anemia anyone?

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R

rbacher

This is my third thread. I am 4 weeks post op (my first thread asked about being grouchy and irritable, my second about nerve damage to my arm, and thanks to all who helped me with those questions).

Here's my question now -- Does the loss of blood during the surgery cause anemia? And what is the best thing to do (or to eat) to bring back those lost red blood cells?

I am sure that I have a slight case of anemia. I have had two blood tests since surgery. I just got the results from the second one today. Both tests are the same -- red blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit are all below the normal range. I went to anemia.com and looked at the symptoms for anemia, and I have most of them. Like a flash I understood why I am still so tired.

So . . . any ideas what to do? Just be patient? Take iron supplements? Eat red meat? Thanks everyone.
 
As I always do, I would suggest going with what your doctor has advised. All of your suggestions would be fine. Have they ruled out any possibility that you may be bleeding anywhere? Is your blood pressure low? Are you taking a daily vitamin with iron? Was your doctor concerned?
It is very normal to be tired after the surgery whether you are anemic or not. It is alos normal to be anemic. Did you have any blood replacement?
OK enough questions for now. You should be tired just reading those questions.
Take care,
Joanne
 
Chances are that your anemia is not due to blood loss. If you had lost that much the doc would have replaced it. Anemia is fairly common after OHS surgery. It sometimes takes the body some extra time to get back into gear for proper blood production. There are a lot of iron rich foods - Google 'iron rich food'. If your doctor approves you could take an iron supplement ... I take SLOWFE. Beware that iron supplements can cause constipation. You might want to ask about a stool softener (in addition to high fiber diet) to go with the iron.
 
No, I'm not bleeding internally (I did think of that since I'm taking warfarin). And my blood pressure is not low (even a tad high, like 130 over 80). I sometimes take a Centrum vitamin (but not everyday -- at least til now -- I figure I will start taking an iron supplement now that I know I have anemia). My family doctor did not seem concerned -- perhaps since I am only 4 weeks out, and my numbers, while below the normal ranges, are not far below. I am more concerned than my doctor. If I am anemic, I want to fix it.
 
Mechanical heart valves are MUCH harder than the original equipment. As a result, the hammer on the red blood cells and will distroy some of them. The older valves had more problems that the newer valves.

Iron supplements, vitamin pills, a diet with iron are all suggestions that were made to Joann in the 70's when she had this problem. Eventually the issue went away.

This is not an unusal event for those with mechanical valves. I would consult your physician regarding the issue at your convenience. It is not a crisis issue that must be solved today, but you will feel tired if it is not resolved and this is the problem
 
I had anemia after my valve surgery but due to female issues, not particularly valve related.. had all the symptoms, but couldn't get in to see a doc until the anemia was really bad.. (hearing my blood pressure in my ears, dizzy, tired, pale) (it took long because I just moved and finding new docs all around took awhile as a new patient wait list) I ended up having a iron infusion.. think blood infusion only iron... and had to take large dose iron pills for a year.. (yes, it does take a long time for your red blood cells to get back to "normal" size... my count went up right away, but the size took time.. since you are on top of it, with the ok of your doc, iron pills should do the trick quite sooner then my senerio... one thing.. don't take OTC iron pills.. they are rough on the body.. and not real strong.. I take Ferrous Gluconate, it's non prescription but behind the pharmacy, not OTC.. it's alot easier on the stomach and I normally don't need a stool softener with them.. i'm finally at the point where I don't need to take them every day, I take a normal multi, but I do take them once or twice a month when needed..

Chris
 
rbacher said:
This is my third thread. I am 4 weeks post op (my first thread asked about being grouchy and irritable, my second about nerve damage to my arm, and thanks to all who helped me with those questions).

Here's my question now -- Does the loss of blood during the surgery cause anemia? And what is the best thing to do (or to eat) to bring back those lost red blood cells?

I am sure that I have a slight case of anemia. I have had two blood tests since surgery. I just got the results from the second one today. Both tests are the same -- red blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit are all below the normal range. I went to anemia.com and looked at the symptoms for anemia, and I have most of them. Like a flash I understood why I am still so tired.

So . . . any ideas what to do? Just be patient? Take iron supplements? Eat red meat? Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Did you have a Complete CBC? there are a few different reason's for anemia, and the depending how the other results are,what kind of anemia you have macrocytic, microcytic or normal helps figure out what you would need to get back to normal,(iron, B12 ect) here is a brief article http://community.nursingspectrum.com/MagazineArticles/article.cfm?AID=7165
I would be a quick call into your doctor and ask him what you could do to get back to 'normal'
Lyn
 
I was anemic after my surgery. They gave me a unit of blood before I woke up (my own blood), but I was still anemic. Doctor prescribed iron pills for awhile. I know that I took them after I came home, but never bought any, so it mustn't have been for long. Careful with iron rich foods if you have a mechanical valve, because many are high in Vit K. Even though anemia can cause you to be tired, you are only 4 weeks post-op, so you should be tired and pale and all those other things too. My advice is to give your body time to recover, eat a balanced diet and get plenty of rest and it should clear up on its own.
 
I too was quite anaemic after surgery...from memory my level was 11 when it was sposed to be over about 17 ....I was popped into hospital the next day and given 4 units of blood which soon fixed up all my tiredness issues...

I had been getting dog-tired just an hour after waking in the morning and was very very pale. I am much better now and havent had anymore episodes of this.
 
I too was anemic and very tired after surgery. My Hb was 160-170 g/L before my surgery and under 100 after... Then again I also have HF and my heart function was very depressed after the surgery. No wonder I didn't make it home at the first attempt, 9 days after my surgery... :D Instead I came back to the ER with weakness, lightheadedness and fever. Even then I was not given any :mad:, only iron supplements. If I remember correctly my blood count slowly started to creep up, but it took months before it was in normal range... So maybe just be patient and it will come back up if your not get very symptomatic. But keep on eye on it and have it checked that is coming up!
 
After quad bypass I went to my local gp within a few weeks of the surgery. He looked at me and said 'you are pale, you are anemic'. He gave me some sort of iron (I guess) shot and sent me to the hosp for lab test for anemia. Sure nuff he was right. He rxed some iron pills. Apparently it's common when your chest is sawed through.
 
Joe is chronically anemic. He is under the care of a hematologist. He takes iron twice a day, and prescription strength folic acid, and then I give him Procrit injections three times per week. Even with all that his levels are not within the normal range, but not low enough (usually) to require a transfusion.

In all of the medical appts. he's had, I remember one young gal (hematologist) to explained simply that it takes a couple of months for blood cells to get born and grow up enough to be useful.

Your primary care doc could check you out and see if you need supplements or a transfusion. Why not call and get in to see your PCP.
 
I would definitely talk to your general doctor about this. He/She will know where your numbers should optimally be. Get advice from them about how to pump up your system.

I was anemic post surgery, and knew it because I was very cold (I am never cold!). We tested, it wasn't a dangerously low iron thing, so I just hung in there with it and the feeling waned over time (about 7 weeks, tho!).

I believe that the heart lung machine leaches those iron rich cells out of your blood as it is doing its all important job of keeping your system flowing during surgery. Some surgeons seem to love to pump you full of fresh blood afterwards. Mine said it wasn't worth the hassle for me, personally, since my surgery was so "short".

Please speak to a doctor, or a Surgeon's assistant, or a nurse. While getting a list of symptoms and ideas from websites is comforting and useful, there is nothing better than talking with your own healthcare professionals with these things. Don't hesitate to call them for anything. You just never know what might be important. This isn't a broken arm situation, you know. This is your heart. :)

Let us know! Marguerite
 
I tis almost eerie that these new threads seem to be following my path post surgery, first was the a-fib thread and now the anemia thread.

Yep, I was told that my red blood cell count post surgery was almost 1/2 what it was pre-surgery. My surgeon said he wanted to treat it using iron pills rather that a transfusion. So since surgery I have been on 3 iron pills a day. I should find out today or tomorrow if they are helping as I had my first post surgery checkup yesterday. The real down side to having to take these pills is the effect on taste. I have had a problem trying to figure out why every thing tastes so horribly. Yesterday my cardiologist said that these iron pills along with the sotolol I was taking were leaving a metallic taste in my mouth. FInally someone described what that taste I couldn't put my finger on was!. She said my run on the pills it may be another month before food starts tasting like it should. Oh well, I will keep seaching for something to eat that does not make me want to throw up lol.

One good thing was they said I had NO leakage at all, that my echo was great, my EKG was great and everyone is overjoyed at my progress!
 
Thanks everybody who wrote. I'm just frustrated that I don't get better faster. I went to work in the morning today, and had a tough case, and was exhausted by the afternoon, I went home and took a nap. For my anemia I got some SlowFE yesterday. We'll try that and see what happens.
 
Anemia?

Anemia?

I had my aortic valve and aortic root replaced last January. I was severely anemic while still in the hospital. Internal bleeding was ruled out and I didn't lose any 'extra' blood during surgery. My docs told me it just 'happens sometimes' with OHS. I chose to have a blood transfusion in the hospital which immediately made me feel terrific.

The reason I'm writing is actually because I had a second surgery at five weeks post op to drain a very large (1-litre) pericardial effusion. The only symptom I had from carrying around the extra fluid was excessive tiredness. The fluid was confirmed with an echocardiogram. SO...just be sure you're reporting all of this to your cardio. Anytime a symptom lingers it needs to be investigated and don't just assume you know what it's from.

Hang in there.
 
I had AVR surgery on May 8 and after the surgery they had to give me eight units of blood. My first visit with my cardiologist revealed that my crit was 33 and my cardiologist recommended that I see my primary care physician about this. He recommended a cystoscope since I have never had one and also that I take a vitamin with an iron supplement. My wife got me behind the counter iron supplement which I am now taking with a vitamin C pill to help me absorb the iron. I take it three times a day with a stool softner at night and a lot of fiber in the morning at breakfast. I will probably have the crit checked again soon.
 
If it's an option, I suggest you see a hematologist to thoroughly evaluate the anemia. There are a multitude of possible causes and many different treatments depending on the cause. My experience with anemia made it clear that the specialist was the right one to handle my case. I had two cardiologists and a primary care physician question the specific diagnosis. :confused: The hematologist was able to counter each question with specific test results. Very impressive. :D

-- roy --
 
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