Post treatment blood test results?

Joel C
Joel C Member Posts: 174
in Esophageal Cancer #1
Hello,

During chemo / radiation treatments (summer/fall 2010) my hemoglobin level held at ~14.0. The normal range for HGB is 14.0 – 18.0. Blood work from 3/11 had my HBG at 12.9, today’s blood work at 12.2. My PC says I’m slightly anemic and we’ll just keep an eye on it. I find it strange my HGB level continues to drop even though I’m almost a year out from treatment and eight months out from surgery. I’m curious to know if anyone else has any experience with this blood level.
Thank you,
Joel

Comments

  • mruble
    mruble Member Posts: 174
    #2
    B-12 deficiency?
    Joel --

    I've heard that after an esophagectomy, some patients have trouble absorbing Vitamin b-12 since absorption usually occurs in the upper part of the stomach. This can also happen to people taking PPIs. A b-12 deficiency can lead to anemia. My husband's HGB is currently running at about 10. He's doing chemo now, which may be the issue, but I do plan to talk to the oncologist the next time we see him to ask if he'll do blood work to check Chad's b-12 level.

    Good luck to you!

    Mary
  • sandy1943
    sandy1943 Member Posts: 824
    #3
    Three years since treatment
    Three years since treatment and surgery and my last bloodwork was the first my HGB was in the normal range. It was never very bad and the dr. said it was nothing to be concerned about.
    Sandra
  • dodger21
    dodger21 Member Posts: 85 Member
    #4
    sandy1943 said:

    Three years since treatment
    Three years since treatment and surgery and my last bloodwork was the first my HGB was in the normal range. It was never very bad and the dr. said it was nothing to be concerned about.
    Sandra

    Anaemia
    Hi
    I had Vitamin B deficiency (pernicious anaemia) prior to being diagnosed in Feb. I still get it and just need to get topped up with injections every couple of months. My doctor isn't too worried but just monitors it and injects me when needed. I haven't had any surgery at this stage.
    I looked thru all my blood results computer printouts. I can't find what one is hgb. Maybe they call it something different in Australia. My iron levels are fine I just get monitored for the Vit B anaemia. So long as they keep monitoring it, and top us up when needed, I think we'll be right.
    Danielle
  • jthomas233
    jthomas233 Member Posts: 85
    #5
    Input/output
    Joel-

    My son, Owen, has Crohn's disease and he needs IV infusions every two months. We monitored his HGB all the time before his surgery and in was Low, low, low (9-8-7). After his bowel resection (took 6 inches of his colon and 8 inches of his intestine), his HGB bounced up to 12-13 over time. When he started wrestling again, it dropped down to 11 plus and the doc said that it was largely a result of the activity combined with his limited absorbtion of B-12 (Doc said that was usually absorbed in the Ileum, which he had removed.) We ended up supplementing his diet with Iron pills and all his numbers improved over time....but it seriously took about 8 months to get back to normal.

    You are an active guy coming off an active weekend, and you have some limits when it comes to food intake. When I trained for long races, my HGB would drop for awhile and then bounce back over time...

    Did they give you a number for your actual Iron total? Owens normal was supposed to be 76 and it was 12...
  • Joel C
    Joel C Member Posts: 174
    #6
    dodger21 said:

    Anaemia
    Hi
    I had Vitamin B deficiency (pernicious anaemia) prior to being diagnosed in Feb. I still get it and just need to get topped up with injections every couple of months. My doctor isn't too worried but just monitors it and injects me when needed. I haven't had any surgery at this stage.
    I looked thru all my blood results computer printouts. I can't find what one is hgb. Maybe they call it something different in Australia. My iron levels are fine I just get monitored for the Vit B anaemia. So long as they keep monitoring it, and top us up when needed, I think we'll be right.
    Danielle

    Thank you folks for the
    Thank you folks for the replies. I told my wife about the suggestions and now she’s on her way to pick up vitamin B12. I’ll give it a try and post the results after my next blood test in September. Thanks again,
    Joel
  • jthomas233
    jthomas233 Member Posts: 85
    #7
    Joel C said:

    Thank you folks for the
    Thank you folks for the replies. I told my wife about the suggestions and now she’s on her way to pick up vitamin B12. I’ll give it a try and post the results after my next blood test in September. Thanks again,
    Joel

    normal
    Joel-

    I just checked the bloodwork from Wednesday taken one week after my final chemo. The reference range for HGB was 12-18 g/dl...If you were at my oncologist's, office, you'd be in the normal range.
  • dodger21
    dodger21 Member Posts: 85 Member
    #8
    jthomas233 said:

    Input/output
    Joel-

    My son, Owen, has Crohn's disease and he needs IV infusions every two months. We monitored his HGB all the time before his surgery and in was Low, low, low (9-8-7). After his bowel resection (took 6 inches of his colon and 8 inches of his intestine), his HGB bounced up to 12-13 over time. When he started wrestling again, it dropped down to 11 plus and the doc said that it was largely a result of the activity combined with his limited absorbtion of B-12 (Doc said that was usually absorbed in the Ileum, which he had removed.) We ended up supplementing his diet with Iron pills and all his numbers improved over time....but it seriously took about 8 months to get back to normal.

    You are an active guy coming off an active weekend, and you have some limits when it comes to food intake. When I trained for long races, my HGB would drop for awhile and then bounce back over time...

    Did they give you a number for your actual Iron total? Owens normal was supposed to be 76 and it was 12...

    Vit B tablets
    Joel,
    keep in mind that Vit B tablets only work if you don't have an intrinsic factor problem. The intrinsic factor is what breaks down the vitamins in your foods, in this case Vit B. As I have an intrinsic factor problem it won't break down any Vit B tablets as well. Hence why I get injections that go straight into the blood stream. It takes about a week to kick in. If, after a week, you are still feeling as tired as you were a week ago (on top of our normal tiredness from everything we're going thru') go back to your doc and see if you need an injection instead

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