Note: The story told below begins in 2010. My mother is doing better and is about to undergo her 3rd procedure to combat chronic bleeding. Read more details at HealthCentral.
We didn’t realize just how ill my mother was. As my mother walked into the emergency department, her shockingly low hemoglobin (Hb) level was 3.5 g/dL. Normal hemoglobin levels for a woman range from 12.0 to 16.0 g/dL. The nurse confided that she had never seen such low hemoglobin in a person who was conscious much less alert and ambulatory (however weak). The doctor said that such a low Hb level could cause a heart attack.
Hemoglobin is the protein molecule in red blood cells which carries oxygen throughout the body. According to the Mayo Clinic, “a low hemoglobin count is a common blood test result. In many cases, a low hemoglobin count is only slightly lower than normal, isn't considered significant, and causes no symptoms. A low hemoglobin count can also be caused by an abnormality or disease. In these situations, a low hemoglobin count is referred to as anemia.”
Read this post in its entirety:
Chronic Bleeding, Autoimmune Disease, and Blood Transfusions
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