mg) of ferrous sulfate for about 2-3 weeks and then up it to 2 pills for 2-3 weeks and then 3 pills.  He wants to recheck my blood in 2 months.  He also said that iron is hard on the stomach and that is why I had to gradually increase it in case I can't tolerate more than that.  And he said to take it with food. Hope this helps! Susan

Hello-
Congradulations on your weight loss. A hgb (hemoglbin of 13 is good.

I too have had trouble with dizziness and lightheadedness. Mine is realted to my BP being low. I to went through a lot of test with everthing being ruled out.

Can I ask why you are taking milk thistle? I know some people take it for liver problems, however, the clinical trials have shown that it has not been affective. It has side effects like diarhea, nausea, upset stomach and bloating. You can look up this information on nih.gov website (they are doing clinical trials on homopathic medications). Also, some hemopathic medications can cause clotting difficulties (not sure if milkthistle is associated with it).

I too have struggled with my fatigue. However, I do know when I walk to exercise it helps.