Trying to remain calm but....

LoriD70
on 6/25/12 3:02 am - Fort Lee, NJ
I got my blood test results and it shows that I'm anemic.  I have an appt with my regular doctor tomorrow.  Hopefully she will have a solution or won't think I'm too anemic for the surgery.  I don't want to have this surgery if it puts me at risk but if there is anyway to fix the problem I really hope that's possible.  I have 3 kids under 9 so scheduling surgery that works for all is difficult to say the least.

here are my results so if you have an opinion please feel free to share!

hemoglobin 10.3 (11.1-15.9 is considered normal)
hematocrit 33.1 (34-46.6 considered normal range)
MCV 78 (79-97 normal range)
MCH 24.4 (26.6-33.0 normal range)
MCHC31.1 (31.5-35.7 normal range)
RDW16.0 (12.3-15.4 normal range)
godzilla
on 6/25/12 3:36 am - Israel
Borderline.
I would up your iron intake and take with C.
It is not problematic enough for IV iron or blood.
And fir a non-WLSer it most likely would not even be considered a problem.
Mikimi in Israel
LoriD70
on 6/25/12 6:52 am - Fort Lee, NJ

Thank you for answering!  You made me feel a bit better and my Mom suggested eating cream of wheat (blah) 

godzilla
on 6/25/12 7:25 am - Israel
I take two iron tablets with one C and I do eat best when I can.
After my TT and while in hospital on WoundVac last Sep-Oct I asked and got nest every day for lunch and as of May this year my Hmg was 12.9 which is great for me. The iron we get in Israel is not the best for RnY but my personal Vitamin schedule seems to be doing something right, although my D3 is still rather low at 35.
Be your own doc. Advocate for yourself. Keep a file of things or make an Excell chart.
I see you are quite a while RnY. Do you eat your protein and take your vits? I think eggs are a good source of protein and iron. Insometines eat two or three eggs at a time. My total cholesterol was 167 in May.
Mikimi in Israel
ahansil
on 6/25/12 10:20 am - Hackensack, NJ
Hi Lori
I got my results back today too and I'm actually more defficient
Hemoglobin 10.1
Hematocrit 32.8
MCV 77
MCH 23.5
MCHC 30.8
My Dr is putting me on Ferrex 28.....I only have 2 weeks before my surgery so hopefully my levels will increase within that time frame....
    
LoriD70
on 6/26/12 4:33 am - Fort Lee, NJ
I have 3 weeks before my surgery so when I saw my primary care physican she had no problem signing the consent for the surgery.  Just gave me a RX for Iron that she thought I would have a better time absorbing and said keep eating cream of wheat.  She said cream of wheat is a great idea so my Mom isn't as crazy as I thought :)
Kim Pekin
on 6/25/12 12:19 pm
Take it from me; anemia is nothing to mess around with, especially if you're recovering from surgery.  My hemoglobin got down to 7.2, and I ended up in the hospital with a transfusion about 5 weeks after my surgery.  I got 2 units of blood, which brought me up to 8.8, and I've been ordering weekly CBCs for myself since then.  I just sent another sample to the lab today, and I'm hoping I'm finally above 11.  Being anemic had a huge impact on my recovery, most especially it delayed my wound healing, and I'm still dealing with the effects of that.

My regimen (prescribed by MY hematologist, so your regimen may need to be different) is that I take Floradix Iron + Herbs (30ml 3 times a day), 500 mg of vitamin C every 6 hours, and ferrous fumerate (17 mg three times a day).  Iron can be toxic in high dosages like this, so I'm very carefully following up with labs during this process.  After one week of this regimen, I came up from 8.8 to 9.2.  The following week, I went from 9.2 to 10.2.  Now, as I wait for this week's CBC, I'm hoping it will be 11 (pretty please!!!).

As my hemoglobin has risen, I have seen a lot more vascularity of the wound that I'm trying to heal, and all of my other wounds have dramatically improved.  Based on this, I've decided that when I do my brachioplasty, I will make sure my hemoglobin is above 12 first, and I will do my super iron supplement routine right away after the surgery, monitoring my levels as I go.

Hope this helps you,

  
Banded 8/20/05, Lost 80 #, Regained 40#, De-Banded & VSG 8/13/09
ahansil
on 6/25/12 12:57 pm - Hackensack, NJ
Wow thanks Kim...it sure was helpful to me. I'm hopeful that by week two I'm in the normal range....
    
LoriD70
on 6/26/12 4:35 am - Fort Lee, NJ
You've been through a lot!  I hope I didn't come across as flippant about being anemic because I know it's very serious and much more important to be at a healthy place than have plastic surgery.  I'm hopeful between the new iron supplements and the cream of wheat I won't be anemic before the surgery.
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