Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone else has suffered from Anaemia/low iron after having their Tkr surgery..My doctor tested me today as he thinks i seem very pale,which i am and my gums are pale too...thanks
well while I was in hospital my iron was very low, so they gave me two transfusions, and after that I was OK . . made me feel very very tired, weak, and generally lacking in any sort of energy or desire to live! But well, the operation does that anyway!!!
Yes I was put on ferrous sulphate for 28 days and my mum was also very anaemic but only for the first week. Get iron in your diet too or take a multi vitamin with iron it.
Hello Lou - Yes, my blood count and iron levels were very low as they discharged me from hospital. Was prescribed iron tablets and I had to have blood tests carried at my GP surgery. Each time I had a blood test carried out, the blood count went up and my iron levels returned to normal - probably about two months after surgery. During this time, I would become very tired and go back to bed for an hour (or two) once per day. Sometimes it was late morning, sometimes it was in the afternoon and I would go straight to sleep as soon as I lay down! I had my surgery about seven months ago now and, although it was an ordeal to go through, it has been well worth it. I cannot believe that I can walk around so easily now. Good luck with your recovery. Dorothy
Yes..this last surgery required iron meds for several days. 3 of the 4 previous surgeries required blood transfusion plus iron meds. Lots of blood loss with tkr.
Hi Lou, my doctors surgery rang me on Friday to tell me Doctor was concerned that I'm anaemic, I had more bloods taken yesterday and will have results Thursday. Then hopefully they can sort some iron treatment or something out for me. No wonder I'm exhausted all the time. I couldn't have diathermy during surgery due to having a sacral nerve implant that could have overheated and caused great damage so I bled a lot. Don't know why they didn't give me a transfusion at the time, though I am a rare blood group. Hey ho at least I know now why I'm in bed before dark!!!!!
Yes I did. I had 2 surgeries in 3 days and bleeding in the calf though so had more blood loss than normal. They wanted to give me a transfusion but I got very upset (it just seemed one step too far for me) so they agreed to wait and see if the iron supplements worked. It started to improve after a week (I was in hospital for 9 days) but I continued to take the tablets for 2 months. I got the all clear in May.
I have red hair, fair skin and I'm vegetarian...you can imagine how pale I am 😳
I am tempted to say get the biggest steak you possibly can devour it and that will soon elevate your iron levels but there again I am not a Vegetarian.One of my Daughters in law frequently has low iron levels and she too is a Vegetarian.
I remember the Dr coming in on day three post op and he said look at your feet, they were as white as snow. I was given two blood transfusions but I was extremely tired, docile and inactive for at least six weeks.
I am still quite surprised that so much blood could be lost during the surgery.
I remember lhying there throughout the operation, and I coud see the tube which was carrying blood. . it seemed to be moving all the time! It was a little off putting to tell the truth!
You were actually conscious during that operation? Poor you....I was totally out. I could hear the hammering and I was thinking/imagining to myself that's the mechanic working on the car. For about three days, people came to visit but I didn't know they'd been. I was out of it.
Totally conscious I'm afraid. It was so cold. . and although I couldn't feel anything from the waist down, I could see my body moving with the hammering! I was not offered any sort of sedation . . if I have to have another one some day, i shall be a bit wiser! He was very slow too I was watching the clock, and I've never seen two and a half hours go so slowly!
same here chris,im so tired all the time,i know the op takes it out of you but i feel drained all the time,,i must have at least 2/3 naps a day right now..get my results in a day or two..
That's worth knowing. I do have to have my other knee done and I'll make sure to stress I want to go to sleep, fully to sleep like I did last time, I'd rather be a zombie for a week than watch that operation. The sound effects were bad enough, but like I said, I didn't know it was coming from my operation.
Interesting reading your post re anemia. I've been feeling very tired and down and generally unwell for weeks so I will get my iron levels checked.
(8 months TKR)
I too was awake for the op. I had a small tube blowing warm air over my body.
They had drum and base music playing which happened to be my favourite and asked I them to turn it up to drown out the saw lol
Like being in a carpenters work shop!
OMG I would have passed out just at the thought of what they were doing! Mine were under strict instructions - keep me under!
re bloods, I also had an hysterectomy last year and found I had low iron a couple of months after - due to loss of quite a lot of blood during the op, but no one ever said anything about it. It was a feeling of depression which took me to the docs in the first place, but ferrous sulphate at vitamin b12 worked a treat.
I was adamant that they put me out cold. I seem to recover really quickly from anaesthetic so no point in wasting that 😉
My surgeon had already said he didn't think I should be awake though as my op was likely to take at least 4 hours due to how complicated it was. It took 4.5 hours in the end so I think I'd of lost my mind lying there for that long.
I have nothing but admiration for anyone who stays awake. Much braver than me.
Well, you don't actually see anything. . there is a curtain up at waist level so you only hear what's gooing on. But next time I would rather not hear . . .
I had the hot air tube . . but it only kept one shoulder warm! the rest was freezing. No music though. . .i rather like that idea . .headphones would be great, but I doubt if you can take anything into the theatre for hygiene reasons. . .
Not brave! Just no alternative offered