Hi Kristin,
A Hb of 12.9 is perfectly normal, even for a non-pregnant women ... so stop
worrying. In fact the current research suggests that the best perinatal
outcomes occur with a Hb between 95 -110g/L.
The fainting spell was more likely caused by low blood pressure which is
also normal in pregnancy and women should merely avoid standing for long
periods which causes a further drop in blood pressure.
The tiredness is also a normal part of pregnancy and just your body just
trying to tell you to nurture yourself a little.
I recall when I did my midwifery training that Maggie Miles had a whole
chapter on the normal discomforts of pregnancy and amongst these are
tiredness, breathlessness, fainting, pressure pains, etc etc ...
The secret is to listen to your body, trust your body, rest when you need to
and stop worrying and stop looking for problems.
All the best,
Leanne
Leanne Wynne
Midwife in charge of Women's Business
Mildura Aboriginal Health Service Mob 0418 371862
From: Kristin Beckedahl [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au
To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au
Subject: [ozmidwifery] Iron woes - longish
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 16:05:15 +0800
Hi all,
I have just received this query from a woman - any ideas of how to help her
with this greatly appreciated!
28/40 bloods Hb 12.9, Ferritin 7 - That's the lowest it has ever been as
far as I'm aware. Dr wasn't too worried about it as he felt my body had
probably aclimatised to the low iron stores. However I am concerned about
this and am wanting to get my levels up as quickly as possible.
The problem is is that I have not been able to tolerate any form of oral
iron. The Iron Plus were too constipating, so I became even more conscious
(if that was possible) of getting as much iron from my diet as possible.
However, I was becoming more and more lethargic etc and so I tried taking
Clements Iron (liquid) that was recommended to me. However this had the
opposite effect (diarrhoea) and my stools were very black, which made me
doubt if I was absorbing any iron at all. As well as the black stools, I
was becoming increasingly symptomatic of iron deficiency and anaemia.
My bloods last week showed my Hb 11.0 Ferritin 7 (However a fingerprick
sample for my Hb 2 days earlier was 10.0 g/dL) I became quite dizzy when
standing, my BP dropped to 90 / 44, very short of breath, exhausted, oedema
in my ankles etc. I saw a locum GP and he wanted to see what my blood
results were before suggesting any treatment.
I relayed all of this to my Midwives down south who consulted a Homeopath
who felt that maybe I was toxic to iron and that is why my body wouldn't
tolerate any supplements. (When I look back I have been on Iron on and off
since I was pregnant with my little boy ~ 2.5 years ago). I was advised to
stop taking any Fe supplements and do a 3 day detox on Pulsatilla 6c three
times a day. I have just completed this and surprisingly, I have started to
feel better, less dizzy, BP now normal 100 / 70, still SOB and tired though
as could be expected.
My GP is back now and he wants me to have iron injections over the next 2
weeks to see if that will restore my levels. What do you think???
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