Question:
Anyone have a hemaglobin of 7 or lower???? Is this really BAD?

Hi All: I have had my labs done 3 times in the last 7 weeks, one due to some foot surgery, #2 a follow up and #3 just a verification of the labs. Consistently, my hemaglobin count has gone down hill from 9.4 to 8.8 to 7.1 What is up with this...One Dr says I am just a nemic and I need to take Iron pills and the other wants to to a colonoscopy and endoscopy to see if and where I am bleeding from. I am really confused at this point. Is this just something a pill can fix or should I get the "reaming" done in 2 weeks. Thanks for your help..... :)    — Joi G. (posted on April 30, 2004)

April 30, 2004
I had my labs come back 4 years ago with basically very low blood, 4.5 and hardly any feritin. My primary doctor had me get scoped both ways just to make sure there was nothing wrong. What it turned out to be was a huge cyst, like 17 cm by 17 cm by 16 cm on my right ovary. It was filled with blood. They operated and took out the ovary and cysts and I haven't had any trouble to date. The one good thing that came out of it was I met my gastric bypass surgeon. He was the attending and talked with me while I was in the hospital. Unfortunately at the time, I just wanted to feel better and didn't make a decision until almost 18 months later. Wished I hadn't waited.
   — Sue F.

April 30, 2004
It's best to let them check everything out. 7.1 is quite low. Mine was lower than that but it was after 10 hours of surgery and losing almost 5 units of blood. You will likely feel so much better after it is back up where it needs to be also. Some WL patients do need to take iron supplements. It's something that does need to get resolved. Yes a pill can solve it, if there isn't something wrong that is bleeding away. However, if you were bleeding in the colon tract that should be showing up in your stool. A simple stool test will indicate if there is any blood there. If not, then I would try the iron pills for a month and see what that does. If that doesn't work then you really have to go through the tests.
   — zoedogcbr

April 30, 2004
The fact that your Hgb keeps dropping would make doctors suspicious of some bleeding somewhere, and the GI tract is the most likley place. Most hospitalized patients are considered ready for a blood transfusion when they get down to a hemaglobin of 7. You would be wise to get the scopes done as soon as possible. It may not be as simple as just taking extra iron. You could have an ulcer somewhere that might require a different kind of medication to heal. Your doctor really needs to know what the problem is before he can adequately treat it. I would try to see if they couldn't do those scopes sooner than 2 weeks. This is a pretty serious thing. Hope everything goes well!
   — koogy

February 20, 2010
I've had recurrent anemia (lowest h&h 6/22), despite oral iron supplements. Eventually started having IV iron (Venofer) which works wonders. Have never been able to adequately manage anemia. Still struggling 10 yrs post op. Trying to work with my PCP to come up with plan to avoid iron deficiency instead of fixing it when symptoms arise.
   — bubbasgirl