hgb 6.7, platelets 16000

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• June 6, 2008 at 11:55 pm #20852
  smfallen

  Member

  Hi –

  I’ve posted here before and got very helpful answers for this disease that’s so hard to understand. I am hoping for the same.

  My father was dx with MDS in June ’07, although i don’t know anything about what scale they used for diagnosis – he’s only told me that he is low-intermediate. Recently, he got pretty sick with severe bronchitis, was prescribed a strong antibiotic and has been very weak every since, including shortness of breath.

  He saw a local hematologist yesterday, and his hemoglobin is 6.7 and his platelets down to 16,000 (prior to this he has hemoglobin of 10.2 and platelets of 27,000). I am very worried about him.

  He sees Dr. Silverman at Mt. Sinai but is not scheduled for another BM biopsy until August. My dad thinks the numbers went down b/c of the antibiotics and will get better. Can anyone give me any clue as to what we can expect from here? I know this is a vague question, but it’s so hard to not know anything about what’s happening with my Dad.

  THANK YOU –

  S

  June 6, 2008 at 11:58 pm #20853
  smfallen

  Member

  He also has no blasts…

  June 7, 2008 at 11:06 am #20854
  eve

  Member

  dear s

  if his hgb was so low did he get a red blood cell tx
  infections tend to lower the hgb in mds patients

  my dad was treated by dr silverman – he is sure to put your dad on the right path of treatment

  good luck
  eve

  June 7, 2008 at 10:20 pm #20855
  smfallen

  Member

  hi eve –

  thank you. my dad is in long island too – part of my frustration is that i am in chicago and not able to attend all his appointments with him.

  he has not had any transfusions; the hematologist (local – not dr. silverman) told him to come back in a week and do another blood test.

  when an infection lowers hgb in mds patients, do the numbers ever rebound?

  Thank you again. I am really so grateful for this forum.

  S

  June 8, 2008 at 4:21 am #20856
  eve

  Member

  hi s

  who is your dad seeing locally – my dad could not function when his hgb got below 9
  i know everyone is different, but 6.7 sounds really low not to have a tx

  my dad’s hgb when he had an infection would not rebound unless he had a tx, sometimes it took 2 to get him back on track – but again i say that everyone is different

  good luck
  eve

  June 8, 2008 at 4:58 am #20857
  Jack_dup1

  Member

  I would be seeing another hematologist, 6.7 sounds awful low, especially with his SOB, he needs HBG to deliver air.
  The question should not be “will the counts recover after the infection, but what damage is being done while they recover. I was given tx when it dropped to 9.0. Be assertive.
  Jack S.

  June 8, 2008 at 5:42 pm #20858
  jaxem

  Member

  S
  I’m a little confused. he’s seeing a local hematologist but also sees a Dr. Silverman who Eve says is a good guy. Why doesn’t he see Dr. S all the time? How old is he? what type MDS has he been diagnosed?. Why had the local doc allowed he hemoglobin to fall so low? Antibiotics don’t knock down the counts but an infection would lower the white count, not so much the red. Most importantly, where are his neutrophils at? low neutrophils will make him sensitive to infection sources. Numbers should rebound depending upon the meds he is on and the degree of his blood disease.

  June 8, 2008 at 5:54 pm #20859
  eve

  Member

  jack

  not answering for S, but my dad saw dr silverman once a month (he is in nyc) and then had a local hematologist that he was in contact with weekly – the 2 doctors would confire when needed

  it would have been too taxing for my dad to go into manhattan every week

  and besides you need to establish a relationship with a local doctor in case of an emergency or hospitalization

  just my 2 cents worth

  good luck
  eve

  June 8, 2008 at 6:23 pm #20860
  eve

  Member

  oops the word is confer not confire

  eve

  June 8, 2008 at 10:24 pm #20861
  smfallen

  Member

  Eve & Jack & Jack- thank you. Eve is right – going to Manhattan from LI often is too hard on my father. My Dad is 71. He is probably going to have a blood transfusion tomorrow, even though he was not scheduled to go in until Thursday for more tests. He is currently not on any meds.

  Another complication is that his spleen is enlarged – which it has been for a while – and he is in pain b/c of it. I am told he doesn’t have enough platelets for surgery and b/c of his low platelets it could be very dangerous if it bursts.

  I don’t know about his neutrophils – I will ask.
  I am in Chicago, and he and my mom insist I don’t need to come home now, but maybe I should. Still hoping. Thank you all for your support and information.

  Shaena

  June 9, 2008 at 12:38 pm #20862
  Jack_dup1

  Member

  Inquire about radiating the spleen. Docs have different opinions about it. I had a very large painful spleen which they radiated. It is not the same as removing it, but far less traumatic. If you want more on my experience, I will e-mail you.
  Jack S
  J.saffell@mchsi.com

  June 9, 2008 at 10:58 pm #20863
  jga_socal

  Member

  Shaena,
  I was on a strong antibiotic called Sulfamethoxazole for 3 months until April 8. This drug is also called Bactrim, Septrin, or Septra. I am recovering from a stem cell transplant on Jan 9. Around Apr 1 my platelets started a steep dive. See my blood counts on my Blog . Doctors suspected the Septra so they took me off and I switched to Pentamidine , an inhaled antibiotic. My platelets soon recovered and now are at the low end of normal. My conclusion is that Septra was definitely the cause of my platelet drop. Also, finishing a study drug a few weeks later called Maribavir, my counts seemed to improve even more.
  Regarding the hgb of 6.7. My low was 6.1 in Jan 2006. I’ll tell you this. No matter what anyone says, your dad will feel a lot better if his hgb is brought up, either by RBC tranfusions or Procrit/Aranesp.

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