Please be nice to me!

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Constance

Master Chef
Joined
Oct 17, 2004
Messages
8,173
Location
Southern Illiniois
I guess I was sicker than I thought. As you all know, I've been having some health issues recently.

Well, Sunday morning I got a call from my doctor's office. His nurse, a long-time friend of mine, was doing some catch-up work, and found some of my recent labwork in a pile on the doctor's desk. She said my blood count was low, and I needed to see DR immediately. I managed to put her off until first thing Tuesday morning.
When I went in Tuesday, they took a bunch of blood (four viles!) and the doctor started talking about scoping my various orifaces.
Yesterday morning, the office called, and said the doctor wanted me in the hospital, right away. I had to go in and argue with Doc, but Kim went with me, and the two of them ganged up on me. My blood count was down to 7.1 out of 12. I had to get 2 pints of blood.
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He promised me that as soon as I'd gotten the blood and checked out OK, I could go home.

Little did I know. First, they have to type your blood...even if you know what it is. I understand that, though. So they bragged on my good veins, and put a main line in my hand. The male RN (John) who did it apologized for the size 18 needle, but I told him needles didn't bother me, and he was good. Cute butt, too. They said it would take about an hour.
I have a fairly rare blood type (A negative), and they didn't have any to match, so they had to get some from a blood bank that's about a 30 minute drive from here. That took over 4 hours. John explained that there are all kinds of checks and double checks on blood because of hepatititus, etc.
When he opened it up, there had to be two of them, checking and signing stuff.
I did not realized that it takes at least 4 hours to take a pint of blood. I was finally done at 3:30 in the morning.

I called Kim at 4:00 AM and told him to come get me "right now! I am claustrophic, and was really getting buggy. He told me I couldn't leave without being released by the doctor or the insurance wouldn't pay, and that I should go lock myself in the bathroom and have a cigarette. So I did. They came in and took more blood an hour later, and they'd gotten me up to 9.7.
I was finally released about 9:30 AM, and am I ever glad to be home!

It was all worthwhile, though. Come to find out, they think the 6-8 aspirin that I've been taking every day for the last 5 years have been messing with my iron level and possibly my stomach. It's also what was causing the dizziness, headaches and weakness, and may have even had a large part to do with my seizures. I started getting my head back just an hour or so after the blood started going in, and haven't had a hint of seizure. I was having 3-4 or more every day.
I have to quit the aspirin, of course, and take either Tylenol or a stronger pain medication (Tramadol, 50 mg) he gave me, plus iron pills 3 times a day, amd get my blood checked once a week for a while.
They are taking so much blood, it's no wonder I''m anemic. They must have taken a pint in about 3 days!
 
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Oh jeez Constance. I feel for ya. I had 5 vials of blood taken from me about 2 weeks ago. Everything was okay with me. Except my triglycerides were pretty high. Sounds like you had some pretty long days there. Hope you're
feeling better after all that chaos.
 
Connie,
thank heaven you got this done sweetie. Anemia is nothing to fool with. Believe me I know..I take a med for diabetes that causes me to be anemic..Before they discovered it my blood count was down to 6 and I spent most of my time dozing and wondering why it was so hard to walk or even chop parsley..I take 3 iron caps per day every day and have for over 6 years now..I do have to take an 81mg. aspirin per day but that is working fine..Take those caps or tabs Connie, your blood count will come up and you will feel so much better. Believe me things look so much better to me know, I'd never not take my meds...I've been worried about you and this makes me feel so much better.. You give Kim a big hug for me and tell him I said thank you for taking such great care of you. Just make sure to put some food in your tummy before the iron..It can cause a cranky tummy.

kadesma:)
 
Easily done Connie!! We will be extra nice. So glad to hear some of your symptons have resolved, like the seizure activity.

hmmmm, I take 6, 325 mg of aspirin daily for garden variety arthritis.
 
Hope that all works out for you, Constance. We took our daugher to the emergency room when she was about 14 and she was covered in bruises. come to find out it was due to the aspirin that she was taking for menstrual cramps--2 pills. The doctor informed me that if they were to invent aspirin today that it would be a prescription drug---there are so many side effects and it interferes with other medications as well. 7-8 a day might be too much for your system. Hope that all resolves itself and that you take care.
 
WOW - I bet you feel sooooo much better. Being low on blood isn't a good feeling. I'm so glad you were ganged up on - good for them!!!!! Cheers to being on the mend Connie!
 
Thank goodness they got to the root of it quickly! Those seizures were worrying! Take care!
 
Thank you all! I do feel better.

Beth, I take a LOT of other medications as well, so it might have to do with the combination of all those drugs. I just found out yesterday, though, that NSAIDS in general will mess with your iron level, so you should keep an eye on that.
 
(((Constance))) I'm glad to see you're feeling better with a full tank!!!!Please take care of yourself-you're the only you we have!!!!Love and energy, Vicki
 
Thanks, Connie, for your follow-up report. I was wondering how your check-up fared. Bet you're feeling better mentally, too. Physical problems can mess up our emotions as well. Glad you are getting back on track. You gotta get up to 100% so we can have some fun in Paducah one of these days.
 
;) Glad to hear you are getting better Constance.
Now be a good girl and eat your spinach( meaning it has alot of iron)!:) :) :)
 
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Happy that things are looking up for you. What an ordeal!
And beside the point, we're always nice to everyone here at DC!
 
mudbug said:
I would never not be nice to Connie. Hope you are feeling much better now!

You took the words out of my mouth, mud!

Thank heavens for your friend the nurse that took a second look at your labs, Constance! Take good care of yourself!:flowers:
 
Constance, Glad to hear you are on the mend. Medications can cause problems. Have yourself checked often. Often when they find one problem
Doctors stop looking and then there really is another problem.

I know I had an experience. Heart rhythm being just a little (electrical system of the heart) off will cause you to be dizzy,weak. Have thorough
investigation. Doctors need to be told to investigate. Some do not.

Happy well days ahead.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened!!:ohmy:

Kind of reminds me of the trauma that I went through last year during the 2nd hospital stay. The IV medicine I was on for two nights and a day helped get the heartrate down to a normal level, but there were serious side effects with it. And I just couldn't get any sleep!

I got grossly nauseated and sick the 2nd night after having an SOB attack and threw up all over the place!!! After the nurse took me off that medication, I began to feel better. I slept like a baby that Wednesday all day!

But I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling much better now!;)
 
Thank you, my friends! What a nice bunch of people we have here...I couldn't ask for a better support group!

You know, when you gradually feel worse and worse over a period of years, you don't realize how bad you felt until you start feeling better. I'm going to have to watch it, though. It seems my appetite is picking up along with my energy. I ate like Miss Piggie yesterday! That may have been partly in reaction to the hospital food, though. I could swear that beef stew came out of a dogfood can.
 
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