I had routine blood work done last week and my hemoglobin came in at 8.2. My doctor was extremely concerned and because I had pretty bad chest pains a month earlier, she wanted me to get a blood transfusion asap. I had my blood work done again the following day and it was at 8.4. The weekend before, I had an extremely heavy period, extremely heavy. So she made an appointment for me last week to have 2 units of blood. I went to the hospital and after talking to a nurse and my doctor, I changed my mind. I have had blood work done again (don't know the results yet) and have a doctor's appt tomorrow. My question is, since we have no idea why my blood count is so low, why would I have a transfusion?

Thanks for any thoughts.

NancyEllen :confused:

Not to be nosy, but how did everything turn out on this blood test?

A few years ago I had a hemerage that had me in the emergancy room, my blood was at 7.2. I was give two bags of blood. The blood loss happened over a 24 hour period and I was apparently going into shock when I reached the hospital (a fibroid was found) but this usually happens only when you loose the blood all at once. Your body doesn't have time the adjust, so it starts shutting down. But I have read that usually if the low blood comes on slowly (I wasn't feeling that great last year and went for a blood test and my blood was the same as yours 8.4) you can usually recover by taking Iron. I used the slow release with folic acid and over the next 6 months my blood went up to 125. Have you been taking iron supplements yet? I sure hope you feel better and everything turns out okay for you.