Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

So I just celebrated my 36th birthday with an obligatory doctor's visit (to prepare for too much fun) on Monday.....I've been a little out of breath lately and I blamed pregnant mrsreindeer's hormones rubbing off on me. No joke, that sh!t can happen.

So evidently, I've essentially lost 1/2 of my blood & Doc wants me to get 2 - 3 units of blood ASAP.

I've never had to do anything like this and never had any problem like this.

Anyone? Jeeezus.

So Doc wants to find out where this is coming from & wants to do a colonoscopy in a couple weeks.

Just what I needed right now.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Wow! getter taken care of...hopefully it is something simple or related to your diet.

On another note, glad to hear that mrsreindeer is pregnant and other than moody, hopefully doing well.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Well, hopefully whatever it may be is caught well ahead of anything more serious. Had my first colonoscopy last year. They put you under, it's a piece of cake (an expensive piece). Best of luck with the test and diagnosis.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

How the hell do you "lose" half your blood without knowing it?

Damn Dave take care!

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

My mother was in the hospital a few weeks ago and again last week because of this, get blood and be well David :)

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Doc says I'm borderline, David. My count, though, hasn't been declining and we've been doing blood tests every 6 months for ~3 to 4 years now. Just appears that I'm in that 1-2% of the bell curve that a "low" count is actually "normal" to.

The colonoscopy would be SOP to try and determine where you might be losing the blood from. Quick and nasty question, after taking a dump are you seeing blood?


Scary chit bro. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Prayers sent for your mom Perry.

Dave prayers and KARMA sent your way as well.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Dayum David. I hope they quickly figure out what’s going on with you. Thoughts and prayers sent your way.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

That's that I want to know too. WTF David? You OK? I heard colonscopy's are a breeze just make sure the Dr. doesn't have his hands on your shoulders while he is doing it.


PS. If you need a few pints, I'll give you all I can. You may wake up with the munchies but you will be OK.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Thanks so much you guys.....I'm just freakin' out a little right now...like you Perry, my mom's been going through this lately...damn genetics? Can't be.

Seriously Al, that's what I want to freakin' know.

Thank you for this Ritchie...what's SOP? And yeah... :bh

:r you guys crack me up (still) - thank you & thank you Scott for the very generous offer & advice....no shoulders, check.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Here's a question, Ritchie....if I've lost HALF of my blood (Doc's exact words), how can I drive to work, sit at the computer, type, function, be an a$$hat, etc. and not fall over? Should I be concerned about getting home? (i'm currently waiting for the freakin' nurse to call me)

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Let me know, I can fly out there, give some blood, smoke a stog with you and fly back.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Standard Operating Procedure

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

I would think the Doc should tell you.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

You will be fine David. You owe me an "epic" herf as you put it. I'm holding you to that, 1/2 blood or not. :r

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Hang in there David, and best wishes for some positive results.

Colonoscopies aren't that bad. It's the colonoscopy prep kit you have to take the night before that sucks. ;) But hey, you'll be 5-8 pounds lighter in the morning, so it's all good!

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Correct.


Correct. I'm no doctor, I only stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.

But it is my understanding that you haven't really "lost half of your blood". Your red blood count is low. Follow me?

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Thank you Al.

Seriously, you just wait.

Thanks Gerard; hell, I needed to go on a diet.

Ah, gotcha, thank you.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

I hope it isn't genetic,I should have mine checked. It takes about 3hours per unit for the blood, maybe you need some hat?

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Cyanide is a doctor and happy to answer questions.

Hope you get it figured out soon and are felling better. Positive thoughts going your way.

Congrats to you and the Missus.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

If he is ordering pints of blood for you then you probably are down "half your blood". I am thinking you are probably somewhere between 70-100, where normal would be 140 (Canadian units). You could still function "normally" if it was a gradual decline.

Now, I don't want to discuss in the open forum why its important to get the colonoscopy. But, if you want to PM me I can give you some information. Hopefully you are getting some bloodwork done too, to help figure out the cause.

Hopefully the bloodwork will include a ferritin, serum iron, TIBC, serum folate, serum vitB12. A "blood smear" would also be useful at this time, and there should be a consideration for a direct/indirect coombs assay as well as haptoglobin and liver function tests (ALT, bilirubin, PT, PTT).

If those aren't all included on the lab req, feel free to PM me.

Hey, in general, feel free to PM me. There is a very "serious sh!t" angle to this.

Hope this either helps, or induces you to PM me so I can help were I can.

Cheers

Cyanide

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Thanks Ian, very much.

Oh God....

You know, Perry, mrsreindeer cooked up some awesome hat just last night for me for my birthday, I'm good....really. Really really good there. But I really appreciate your suggestion.

:D Appreciate you guys cheering me up; it's working. I already feel like I have a higher blood count due to good vibes.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

What he said.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Thanks so much John....I'll likely be shooting you a PM soon.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Nice to have Doc Cy around! :tu

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

:dr hat

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Did you look under the couch....I lose stuff under there all the time.
Maybe that's where your blood went.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Best wishes to you especially, and the missus. Pray that everything turns out positive, and that God grants you peace!

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Sorry to hear that man, hope things work out for you. My little sister is anemic and it stemmed from her being a vegetarian for a year. Luckily she passed that phase but she is still iron deficient and has to take supplements.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

David, prayers for you brother.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Sorry to hear what is going on with you Dave,,,,but been there done that. I think I have had just about every test known to mankind up to and including the ole gastro intenstinal blowout. Have them give you ativan before the procedure and you will be fine,,just enough to relax you when they bring in that big f'n firehose and tell you "this is going to be a bit uncomfortable",,,I kid, my friend. The worse part is the day or morning before,,they want you clean inside and want you to do the ole enema beforehand so they have a chance to see what's up your "address",,,,you'll be so relaxed on the gurney you won't care if they shove an elephants trunk up your wazoo. You probably wont even hear the "gush" of air during the procedure as you let go of tons of pressure,,,good thing they will be wearing their little masks so that you won't see them giggling. I tried to make all of the people who did this to me sign off that if they ever saw me in the stores that there would be no speaking,,no winking,,,no hand gestures that they know me,,we will continue to be strangers for life.

As far as the blood stuff going on they should be able to take care of that in short order like Cyanide says and get you some information once they have seen the results. We live in a very hurry up world and we tend to get worn out and don't know it until we are about to drop,,,and even then we dont have the time to do that. Keep us posted on what is going on,,,we're in this with you my friend.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

prayers for you man

could be a vitamin deficiency (B12) or folate deficiency, wouldn't be too hard to correct. Maybe you need to eat more steaks :D

Hope all is well, keep us updated :tu

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

My old lady had some issues few years ago, similar to your dilemma . She was hospitalized a few times before she was diagnosed properly. Now a cheap supplement and some basic diet monitoring keeps her healthy.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Prayers for you and the Doc. Prayers also for Perry's mom.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Wow, that is unusual.

Will keep you in my prayers, and ask the Holy Spirit's guidance for the Drs to discover the problem and lead to resolution.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

My mom is anemic, and a couple weeks ago she went to the doctor for the same reason, and they found she had only half her blood left as well. She went and got a transfusion, and she's okay. The difference is they know where *her* blood went, so she's getting a hysterectomy to get that taken care of.

Hope everything works out. It's not the biggest deal in the world, but it could be. As Cyanide said, there's possibly a "serious shite" aspect to it. But if you didn't even realize it, I'm sure it's nothing they can't take care of pretty easily.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Well I hope everything is okay, is your crap black? at least you have been to the doctor allot better then most guys. I'm sure everything will be okay.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Or negative depending on whats best!

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

I'll be thinking good thoughts and sending positive vibes your way David.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Thanks guys, I'm still freakin' out (probably more so now) and trying to figure out what to do next...

RBC is 2.95; Hemoglobin 6.8; Hematocrit 21.4....I'm not sure what the hell to do....one other Doc I talked to said I'm 'severely' anemic, shouldn't drive or work but suggested I avoid the transfusion if possible...then wtf?

I have an appt. after work tomorrow with a family practitioner who wanted me to go in for another bloodcount tonight (why, I have no idea)....what's he gonna do, cure me just by looking at me??

Colonoscopy is set for March 9th and while I'd rather push that lovely 'dreamdate' off if I can, it seems pretty damn far off if I'm having some serious shite going on...

WTF.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

I'm glad they caught it quick for ya. Make sure you get your test results and a good explanation. I'm sure all the docs here will want to scrutinize this thing for you.
It's good to have good guys looking out for ya. :tu

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

You'll be fine Dave...

Perry hope all is well with your mom.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Dave....

This is a quick addendum to the PM I sent you. I forgot to mention this, then remembered, then you made mention of a repeat early visit, so that reminded me again.

That Hgb number is so low, that without some reasonable symptoms (like a racing heart rate...what is your heart rate?) it may actually be a lab error. So, yes, it would most certainly be worth while rechecking the complete blood count to see if it is an accurate representation of the truth.

So, if your Hgb comes back normal the second time....then that is great!!!

Cheers

Cyanide

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

hopefully the appointment will clear stuff up for you..good luck!

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

More prayers sent David, I'm here if you need me.

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Looks like there's life in Rancho Palos Verdes :dance:

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Alrighty folks.....well, that was scary....but I'm back in the saddle now, more or less.

First, thank you so much you guys for all your well wishes, concern & help; it means more to me than you'll ever know.

So....I went to the ER on Thursday morning after TWO (read that, TWO) different doctors (at TWO different offices) wouldn't see me and suggested I go to the ER. Nice.

I guess it's a good thing because with a hemoglobin level at 6.8, I was told that I could very well have passed out while driving, may not be getting enough oxygen to the 'ol noggin and/or not have enough blood in me to survive a serious accident.

So after my mother (who is a nurse) tracked me down in the ER and yelled at the poor nurses there to get me on the phone and begged me to only get 1 unit of blood when the doctor was advising I get 3 (which is a sh!tload of blood that I lost - for those who wanna know...1 unit is like 450 ml's...so 3 is 1,350 ml's....which is almost 2 bottles of wine or a 1-liter water bottle + a 1/3 of another), I went ahead and took the good doctor's advice and agreed to the 3 units.

Yeah, I was that low.

So they took real good care of me, admitted me and I stayed 2 nights in the hospital. On Friday, I had a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy to figure out where the bleeding was coming from. I've had a colonoscopy before and it's really no biggie. Even drinking the bowel prep the night before wasn't too bad (like salt water). The upper endoscopy was a bit nasty & violent as I guess I had to be awake while they shoved the scope down my throat (and I ain't talkin' mouthwash). Talk about gagging...

So the results came back and we were really relieved to find out that there was no bleeding coming from deep within my body; it was coming from my a$$ and probably the best case it could have been.

So obviously, my hemoglobin & other levels went up a bit (and stayed up) after the transfusions and the doc was satisfied enough to let me get the hell out of there on Saturday after 2 nights.

And let me tell you, this was my first overnight stay in a hospital and it sure feels better being on the outside. I was going absolutely crazy in there.

So now I just have to be a little more aware, a little more careful and monitor the situation, eat healthy, drink some Metamucil and have stuff high in iron & fiber and hopefully I'll stop bleeding completely.

I'll go in to the doc this week or next Monday for another bloodtest to check my levels and make sure things have improved.

Again, thank you so much for all your help and good wishes; I definitely felt the good vibes you guys.

And some of you, just some of you, have no shame.....what're 'ya thinking bombing a guy when he's down, huh??? (Gerard, Francis....not naming any names or anything.... :D It's much much appreciated guys, thank you so much)

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

There is, there is!!!! I'm here!!! (you sly rascal you!)

Re: Fuk....is anyone Anemic?
 

Delighted to hear that things appear to be correcting themselves for ya, my friend. Prayers for continued and complete recovery and a most enjoyable seegar to celebrate!