Anyone have low iron right before surgery?!!!

I just got a call from my pre-op blood work that my iron is low.  They want me to get a RX from my Dr. office.   Should I be worried?  Anyone else had this happen?  Surgery is next Wednesday...is that enough time to ramp up iron?

No, that is not enough time. You need to know the actual number. Maybe you can schedule an infusion before your surgery? Call tomorrow and find out the number.

Good idea.  I have emailed them and will call after they open if I haven't heard anything.  I need to know how low it really is.

Hi. I got a call two days before my surgery that my hematocrit (the number my surgeon says is the measure of the red blood cells that carry oxygen to your organs and is the important figure,m as well as hemoglobin). Do you know your hematocrit? There is not enough time to get your iron up with food or pills. I'd think if you could get an infusion ASAP perhaps it might have time to help, but I'd heard even those took 10-14 days to help your body start producing blood cells. The other issue with that is that if your numbers aren't low enough to necessitate a medically necessary infusion, you'll have to pay out of pocket and they aer almost 2K.

My surgeon said the concerns are 3-fold. It can cause issues with extreme fatigue after the surgery. It can cause cardiopulmondary issues (scariest to me). And it can cause issues with wound healing. For my part, I had a long-term history of low hematocrit, so he felt comofortable that my body had learned to compensate for that and would not cause any cardiopulmonary issues or really severe fatigue after, but I was worried about wound healing. I decided after going over everything with him that I would go ahead with the surgery. So far, I'm not having any wound healing issues. I actually had a little spot open up and it closed right back up for me.

So let us know your numbers and we can talk through it. Try not to panic. My surgeon said there is a level at which it is a non-negotiable and is just not safe to continued. He said my level was one where we could decide to either postpone and try to get my #'s up or go ahead knowing the risks.   My hematocrit was 33 going into surgery and dropped to 27 after the surgery. He was not concerned about me after and even said he thought I'd drop to 23/24, but I did battle some low blood pressure postop. 

Feel free to pm me too if you want to talk more or on the boards and I'll check back soon.

Hang in there!

Denise

Thank you so much!!  I emailed this morning asking for the numbers and if I don't hear back within 30 min of them opening I will call also.   I'll post as soon as I get that info.  I hope its either just barely low and not a big deal or real low and can justify a transfusion.  I did find out that low iron is common with female athletes.  Athlete ....still gets me every time tha word is used to describe me!!  Whoot whoot!!  :)  -Amy

I have the report but have no clue what it means.  My primary doc has still not called me back.

HCT 27.3 (35-45 is the normal range)
RBC  3.77 (3.8-5.10 normal range)
HGB  8.00 **** 15.5)
MCV  72 (81-101)
MCH 21.2 (27-35)

Well sweetie, I'm sorry to say that with your numbers (HCT is hematocrit and HGB is hemoglobin, not sure on the others) my surgeon would have refused to do the surgery until my numbers were up. They said that within a month my numbers could be up. Not sure given your hematocrit being 5 points lower than mine was how long it would take to get you up to where they might want you. One thing I will say is that my doctor told me if you were hyperhydrated prior to having your blood drawn, that can dilute your blood and give a falsely low hematocrit reading. Had you had a lot of water or fluid just prior to your blood draw? If so, it might be worth doing a redraw of the blood and seeing what your numbers are.  My hemoglobin was 10.8.

So, has your surgeon said anything one way or the other about proceeding or postponing? I'm very interested to hear whether or not they will do the infusion, but also should mention my doc said that a TRANSfusion would be the better route to go to more quickly bring the numbers up. Same issue though with medical necessity and cost. I should qualify this to say that there was some difference of opinion between my primary doc and my surgeon.

Remember, it is WAY better to be safe than sorry. As an athlete, you don't want to deplete your body the way a surgery could. On the flip side of that is that as an athlete, your body is in a MUCH better position to handle low iron based on what my surgeon told me. He said the numbers are very individual. For example, an HCT of 27 in an athlete may be okay, whereas in a 70 year old smoker it could be life threatening.

Looking forward to hearing their decision.  Good Luck!!!

Denise

I was very hydrated actually!  hmmm....wonder how much difference that could have made.  I still haven't heard from my primary dr.  My surgeon's office just refers me to them. I know my WLS dr pretty well and emailed him the lab.  He said don't do the surgery till I get the numbers up.  I faxed the lab to a hemotologist that my husband used and that dr said go ahead but just know that I will need a couple of pints of blood likely.    I've already bawlded out my eyes and adjusting to the idea that it won't happen until next october. 

yep.  surgery cancelled.