Low Haemoglobin levels??

Question

If after having a spleen removed and still the blood levels continued to drop to around 6, what else could be going on? My husband has been back to theatre and found to have bleed internally after the initial removal, but yet his haemoglobin levels still keep dropping and the docs are pretty satisfied that he isnt still bleeding. I have been told it can take a while for his levels to settle down but hes had nearly 8 pints of blood and still it seems to be getting no better. it rises a little but then drops. I am starting to get worried now. I know i am no doctor but is this normal? How long after a operation would things take to settle down?
Serious answers only please.

Thanks to everyone who answered, and to pauline, no i dont think he will die, i am just starting to get worried because i think something more serious is going on, but he wont die. I love him too much to let him go.

We don't know why his spleen has been removed, he was admitted with stomach pains and the next day he was rushed in theatre to have his spleen removed. The doctors are still checking his bloods and he has been on a mini diayasis for a few days as his kidney fuction had stopped due to internal bleeding, although that has stopped and the dyalasis has also stopped. My husband is on immunosuppressants as he had a heart transplant last year and we don't know if this has any impact on his spleen, or his low hb levels. I am just worried incase it's leukemia. The doctors won't say anything, just that they are still doing tests and have close contact with the transplant team who did the heart transplant and even the top doctors have phoned the hospital to request certain blood tests, non of which have been done before this episode of the spleen removal. It's just that he has no obvious injury or trauma which would point to the spleen being damaged, so why would it just suddenly burst now?

Answer 1

honey, i have no idea why his haemo is still so low but be reassured they wont let him out of hospital til they discover why.
Several years ago,mine was as low as 5.6 . . . and im still very much alive today thanks to the wonderful health service. Good luck.

Answer 2

Low hemoglobin (haemoglobin for you europeans :) ) is indicative of 2 common conditions and a handful of rarer conditions.

The most common and the one you have already mentioned is internal bleeding. This is easily found on a contrast scan of any kind and your husband's doctors have already done this I am sure.

The next most common cause of low HgB is any of a number of anemias. These range from nutrition depletion anemias such as iron deficiency, B12 or Folic Acid depletion.

Rarer diseases that are indicative of low HgB levels are kidney disease (the loss of HgB through the kidneys, often this shows shows up in the urine), LUPUS, cancer or chron's disease.

The Mayo clinic has a great website devoted to conditions implicated by low haemoglobin and you can find it here:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-hemoglobin/AN01295

I know however that it takes about 10-20 days for most anemias to be corrected (this is due to the production time of reticulocytes and red blood cells) so if that much time has not yet passed I really wouldn't start to worry.

I wish your husband well and I am hoping for the best. I hope I have been helpful.

Answer 3

Babe I am sorry to hear that. Does he drink alcohol ? If he does I would say for him to totally abstain from it. Eat a good diet with a really good mixture of fruit, veg and meat. I have a problem ,not like your husbands but I have varicies in my gut, that means varisose veins, I bleed on a regular basis and have to go to hospital for a camera down my throat to seal the veins off and have transfusions etc.. It must be very hard for you and your husband because you both think he will die etc.. I have had over 100 pints of blood over the last few years and I am still here love. I dont know how long it will take sweetheart because mine will never get better but just make sure he has a good diet and to rest a lot and babe look after him sounds like you love him a lot. good luck babe.

Answer 4

if he isn't bleeding, he must not be making new red blood cells. most common causes would be inadequate nutritional status, in particular iron deficiency. anemia of chonic disease is also possible- you don't tell us why his spleen was removed. the spleen actually doesn't have anything to do with the red blood cells or hemoglobin, unless there's bleeding from the spleen itself. the spleen does scavenge platelets from the bloodstream, but again that doesn't directly impact the hemoglobin.

Answer 5

If the Doc.s are satisfied that there is no internal bleeding, so must be you. Secondly, transfused blood doesn't alter the Hb levels for upto atleast a week. Unless he is not producing any antibodies against his own RBCs, you must just sit back and relax. Take care.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Given this information I can think of the following:
1.Hemoglobin defects like sickle cell anemia,etc
2.Red cell defects such as spherocytosis.
3.Protien malabsorption or defective metablosim.
4.Iron deficiency inspite of iron supplements.It can occur due to improper methods of consuming the supplement.
5.Less active bone marrow.Some drugs and some diseases can cause hypolasia of bone marrow.
6.Autoimmunity against red cells
7.Low platelet count.(though not very much likely)
8.Multi vitamin deficiencies
9.Some renal(kidney) diseases too can cause this

Answer 8

Your husband's condition needs constant medical attention and evaluation. Kindly consult your doctor for constant check up. Yes being transfused with blood will not immediately raise your haemoglobin level, but still constant monitoring should be done. See your doctor now.

Answer 9

Is he taking iron tablets?

I'm absolutely no expert at all, but I had a very low blood count after an operation and was on iron for about a month or so.

Answer 10

You should give him green vegitables, salads, bone soup and especially the dates. Morning and evening Sun will also increase his haem. level. My SOHAM Therapy have succeeded in it more than medicines and suppliments.