Question:
What does it mean if my hemiglobin is low, but my iron is okay?
— Kalena B. (posted on December 16, 2004)
December 16, 2004
What are the other numbers? Ferritin? Hct? WBC, RBC? MVC? MCH? Is it just
ONE number slightly out of whack? Or several mumbers? And lots out of whack
or just a smidge?
— vitalady
December 16, 2004
Michelle, My hemiglobin is 10.5, HCT is 33.6, MCV is 70.3, MCH is22.0, MCHC
is 31.3, and MPV is 6.6. My ferritin is 39, my iron is 64, and my
transferrin sat is 17. Does that help? Thanks, Kalena
— Kalena B.
December 16, 2004
HI I too am having problems with anemia they won't even let me turn in for
approval. I wish I could just figure out how to fix this problem. My
hemolglobin is low and the funny thing (not really so funny) is that they
have tested my iron and found that I am at a 0.1 When its supposed to be
between 60-150 so basically they said I have none. My wbc is 7.7,rbc 3.23
hgb 7.5 hct 24.mcv 68.1mch 22.5 Its been real disapointing to hear this
news. I have been taking 3 iron pills a day but they don't register in my
body as if i havn't taken any.Did the insurance approve you even though
your enemic? Congratulations on your approval:-) Tory
— tory F.
December 16, 2004
Thanks, Tory! I was approved by my insurance company but I am afraid that
the approval will expire before I am able to get my hemiglobin up. Have you
tried a different type of iron? I am trying Ironchel 18 from GNC because it
is supposed to be more absorbable. I'm not sure exactly what my problem is
though because although my iron was low, it was within the normal range. I
just need to figure out how to get my hemiglobin number up to 12. Let me
know how things are going for you and thanks again for the encouraging
words. Kalena
— Kalena B.
December 17, 2004
I think I need a little more info, but one question is...do you eat red
meat? That would naturally help increase your hemaglobin. The reason why
you can't have surgery is because if something occurs, as it did with me,
and you bleed during surgery, you have no hemaglobin to work with. Luckily
I had enough. I lost down to a 7.2 hemaglobin. I started at a 14. So you
see how devistating it would be for you to go into surgery like you are.
Eat a lot of red meat along with taking the iron. Also the iron might cause
constipation, so take a stool softener if needed. Hope this helps some...
— debi327
December 17, 2004
Hi Kalena! I can't tell from your profile which WLS you're having, but if
it involves malabsorption of iron (as the RNY does), well, in your shoes,
I'd wanna figure out *why* I'm anemic as a pre-op, because post-op you'll
malabsorb iron and possibly have an even bigger problem on your hands. To
the point, theoretically, where you might want to re-think having a
malaborption surgery. Perhaps not, but I'd do some research on this and go
in, eyes wide open, to what may lie ahead if you're anemic as a
pre-op.<P>Perhaps a consult with a hematologist would be useful.
Some docs might consider that alarmist, but given that you may be planning
to undergo a surgery that'll make it even harder for your body to absorb or
retain iron, well, I'd look before I leaped. Betcha there are ways to
treat it, but I wouldn't stop at shopping for the best OTC iron available
at GNC -- I'd dig further.<P>RNY patients sometimes develop iron
deficiencies even if they're taking prescription iron supps. I have since
my surgery 2 1/2 years ago, and my ferritin has tanked *anyway*. Evidently
this is not uncommon at the 2-year post-op mark (or sooner, or later, or
never . . . we're all different). There are a number of ways to deal with
this, BUT, if I'd started *out* anemic, or prone to anemia, I imagine it'd
be even tougher to tackle the issue. JMHO.
— Suzy C.
December 18, 2004
I'm with Suzy, you need to figure this out before undergoing a
malabsorptive procedure. My numbers were always good before surgery yet I
now have some problems with hemoglobin. Mine was fine till I had my first
PS and since then we've struggled to get it back to normal. We did manage
it after I had iron infusions but then I had another PS and it dropped
again to 10.3. It did get up to 12.6 after the infusions. However, I had
PS 2 months after I had the infusions so I don't know if it would have held
long term. I am trying some different types of iron pills to see if I can
get it up, but if not I'll have to do the infusions again.
— zoedogcbr
December 18, 2004
OK, so far, so good. How many of those 18mg are you taking? with vit C,
but not with fairy, caffeine, eggs or whole grains, right?
— vitalady
December 18, 2004
Make that DAIRY. sigh. if you have a fairy there to help you, then by all
means, keep him/her! Or send it to me to help my typing!
— vitalady
December 19, 2004
Thanks, Michelle! No, no fairy here, but I think I may have been taking it
with some grains or dairy products. I will keep that in mind and keep
trying. Please feel free to offer any more suggestions. By the way , I'm
having RNY. Thanks, Kalena
— Kalena B.
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