Biological valve chopping my red bld cells

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I craved spinach when I was pregnant with my son. I used to go to the store, buy a cans of spinach, heat them up, add a little butter, salt and lemon and pig out!!!!! (Sorry Mary, didn't mean to make your hurl.:eek: )
 
Hi, this is an interesting thread for me....I have been anemic since my AVR. At one point this year, I did have an intestinal bleed, but that has long since been solved.....still anemic. I continue to take iron daily. My numbers have risen, but only to 10.7 , better than 9.8...Hematocrits were also low, from 27 to 33.

This is making me wonder if my St. Judes aortic valve is chewing up my blood cells! It is not an older model...it's from 1999. But maybe some of the newer ones ocassionally do this? Well, a question to ask my cardio when next I see him.

Hopefully all of you with low iron levels will be able to get your levels up and be feeling better soon.
 
The new generation mechanical valves are improved, but they still have the problem. To what degree will be the interesting part, once it's been determined.

And as this thread shows, even tissue valves - even your own, repaired valve - can contribute to this problem in some cases.

Best wishes,
 
Frosted Mini-Wheats

Frosted Mini-Wheats

Mary said:
The least bit of iron makes me throw up. Even cream of wheat, that's enriched with iron, can make me sick if I'm not careful. I've started eating cereals that contain it; frosted mini-wheats has 90% of the daily requirement for iron, so I try to get a bowl of that in every day.
Before anyone suggests spinach, I love it, but I will throw up if I eat much of it.:eek:

Ah Mary, Frosted Mini-Wheats = one of God's great foods. Also gives you 25 percent of daily fiber requirement, as the physician's assistant pointed out to me when I had a colonoscopy a few years ago. A tad high on sugars for a carb-counting type 2 diabetic like me, but sugar is not the No. 1 ingredient: whole grain is. And unlike many cereals that are supposed to be good for you, it actually tastes good! Enjoy!

(The banana fans would tell you that you also could slice a banana -- if you could find an unspoiled one:D -- and add it to the Mini-wheats to further kick up the nutrition.
 
When I was on Weight Watchers about 30 years ago I followed the diet exactly and one of the requirements at that time was to eat some liver everyday. I would cut it up in little pieces,freeze it and then swallow the little pieces. I guess I made my own liver pills.
 
Valvular Hemolytic Anemia

Valvular Hemolytic Anemia

Hi all,

This is an interesting coincidence. After a long period of not visiting the site I returned to see if there was any information here on the issue I am dealing with and what do I find but a current thread on the subject.

I had a mitral valve repair just over 4 years ago. Everything was going fine until late last year when I started noticing I was getting fatigued more easily. The valve was functioning satisfactorily but the blood tests indicated anemia. More blood tests indicated that the cause was valvular hemolysis. My repaired, natural valve was creating turbulence that was destroying my red blood cells. Fortunately I don't have any problems with oral iron but even three times a day wasn't helping so it was a series of 6 weekly iron infusions. That put me on the path to recovery. When my hemaglobin reached normal levels the hematologist reduced my daily iron. Within a couple of months, my hemaglobin was back near its lowest.

Going back to oral iron three times a day seems to have stopped the decline but not yet produced much improvement. The valve is leaking a little more but still functionally sound. That leaves me in a kind of limbo as nothing is bad enough at this point to take more radical action.

It's particularly frustrating in view of my original belief that a repair would be a trouble-free solution. Ah, the lessons of life. For all that, it helps to be able to share with the group. My best wishes to all.

-- roy --
 

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