Elevated Hemocrit and Hemoglobin

[t-bone]

Latest labs show the trend continues to get worse

doc says i have to go to the blood disorders clinic, ASAP


when i called to make an appointment , they said they were presently booking mid to late January soonest,( even urgent cases she said)

doc must have intervened behind the scenes as i now have a 12/10 appointment / then labs / then something called phelobotomy same day
... that's tomorrow ...

what fresh hell is this?

will i be able to drive myself (3 hours each way)?

 

[Scipio]

It sounds like they suspect you might have polycythemia. Phlebotomy literally means "cutting a vein," and it refers to a procedure for removing some of the blood cells to get your hemoglobin and hematocrit down to normal levels. It could be dangerous if they get too high because of increased risk of blood clots.

The most common type of polycythemia is called polycythemia vera, and it cannot be cured but it can be managed by a combinaton of phlebotomy and drugs.

Good luck with your appointment.

 

[t-bone]

Thanks for the timely and helpful reply!

I'm not gonna lie, this particular problem and this appointment are a bit ... concerning ...

 

[Malice67]

Its been a couple weeks -- how did it go??

 

[t-bone]

Sorry I haven't updated this posting,

I was blessed with an exceptional doc (and supporting staff) for this appointmenmt last month

We're still running down the *potential* causes for this particluar complication, but the doc did a series of very involved tests, including looking for a genetic marker for polycthemia vera
... thankfully not found ...

... which leaves quite a few questions on the table and no clear path forward


Scipio nailed it when he said they were gonna "bleed" me some to lower the hemocrit

Seems pretty damn goofy in this day and age of modern medical miracles that they just bleed you out a scosche (and discard the blood!)

pro tip;
nobody in this clinic has a good sense of humour
my request for fresh leaches was met with a very blunt rebuke from staff
Although the 93 year old lady in the next bay got quite a kick out of that comment "honey hush, y'all almost made me spit out my tooths"
(we had a nice chat, she does this procedure on a regular basis and she was just trying to make it to Christmas so she could see her great, great grandchildren, ... kinda put some perspective on things

.... It is what it is ...

I will update the thread when I have some usefull information or anything to add

Thanks again Scipio for your kind words before this appointment




If anyone else deals with this problem, I'd love to hear about your experieinces!

 

[t-bone]

So, yeah, here we go again

Numbers even worse than the last time.
... did the same treatment, just a lil bleed an go

Only, this time, i didn't tolerate it as well
I'm cold all the time and just feel "off" (more than usual, lol)

More concerning, my blood o2 went down to 83% and my heartrate has been very high


I asked my doc about that number and he said ER STAT...
(whole different story about how ugly that trip was)
... ended up checking into my local volunteer fire station for an equipment check / advice, and they went def con one
hooked up every spo2 meter they had to every finger, and even an earlobe

moral to the story YOUR LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS REAL LIVE PROFESSIONALS THAT WILL SEE YOU ASAP, and triage you right then and there


interesting science behind most blood oximemetrs, they read the oxygen in your red blood cells as they pass by using reflected/refracted light
they will also read carbon monoxide as oxygen, and give an artificially high reading if you have CO in your blood

I used to allow myself 3 to 5 cigarretes a day, and recently stopped even that small sin

so, yeah, 83% is a real number , with a caveat


To put the cherry on the cake,
I had a disastrous appointment with a mental health "provider" to help with my anxiety two days later
(isaw a heartrate of 155 during the telehealth visit with her, and am struggling to get it under 100, period, since)


... thanks, lady, thanks a lot

I will be following up with her supervisor, but I need to not stroke out in the meantime,

so I've been takin ~5mg diazepam every couple hours (brings the hear rate down to under 90 nicely, )
I also borrowed an oxygen concentrator to help purge the CO at night , and that has helped a ton



Scipio, I truly appreciate your input on this topic last year.
Made me much more comfortable moving forward with "treatment: ... such as it is ...

These "uncurable" diseases really bring the suck!


Open to any and all input on ways to make the best of this


Thanks!