Suffering From Anemia. Hysterectomy To Be Done. Feeling Chest Tightness And Hard To Breath. What's Wrong?

Posted on Sat, 11 Aug 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 Answered on

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 47 year old female with anemia. I had a blood transfusion in XXXXXXX and another last week. I am having a hysterectomy next month. I'm concerned because my chest feels tight and I am having a hard time breathing, even after this second transfusion. I do not feel that "burst" of energy everyone talks about. What is wrong with me?

Answered by Dr. Robert Galamaga (1 hour later)

Hello and thank you for submitting your question.

Your question is a very good one and I will work on providing you with some information and recommendations.

The most likely reason why you don't feel the energy you might expect right now is because transfused blood needs to be oxygenated by the body before it completely functions. This can generally take three or four days. You might consider taking some iron supplements as this will help your body generate new blood cells as well.

Thanks again for submitting your question. Please let me know if you have any additional concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr Robert

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar