Got my path report yesterday and have a question

tiger367.........You have not been diagnosed by a physician as having anemia. Such a drop in lab values can be temporary and isolated, or chronic. That can be determined by a physician. There are other things that can lower your hemoglobin level, besides anemia.

If you are concerned that you may be anemic, it is important to discuss this with your physician........not his/her nurse. Besides having the authority to diagnose, your physician is the only one with the full picture of your health situation, enabling him/her to best judge/prescribe what remedies are personally best for you.

Everyone's body is different. Iron supplementation may work for many, but is not recommended for people with certain heart conditions, and other related health problems (for example)...........it can actually be detrimental.


I have found that having an open....and direct.... line of communication with my physician is more important for my future well-being, than ever.

Take care, Princess..............s....Deb

Here's a little advice I found from a Registered Dietician regarding iron supplementation:
http://www.vhihealthe.com/experts/diet/diet_q164.jsp

This is why not many multivitamin supplements carry iron, unless specified on the front label. Hope this helps...........s....Deb

(((Deb))) thanks for providing that link. It reinforces what my own DRs have all told me... that now that I no longer have a uterus, I don't have a way to get rid of the excess iron, should I accumulate too much. They've all instructed me not to take iron supplements, not even a multivitamin that contains iron. Of course, when I was younger, I was anemic for a while, and at that time my DRs did have me taking Slow Fe -- but they monitored my levels closely and had me discontinue it as soon as I didn't need it anymore.

Bottom line ... consult your own physician regarding which vitamins, supplements and other OTC meds are right for you.

s,
-Linda

My blood count was down to 9 before my hyst, I've read about many ladies whose count was lower than that and required blood transfusions. I didn't need a transfusion but would have had one if my count had gone under 9. My count went up to 11.2 on the day I went in to have my staples removed just 5 days after my surgery! At 4 weeks it was up to 12.7 and at my 7 week check, it was up to 14.1! Two weeks before my hyst date, I had a killer period that sent me overnight to the hospital, I was bleeding so heavily and so I had to take extra iron (2-325mg tablets)plus the iron in my multivitamin for those 2 weeks before my surgery because they wanted my count up as much as possible. I only took my multivitamin afterwards because the iron made me constipated and I didn't want that. My regular doctor advised me to keep up the iron but the GYN that did my surgery didn't order extra iron....so I didn't. Evidently my body corrected my blood count pretty much on it's own afterwards because I wasn't bleeding to death anymore. I wouldn't take iron supplements unless under your doctors orders. I still take my multivitamin with iron because I don't eat much red meat or other high iron rich foods.

I have read that iron supplements may not be a good idea if you have, or are at risk of certain types of cancers. Yes, check with your doctor or health care provider.

Hi there Tiger367,

I was extremely anemic before surgery. I had an endometrial ablation in February with removal of polyps. The ablation didn't work well for me and I continued to bleed and have severe pain. In April my hemoglobin got to 8 so I was sent to a hematologist and had iron infusions every 3-4 weeks until my hysterectomy in July. At surgery my hemoglobin was a 14.2 and I had my energy back. At 7 weeks out from my TAH I had a recheck and my hemoglobin is 14 with hematocrit at 87 after being as low as 61! My ferritin (stored iron) got down to a 2. Needless to say, I feel better now! Since you aren't bleeding anymore I would agree with JanaBailey to not self treat without the doctor's permission. They should be checking your iron; at least make sure when you go for your post op visit that your gyn does a finger stick and checks your hemoglobin. Hopefully it will be coming up! Good luck!

Thanks for all the advise, and the link, Deb. I will follow up with my about this at my next appointment. I would bet that since I no longer will have those horrible heavy periods, that my levels will jump back up on their own. I feel strongly that many things can be corrected through proper nutrition. I was able to do so with my potassium level, so that will be my first course of action, with my blessing, of course.