Unexpected!

[Aerial]

My recent lab work showed a hemoglobin of 12.6.  Dr. Gross wants a minimum of 13 for surgery.  I had labs done in August as well and I was at 13.  They are going to retest on Tuesday at my pre-op appointment.  If hemoglobin is still below 13, I need to do subcutaneous Procrit injections.  Dang, this has caught me off guard as I thought i was basically healthy.  It doesn't seem like 12.6 is that low.  Anyone else have this issue and used Procrit?  They did say that it might have been low since I had blood drawn just after "that time of month".

[Vt waddler]

Hi Aerial, generally a females HGB (hemoglobin) is lower than a males, a smoker's is higher than a non smokers. Your HGB could certainly be lower after your "time of the month". On chemo or say Hep C treatment, procrit is typically introduced when HGB falls below 10 (the treatment drugs can seriously knock down HGB levels). I'm sure the doc's concern is surgery related bleeding and anemia.
Procrit self injection is not a big deal, tiny little needle, generally once or worse case, twice a week-depending on the targeted hgb level.

Best of luck, waddler

[ScubaDuck]

Sorry to hear about the possible delay.  We get so stressed about our surgeries that it is no fun to have to reschedule.

Best wishes.

Dan

[Aerial]

I don't have to reschedule yet just start the injections 10 days prior to surgery if my level is not up next week.