# Severe Anemia Postpartum



## WindyCityMom (Aug 17, 2009)

Hi everyone! Does anyone have any experience, BTDT stories, words of advice.. anything?

I gave birth to my DD3 at home early Tuesday morning. I'm about 2 days postpartum. After her birth I had heavy bleeding and had to transfer (I was going into shock). I was fine after they put me in the trendelenberg position in the ambulance, but my BP remained low (fine now).

When I got to the hospital they did a CBC and my hemoglobin was 7.6. At 24hours postpartum it had gone down to 6.3. They had me on ferrous sulfate 3x day in the hospital. I'm now currently taking my prenatal which has 30mg of iron chelate in it, and looking to supplement more (still trying to figure out exactly how much).

In the hospital my midwife wanted to do a blood transfusion and give me 2 bags.. her attending said no.

I'm just so weak. I want to start building up my levels. This sucks. I didn't tear or anything with this birth, it was so easy.. but my anemia is making it so that I can't stand up and walk around without feeling like I'm going to pass out. Advice is welcome


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## heatherfd (Mar 2, 2012)

Honestly, I'm horrified . With 2 other children to look after you must be barely able to stand up .

Even 2 units would have brought you up to 7 !!!!!

Oral iron should bring your Hb up by one gram per month , which means it will be a few months before you feel better !!!

Can you seen another Dr, your family Dr perhaps or just got to ED .

Without blood you're going to be a zombie for months and unable to care for your littlies & newborn .

Please get a second opinion,


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## aphel (Sep 3, 2010)

Definitely the prenatal is not enough. I've had very good luck with floradix. It's not cheap stuff though, so if you opt for ferrous sulfate or anything else oral, make sure to take it with at least a few sips of orange juice or something acidic, which will help it absorb more completely. Going above the recommended doses on an iron supplement is not going to hurt you if you do it short term if your hemoglobin is that low. Just remember to take a stool softener and drink lots of H2O. I learned that one the hard way









I hemorrhaged after a m/c and had similar Hgb values (8.0 after a unit of packed red blood cells). I can honestly say that with the right supplementation, I bounced back much faster than I thought I would. I went from literally having to hold on to the wall when walking to being able to manage a short flight of stairs with only mild dizziness in just a week or two.

Hang in there and congrats on the new baby!


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## WindyCityMom (Aug 17, 2009)

Thank you both! I went back in and was readmitted.. Received 2 units of blood and my hemoglobin is now at 10.2!!


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## fwfw (May 27, 2012)

I have had issues with anemia all my life. You can try Blood Builders from Megafoods. It can raise your hemoglobin an entire point in one week. It has been my miracle pill.


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## Wendlynnn (Oct 14, 2009)

FLoradix all the way. Took it after dd was born (also low iron, blood loss). Just started it last week for preg anemia and already notice a HUGE difference. I take 10 ml 2xs a day in OJ.


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## WindyCityMom (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm on Floadix as well as my prenatal now. I was discharged at 8.8.

I take my floradix straight.. I love the taste, lol. I suppose I should take it with some vitamin C though..

I've also noticed that low blood sugar affects me more adversely than before... not sure if it is exacerbated by the anemia or not, but i get extremely weak, shaky, and have the heart palpitations. Eating something solves this completely. So weird!


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## WindyCityMom (Aug 17, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fwfw*
> 
> I have had issues with anemia all my life. You can try Blood Builders from Megafoods. It can raise your hemoglobin an entire point in one week. It has been my miracle pill.


Thanks! I stuck with floradix, but when I have levels redrawn in 5 weeks I may consider switching if I see no good improvement.


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