Hello,
My sister had a low blood count before her first surgery and iron supplements helped. Her blood counts were good before her big debulking surgery but low after surgery. They said this was normal. It has been 5 weeks and she is experiencing symptoms of a low blood count. It hasn't risen in the last 5 weeks and she has been taking iron supplements. Anyone know any reason for this?
If she is having Chemo, most regimens will depress the bone marrow. It takes a while to recover and if her red cells are very low, the doctor usually prescribed a blood transfusion.
Hope she gets help.
Laura
She is not on chemo.....which is why we are surprised
I am permanently struggling with low iron-apparently I have it when otherwise well but as soon as I’m ill it gets worse. I take one of those liquid iron supplements on a semi regular basis as it’s better for me than iron pills. During treatment I had blood transfusions...the up side was feeling turbo charged as soon as I had someone else’s iron levels! xx
Thank you!
I agree - I think liquid supplements are better - Floradix is a really good one. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so fruit is good too.
I have had several blood transfusions- have you asked about this?
She hasn't started chemo yet so I think they are trying to figure out why her count is low.....its just frustrating. Thanks for responding
Do any of you know if the Intraperitoneal chemo affects blood count? She did have that during her debulking surgery
I’m not on chemo but my blood count is low. I was given iron tablets and it’s picked up but some way to go
Green leafy veg and red meat boost your iron naturally so worth a try. I ate kale, broccoli and cabbage
If it falls below 8 most oncologists will want a transfusion before treatment mine is now up at 10
Does she have any blood loss? My iron is low because I have bleeding in my bladder from small blood vessels and a tumour
LA xx
No blood mass that we know of. She just had a CD at scan and nothing was out of the ordinary(thank god) she is going to change her diet but it's difficult because her diet is limited. Doctor seems to think she can get it back up. She's at 7.6
The Chemo infusion in her abdomen would be the most likely culprit. It doesn’t just stay there. It often has more severe side effects than when administered by IV infusion and depressing the bone marrow is a main side effect.
It will bounce back, but a transfusion would really help.
Best wishes,
Laura
Thank you for the information
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