Where am I bleeding??? I am scared!

suzanne4, RN · Mar 12, 2005

My recommendation would be to follow up with a hematologist. This is their specialty.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2005

since october 2004 my cbc labs have been dropping significantly.

my labs are as follows:

type date results reference range
hemaglobin 10/04 11.3 12.4-15.7
12/04 10.5
02/05 9.8
03/05 9.5

hemacrit 10/04 35 37.7-47
12/04 32
02/05 29.4
03/05 31

mcv 10/04 74.6 82-97
11/04 72.7
12/04 69
02/05 65.4
03/05 64.7

my internist was very concerned about these values especially since i am on coumadin therapy. i have no periods cause of polycystic disease so i am not bleeding from there. so we are totally puzzled why my lab values are dropping! its scary, i could be bleeding internally and not know it. the one diagnosis we got out of this was severe chronic anemia which makes me so so exhausted!
so next wednesday i am going into the or and having an upper endoscopy and lower colonoscopy to find out if i am bleeding in my intestines. my bowel movement look normal to me, no blood or coffee colored stools that i know of. but what else could it be?

any ideas? let me know. if my values keep dropping i will need a blood transfusion. oh and i am taking iron pills and have been for 3-4 months.

thanks for listening, curleysue :uhoh21:

curley sue:

you take a lot of nsaids? i was taking a lot of motrin. one day i went to the doc and just as a routine, they drew a cbc. my hg was 6! i knew i was tired, but not that tired. they transfused me with 2 units and i took iron. about a year later it started dropping again and i was again transfused. the 3rd time it happened they decided to do the endoscopy and colonoscopy. i'm sorry, after the 2nd time. but the 3rd time the doc decided to give me carafate and now i don't have a problem, but why didn't he give it to me after the endo and colonoscopy?

i have no problem now and i take my iron. the problem was slow bleeding in my stomach from the motrin i was using.

hope your problem is something as simple as that. let us know what it turns out to be. good luck and i know the feeling of being so scared. i was so uptight i though it was something life-threatening.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2005

since october 2004 my cbc labs have been dropping significantly.

my labs are as follows:

type date results reference range
hemaglobin 10/04 11.3 12.4-15.7
12/04 10.5
02/05 9.8
03/05 9.5

hemacrit 10/04 35 37.7-47
12/04 32
02/05 29.4
03/05 31

mcv 10/04 74.6 82-97
11/04 72.7
12/04 69
02/05 65.4
03/05 64.7

my internist was very concerned about these values especially since i am on coumadin therapy. i have no periods cause of polycystic disease so i am not bleeding from there. so we are totally puzzled why my lab values are dropping! its scary, i could be bleeding internally and not know it. the one diagnosis we got out of this was severe chronic anemia which makes me so so exhausted!
so next wednesday i am going into the or and having an upper endoscopy and lower colonoscopy to find out if i am bleeding in my intestines. my bowel movement look normal to me, no blood or coffee colored stools that i know of. but what else could it be?

any ideas? let me know. if my values keep dropping i will need a blood transfusion. oh and i am taking iron pills and have been for 3-4 months.

thanks for listening, curleysue :uhoh21:

p.s. curleysue:

i found that the regular run of the mill iron pills didn't work for me. the ones i take are slow fe. the building up you hg pretty fast. i have heard that prenatal vitamins are very good for this. again, good luck.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2005

My recommendation would be to follow up with a hematologist. This is their specialty.

This would be your next step if the other tests don't show anything. Hopefully they will.

sharann, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2005

Why the coumadin?

I have Crohn's disease which makes me have very low hemoglobin leves(been down to 7). You CAN bleed from the intestines and not see the blood.It can be microscopic losses, and chronic. I am not saying you have this, just that this is what I have. My bleeding was very obviousl though. This may sound silly but do you eat meat? Vegetarians can become quite anemic.

weetziebat · Mar 12, 2005

curleysue, i don't have anything else to add. sounds like you've received some good advice here. just want to give you some {{{{{curleysue}}}}}, cause i can imagine how scary it must be. let us know what the tests reveal, o.k? good luck hon :icon_hug:

justcurious · Mar 12, 2005

Looks like iron deficiency anemia to me. Upper and lower endoscopy is clearly indicated. Should no bleeding source be found, I'd consider:

*testing stool for occult blood (bleeding from the small intestine? - a rare thing, but very troublesome diagnostically - may be diagnosed via capsule endoscopy)

*checking iron absorption - if poor absorption, consider celiac disease, Crohn's disease (there need not be any diarrhea) and some other diagnoses

*gyn consult

Take care,

Magdalena

DDRN4me · Mar 12, 2005

good luck, curley sue..i have heard that some forms of ulcerative colitis can also have occult bleeding..hope this all turns out well for you! Mary

talaxandra · Mar 12, 2005

The only thing I have to add is that it may not be blood loss, but decreased RBC production. I agree with Suzanne that seeing a heatologist's a good idea.

Thinking of you

steelcityrn, RN · Mar 12, 2005

Curleysue,

I have seen your posts here before about your health problems. You really should be following up with all physicians involved in your care. No one here should be diagnosing you. Its good that you share your problems so others can learn about it, but I would not ask people what they feel is wrong with you. You may be getting alot of information that does not pertain to you.

P.S. Good luck to you :)

NurseFirst · Mar 12, 2005

Curleysue,
I have seen your posts here before about your health problems. You really should be following up with all physicians involved in your care. No one here should be diagnosing you. Its good that you share your problems so others can learn about it, but I would not ask people what they feel is wrong with you. You may be getting alot of information that does not pertain to you.
P.S. Good luck to you :)

Although this is not a board to seek out medical care, I know that I and others have benefited from the support and information provided through both online and offline support groups. I don't think it's a matter of diagnosing Curleysue (although one poster certainly seemed to be trying to)--I think it's a matter of trying to generate ideas which, perhaps, her doctor has not considered. No one knows, or thinks of, everything, and, obviously, since the internist is uncertain, groups can sometimes provide some of the more obscure reasons for various medical conditions. I think Curleysue's proactive interest in her condition is a good thing; frequently, no one knows about a disease as much as a person who has that disease (because of the research that they have done on it), and even some doctors will tell you that! Think of Lorenzo's Oil, for instance!

by the way, a great board which has information on a lot of different kinds of diseases, not just traditionally "neuro" diseases is http://www.braintalk.org (actually that will forward you; I never remember the new link because I don't relate it to anything neuro--something like "hastypasty" or something...

Good luck to you, Curleysue!

NurseFirst