Anni... good luck! / e's anemia question

[Guest guest]

Dear Anni,

I'm glad you found some help in my post. And I am wishing you the best of

luck with your myo tomorrow as well as with your recovery.

I'll be sending you POSITIVE ENERGY tomorrow so that you fly through

everything with excellent results.

Your last post had a sense of relief in the words. Glad that you are no

longer worried about consent forms and paperwork. If you make your wishes

known to your surgeon prior to your procedure, you will have peace of mind

that he knows what your expectations of the outcome will be, and you will go

under anesthetic feeling relieved which makes you a better surgery patient.

I am looking forward to hearing how you are feeling in your next post when

you are back to the computer again.

May the angels rest on both your shoulders tomorrow!

Hugs,

:)Sonja

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Hello e,

I agree with the other ladies here. It is not unusual for a severely anemic

woman to still be anemic many months after resolution of her bleeding issues

no matter how much she eats iron-rich foods.

It takes 6-8 weeks for your bone marrow to build new red blood cells. So if

you are at a hemoglobin level of 6.0 at your worst, it will take you longer

to rebuild your blood counts if you are still having regular periods. That

old story of one step forward and two steps back.

I certainly agree with jenficks " jenficks@... who suggested that your

iron supplemetation may not be high enough. I too was taking iron pills

along with eating red meats, green veggies, and even molasses. But since I

was still bleeding my hemoglobin level climbed very slowly. I never was

able to elevate it above 10.0 while taking a regular dose of iron pills.

But after seeing a new doctor who performed my resections, he suggested

multiplying my regular dose of ferrous sulfate (325mg) four times. He said

that would be close to toxic for someone who does not have depleted iron

stores and severe anemia. But with diet alone, my body was not able to get

all the iron it nneded to build my red blood cells. So since I was

extremely depleted, the four pills a day was not toxic in the least.

So I bought more ferrous sulfate and began taking 1300mg daily. At this

time I was going through my multiple resection surgeries which meant some

blood loss during the procedures. My hemoglobin was at 9.1 when I started

the higher dose of iron and even with the surgical blood loss four months

later I had a count of 12.5! I can't tell you how much better I felt.

My doctor then suggested that I half my iron dose, but continue to take

650mg for two more months when my blood was tested again. Now I am only

taking iron at the regular 325mg + the 60mg in my prenatal vitamin. I am

TTC so I have to carefully watch my iron levels.

You can buy ferrous sulfate pills at any pharmacy. They are behind the

counter, but you don't need a prescription. Just ask the pharmacist for

several boxes. They are cheap too. 100 pills will cost you $2.99!

But three things first...

1. Be sure you ask your doctor's opinion first before you increase your iron

dosage. Iron can be toxic, and you do want to be sure you're monitored if

you are elevating your intake. That way you can ask to have your blood

levels checked every few months too for your own records.

2. Ferrous sulfate may be the cheapest form of iron supps, but it is not

completely absorbable. This means that it may cause constipation. Be sure

to eat prunes or bran in the meal following the iron pills. I did this and

had no problems. Don't eat bran with the pills or you may lose more of the

iron. I took my pills throughout the day so that my body had a constant

source of iron at each meal. It initially gave me a slow bowel, but after a

few days my GI tract adjusted. Just be sure to continue to eat

fiber-rich foods between your meals (ie. apples, crunchy veggies, dried

fruit, nuts, and whole grain breads.)

3. About exercise... be careful. If you are fainting your poor heart is

working hard enough to pump your red blood cells around your body. Avoid any

heavy cardiovascular exercise until your Hmg level rises above at least 11.0

and your Hct above 30%. If you feel you need to keep your body moving go

out and take a nice long walk. It will be refreshing and will not increase

your cardiac output as high as running, working out on a machine, or lifting

weights. Ask your doctor his/her opinion. You don't want to elevate your

risk of a stroke.

Good luck to you my dear. I'm glad your bleeding issues are much improved,

now let's get that energy level back to normal. It's amazing how crappy you

feel when you're anemic, and after living like that for so long, you really

don't realize it until you begin to feel better by getting your hemoglobin

and hematocrit back to regular levels. I thought I was going to feel tired

the rest of my life. But now with a Hmg of 12.5 I can run again and when I'm

tired it's because I need to get some sleep!

Let's hope you get there too!

my best,

:)Sonja

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