So I’ve been having some health issues and I won’t trouble you with the gory details.
I told one of my friends I feel like a clock that is slowly winding down.
Part of the health issue is that I have been losing a lot of blood.
Last weekend I went to the emergency room and was given some pills to stop the bleeding. It worked for about 3 days.
Friday I was sent back to the emergency room, I near collapsed after walking up a short flight of stairs. I could hardly breathe and my legs were shaking.
The doctors told me my blood counts were 24 and 7.5, down from 37 and 11 the previous week.
I was admitted to the hospital and given two units of blood as well as a larger dosage of meda to stop the bleeding.
When I left the hospital Sunday my counts were 27 and 8.5.
I am very very tired and still get a little dizzy at times. I need naps. I also get hungry a lot and shaky but I can’t eat much, it makes me tired. It’s kind of normal for me to pick at food anyway, I’m just a lot hungrier than normal.
How long does it take for blood counts to get back to normal?
What is a normal blood count?
Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?
I hate feeling this way.
I did and I got no real answer beyond it depends on the individual.
I’ve look online and heard it can take as long as 90 days.
I’m hoping somebody here has had some experience with it and has a better answer.
What do they say about what a normal blood count is? Did you ask them about food supplements or specific foods you can eat to help you feel better?
What in particular are they looking at? Red blood cell count? Hemoglobin?
Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic’s explanation of “Complete Blood Count” detailing the various components.
Like I said, I’m not a doctor. I am wondering what kind of pill would stop bleeding. I’ve heard of people being given platelets to help with blood clotting, but my understanding is that it’s a transfusion, not a pill.
Chronic anemic here: Iron and B12 and fluids and bed rest - don’t exert any more muscles than necessary - preserve the red blood cells you have.
Don’t take vitamins on an empty stomach - they will just shoot through. Keep bananas, apples, hell, even Snickers - just have something in your stomach when taking pills.
Long term, you will adapt.
Your medics use a different scale for RBC than mine. I know 11-17 for hemoglobin. I kick around at 10 - 11. 9.5 is the classic cutoff below which transfusion is indicated. I won’t get it because I it isn’t too low for me.
Go figure.
I am on a very bad roll re practice of medicine tonight…
In my non medical opinion, you need to get to the root cause of the blood loss and other physical problems before you can expect to feel well. Transfusions are stop gap measures and as e donated red blood cells die off, you’ll feel badly again . My morther suffers from thalassemia and chronic myelodysplasia… Two things that are untreatable at her age. She enjoys the transfusion “high” and waits out the bad periods until she gets another. You need to see a hematologist/oncologist STAT… Also check into your family history to see if anyone else had similar issues. My whole family, myself included have e thalassemia (Mediterranean anemia), to varying degrees, so at least a diagnosis is more easily obtained.
My wife experienced excessive bleeding & anemia, and completed the trifecta by developing sleep apnea. Have you been checked for apnea? Not having enough blood, and not having enough red blood cells in it, and not getting enough oxygen in your lungs while you’re sleeping is a recipe for exhaustion.
Probably the worst-case scenario for a recovery: The cure for the bleeding was a hysterectomy & fibroid removal, and it was a couple years of lots of red meat, iron supplements and a C-PAP machine before she was back to normal.
Fortunately the doctors have figured it out (I hope).
My hormones are out of balance, give me more progesterone to bring the balance back and the bleeding stops.
I guess I should stop beating myself up for being lazy.
I never knew a person could feel this tired.
FWIW, I went from a red cell count of 7.5 (abnormally low, anemic) to 12.3 in about a month’s time this summer. Of course, I’m a guy and therefore never had to deal with Aunt Flo. YMWV.