let's make some lemonade

Well it's no secret that I haven't been pleased with the level of care (or lack thereof) that I've been receiving from Dr. Raghavan. It seems that this asthma exacerbation might have come at just the perfect time. It might be serving as the catalyst for getting my healthcare back on track ~ or at least I hope that's what is happening. Dr. Thompson has been so shocked and concerned by my recent labs & the all the things that haven't been done to help me that he has jumped into high gear. He's been consulting with Dr. Olson daily. I actually feel.... like I have a doctor on my side again.

He came in today with a load of information. Basically, it seems he was saying that the lab results showed that my body has stopped making hemoglobin & possibly hematocrit too??? Not sure actually. My hemoglobin was down to 7.8 today. My ferritin (iron level) is very low too. He said they decided the best plan of action to try first is an IV iron infusion...actually one today and one tomorrow. The side effects can be rough (flu-like symptoms, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, etc). What's new, eh? The good news is that if this works, in three weeks or less I could feel AMAZINGLY better. I should notice more clarity in thinking in a week and start feeling stronger and more energetic within two weeks. Wow! That's an exciting thought! I don't have any details yet on why my body is doing this or is this a forever problem or a forever fix. I just know that my crummy lungs landed me in this place again, but that gave Dr. Thompson and Dr. Olson the chance to work on attacking my blood problem. I'll put this in the positive column for now....


My First IV Iron Infusion