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What Does My Blood Test Report Indicate?
Posted on
Fri, 22 Sep 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 22 Sep 2017
Answered on
Tue, 10 Oct 2017
Last reviewed on
Question : Hello Dr. Rynne,
My mother in law had a blood transfusionlast night. Her hemoglobin was 3.9. After 7 units of blood transfusion, it went up to her stable level, around 8. Since she was 7 years old, her blood level has always been low. She is 78 years old. Her father has ulcers. She believes she has it too. They found blood in her stool. I do not know how much, and I over heard it was whole blood. But I do not know what that means, or if I heard correctly. Forgive me for not able to give you a more accurate medical terms. She does not want to get an EGN or colonoscopy to find out the cause of her slow blood leakage.
Main questions:
1) is there such a thing as a cure for ulcer? She does not believe there is, but she read Australia found a cure.
2) has no interest in surgery or any kind if the reason for the blood leakage were a)ulcers, b) cancer, or c) tumor related.
Her primary doctor did mentioned of abnormal veins and vessels to be the cause of the bleeding. Which we were told Was to detect and if found hard to fix.
3) she have heard of in home nurse admin of iron shoots. Is there such a thing? If so, then can non medical practitioner administer it?
4) if she is interested in holistic approach to increase her hemoglobin, then is that possible?
My questions:
1) considering she has have this for most of her life. Is there anything I can do to help her be more comfortable?
2) is it possible for doctors to find out where the leaks are coming from without doing procedures such as EGN or especially colonscopy?
My mother in law had a blood transfusionlast night. Her hemoglobin was 3.9. After 7 units of blood transfusion, it went up to her stable level, around 8. Since she was 7 years old, her blood level has always been low. She is 78 years old. Her father has ulcers. She believes she has it too. They found blood in her stool. I do not know how much, and I over heard it was whole blood. But I do not know what that means, or if I heard correctly. Forgive me for not able to give you a more accurate medical terms. She does not want to get an EGN or colonoscopy to find out the cause of her slow blood leakage.
Main questions:
1) is there such a thing as a cure for ulcer? She does not believe there is, but she read Australia found a cure.
2) has no interest in surgery or any kind if the reason for the blood leakage were a)ulcers, b) cancer, or c) tumor related.
Her primary doctor did mentioned of abnormal veins and vessels to be the cause of the bleeding. Which we were told Was to detect and if found hard to fix.
3) she have heard of in home nurse admin of iron shoots. Is there such a thing? If so, then can non medical practitioner administer it?
4) if she is interested in holistic approach to increase her hemoglobin, then is that possible?
My questions:
1) considering she has have this for most of her life. Is there anything I can do to help her be more comfortable?
2) is it possible for doctors to find out where the leaks are coming from without doing procedures such as EGN or especially colonscopy?
Brief Answer:
Angiography
Detailed Answer:
Dear Ma'am, I have gone through your question and I understand your concerns.. Gastric ulcers can be treated by medications that decrease acid production and allow the gastric mucosa to heal .. But first I would recommend that she take a breath test for h.pylori infection and if found positive then it should be treated with antibiotics . h. pylori infection can cause gastric ulcer and can also cause failure of treating it , so it needs to be excluded or treated first .. This should be accompanied by proton pump inhibitors as omeprazol , h2 blockers as ranitidine before every meal and sucralfate to protect gastric lining..
iron shoots will only be useful is the cause of anemia is iron difficiency anemia and it should be administrated at the hospital under medical supervision as it can cause possible allergy and anaphylaxis shock..
The cause of blood in stools can be indicated by the color of blood in stools .. bright colored blood is probably due to rectal or colonic causes, while dark or maroon colored blood is probably due to gastric or esophygeal causes..
However , diagnosis of tumors including cancer and diverticulosis can be down by a ct scan of the colon .. while the abnormal blood vessels ( Angiodysplasia) can be diagnosed by an angiography which is a ct scan accompanied by XXXXXXX injection to visualize the blood vessels and the site of leak..
Holistic treatment will not be useful in this case..
I hope you find this helpful. if you don't have any other clarifications then please close the discussion
Angiography
Detailed Answer:
Dear Ma'am, I have gone through your question and I understand your concerns.. Gastric ulcers can be treated by medications that decrease acid production and allow the gastric mucosa to heal .. But first I would recommend that she take a breath test for h.pylori infection and if found positive then it should be treated with antibiotics . h. pylori infection can cause gastric ulcer and can also cause failure of treating it , so it needs to be excluded or treated first .. This should be accompanied by proton pump inhibitors as omeprazol , h2 blockers as ranitidine before every meal and sucralfate to protect gastric lining..
iron shoots will only be useful is the cause of anemia is iron difficiency anemia and it should be administrated at the hospital under medical supervision as it can cause possible allergy and anaphylaxis shock..
The cause of blood in stools can be indicated by the color of blood in stools .. bright colored blood is probably due to rectal or colonic causes, while dark or maroon colored blood is probably due to gastric or esophygeal causes..
However , diagnosis of tumors including cancer and diverticulosis can be down by a ct scan of the colon .. while the abnormal blood vessels ( Angiodysplasia) can be diagnosed by an angiography which is a ct scan accompanied by XXXXXXX injection to visualize the blood vessels and the site of leak..
Holistic treatment will not be useful in this case..
I hope you find this helpful. if you don't have any other clarifications then please close the discussion
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
Dear Dr. Shoman,
I am sorry for asking again. There is treatment for ulcer without surgery? Is the treatment a bandage fix, meaning she will have to be on men's for the rest of her life? Or the treatment is a cure.
She does not want to go through all the ways of finding the leaks, only to be told that she will have to be on med for the rest of her life.
She has have anemia from when she was 7. Anemia has been confirmed.
the hospital said there was blood in her stool, from doing a rectum exam. The rub lies in my mother in law does not look at her stool when she finishes. I got the impression she is not going to look either. So, there is no way of knowing what color her stool color is.
Please explain my misunderstandings:
1) A hospital social worker said, a nurse will give the shoot, but it will be a temporary thing. Then someone else will have to do the shoots for her. After reading your reply, I am at a lost to what that hospital social worker means. A) according to your reply, does that mean my mother in will have to go the hospital every time she needs an iron shoots? B) As a reminder, she believes she has a slow blood leaking, hence causing the low hemoglobin. If that is true, then does that mean, she must have iron shoots for the rest of her life?
2) I have read from this website, for two different doctors replies that smoking elevates hemoglobins. Does smoking elevate hemoglobin? If so, then it would seem like smoking is a solution to low hemoglobins.
3) if holistic is not helpful, then what would?
Sorry: 1) not "MEN's for the rest of her life, but "meds"
2) mother in will have to go... needs to be mother in law will have to go...
What are some suggestion, if my 78 years old mother in law refuse to find the cause of the leakage, and holistic treatment will not be useful in this case, then what are the alternatives to being some comfort to her?
I am sorry for asking again. There is treatment for ulcer without surgery? Is the treatment a bandage fix, meaning she will have to be on men's for the rest of her life? Or the treatment is a cure.
She does not want to go through all the ways of finding the leaks, only to be told that she will have to be on med for the rest of her life.
She has have anemia from when she was 7. Anemia has been confirmed.
the hospital said there was blood in her stool, from doing a rectum exam. The rub lies in my mother in law does not look at her stool when she finishes. I got the impression she is not going to look either. So, there is no way of knowing what color her stool color is.
Please explain my misunderstandings:
1) A hospital social worker said, a nurse will give the shoot, but it will be a temporary thing. Then someone else will have to do the shoots for her. After reading your reply, I am at a lost to what that hospital social worker means. A) according to your reply, does that mean my mother in will have to go the hospital every time she needs an iron shoots? B) As a reminder, she believes she has a slow blood leaking, hence causing the low hemoglobin. If that is true, then does that mean, she must have iron shoots for the rest of her life?
2) I have read from this website, for two different doctors replies that smoking elevates hemoglobins. Does smoking elevate hemoglobin? If so, then it would seem like smoking is a solution to low hemoglobins.
3) if holistic is not helpful, then what would?
Sorry: 1) not "MEN's for the rest of her life, but "meds"
2) mother in will have to go... needs to be mother in law will have to go...
What are some suggestion, if my 78 years old mother in law refuse to find the cause of the leakage, and holistic treatment will not be useful in this case, then what are the alternatives to being some comfort to her?
Brief Answer:
Reaching a diagnosis is a must
Detailed Answer:
Dear Ma'am, hello again.. The medications to treat the gastric ulcer is not for life .. Once the ulcer heals and the mucosal lining of the stomach recovers , she will get to stop the medications..
As for the iron shots , it is recommended to be taken as an intravenous infusion in a hospital to avoid allergic reaction that could be fatal.. Allergic reaction from iron shots can occur even if it was administrated for several times before..
As long as the cause of blood loss was not diagnosed and treated , she will need to take iron shots and blood transfusion as needed.. Both lines of treatment are temporary symptomatic treatment and are not a cure..
You need to convince her to get a stool analysis and other suggested diagnostic measures to detect what is causing the blood leak .. Ct scan and angiography are not invasive procedures and are easily done..
Smoking will worsen the gastric ulcer if present and is not expected to give her a beneficial effect.. I hope I answered your question. if you don't have any other clarifications then please close the discussion ..
Reaching a diagnosis is a must
Detailed Answer:
Dear Ma'am, hello again.. The medications to treat the gastric ulcer is not for life .. Once the ulcer heals and the mucosal lining of the stomach recovers , she will get to stop the medications..
As for the iron shots , it is recommended to be taken as an intravenous infusion in a hospital to avoid allergic reaction that could be fatal.. Allergic reaction from iron shots can occur even if it was administrated for several times before..
As long as the cause of blood loss was not diagnosed and treated , she will need to take iron shots and blood transfusion as needed.. Both lines of treatment are temporary symptomatic treatment and are not a cure..
You need to convince her to get a stool analysis and other suggested diagnostic measures to detect what is causing the blood leak .. Ct scan and angiography are not invasive procedures and are easily done..
Smoking will worsen the gastric ulcer if present and is not expected to give her a beneficial effect.. I hope I answered your question. if you don't have any other clarifications then please close the discussion ..
Note: Do you have more questions on diagnosis or treatment of blood disorders? Ask An Expert/ Specialist Now
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
Answered by
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