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Blood transfusion

rosiegirl
rosiegirl CSN Member Posts: 22
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi all,

Has anyone ever had a blood transfusion for low hemoglobin counts while on chemo? My doc is recommending this for me. Sounds scary, but they said it would give me tons more energy.

Jeanne
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Comments

  • AuthorUnknown
    AuthorUnknown CSN Member Posts: 1,537 Member
    #2
    My mom just had one last month. She said it was no big deal and gave her a huge boost of energy!
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  • BonnieR
    BonnieR CSN Member Posts: 1,526 Member
    #3
    Yes I have had blood transfusions and although they take a whole day it does give you lots of energy. Are you getting the procrit shots to keep your rbc from going so low? I also did procrit.

    Bonnie
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  • mopar
    mopar CSN Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #4
    When my grandmother had them years ago everyone told me what a difference it made for her and how much better she felt. Then my Mom had one last year and I could see for myself it was very beneficial for her. As Bonnie said it takes all day, so bring sme things along to do - CD player, reading, crossword puzzles, etc. They will probably have a TV for you also.

    Let us know how you goes for you! Wishing you the best!
    Monika
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  • groundeffect
    groundeffect CSN Member Posts: 639 Member
    #5
    I wouldn't hesitate to have a tranfusion, if it will help you with your chemo. I've had them twice, once with my stored blood, and once with blood from a donor, and I'm sure they helped me.

    This is a good time for me to put in a plug for helping your local blood bank; I used to donate regularly, but haven't been able to since discovering I had cancer. The blood bank told me that the current thought is that I need to be cancer free for at least 10 years before I can donate again. That could change in the future, because the parameters for donors are always changing, but will be out of the supply until then unless the rules change.
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  • Mary303
    Mary303 CSN Member Posts: 15
    #6
    Hello and Good Morning, I hope you are having a good monday morning. I had a transfusion on friday the 4th. Usually I have a low count while I'm on chemo. This time I wasn't. I haven't had chemo sense the middle of Oct. My counts wents down to 8.1 and that was why I was sooo tired. Yes they help. They do take anywhere form 6-8 hours. It also depends on how many units they give you. I had to have 2 this last time. I do feel better sense Fri. But I'm also looking to go back on chemo treatments real soon. My dr. wants my counts higher of course before he starts. I took the procrit shots also. They do help. Also the neulasta helps with the white counts for infection.
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