ANC 8000
Hemoglobin 10.4
Platelets 310k
Weight 12.3
His hemoglobin is fine today. The doctors cannot give me a straight answer about his periodic low hemoglobin. One doctor says it's the GVH skin rash suppressing the bone marrow, therefore, the red blood cells cannot keep up with production. Then the other doctor says it is due to the different blood type of the donor. God knows, so we keep asking and praying Him!
I did some research on low hemoglobin. There is something called Pernicious Anemia or Vit B-12 deficiency. With it comes: low hemoglobin, low hematocrit and elevated MCV (low red blood cell count with large-sized red blood cells). This describes David's blood tests! Treatment is Vit-B12 shots. I brought this up with Karen and Dr. Argawal. Their response: bone marrow transplant patients are different, a shot might make his arm inflamed and infected, the elevated MCV is common amoung those who received chemotherapy and can remain elevated for years!
OK. I was so tempted to call Dr. Neustaedter, David's natural health doctor (I still think I will call) but there are so many things David cannot take b/c of the possible interactions with his meds. It's very frustrating. David takes a multi-vitamin without iron (he cannot have iron b/c the blood transfusions he occasionally gets are chalk full of iron!). The only one I could find was a chewable at Trader Joes and it's pathetic! Good News! I found a liquid children's multi-vitamin at Whole Foods. Look at the difference:
| TRADER JOES | NUTRITION FOR KIDS BY CHILDLIFE | ||
| Vit A (as retinyl acetate) | 2,500 | Vit A (retinol palmitate) | 850 IU |
| Vit C (as ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate | 60 mg | Vit A (beta carotene) | 850 IU |
| Vit D (as cholecalciferol) | 200 IU | Vit C (ascorbic acid) | 135 mg |
| Vit E (as d-alpha acetate) | 10 IU | Vit D3 (cholecalciferol) | 275 IU |
| Thiamine (as thiamine mononitrate) | 0.7 mg | Vit E (d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) | 20 IU |
| Riboflavin | 0.8 mg | Thiamin (thiamin hcl) (B1) | 2 mg |
| Niacin (as niacinamide) | 9 mg | Riboflavin (ribo-5-phosphate) (B2) | 2 mg |
| Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine hydrochloride) | 0.7 mg | Niacin (niacinamide) (B3) | 10 mg |
| Folic Acid | 200 mcg | Vit B6 (pyridoxine hcl) | 2 mg |
| Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin) | 3 mcg | Folate (folic acid) | 135 mcg |
| Biotin (as d-biotin) | 150 mcg | Vit B12 (cyanocobalmin) | 6 mcg |
| Pantothenic Acid (as calcium pantothenate) | 5 mg | Biotin | 65 mcg |
| Pantothenic Acid (d-pantothenol) (B5) | 7 mg | ||
| Calium (lactate) | 55 mg | ||
| Iodine (potassium iodine) | 50 mcg | ||
| Magnesium (lactate) | 15 mg | ||
| Zinc (gluconate) | 5 mg | ||
| Selenium (selenomethionine) | 35 mcg | ||
| Manganese (gluconate) | 1.5 mg | ||
| Chromium (polynicotinate) | 7 mcg | ||
| Potassium (citrate) | 14 mg | ||
| PABA (para-amino benzoic acid) | 1 mg | ||
| Inositol | 20 mg | ||
| Choline (bitartrate) | 20 mg |
2 comments:
Aimee,
Just checking in on you all! I hope David's hemoglobin goes back up and stays there! You're such an awesome mom, and all of your children are so blessed to have you!
Please give David a big hug from me and Ethan!
Love,
Andrea Marley
Great work finding a better supplement!
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