Sooo frustrated!

Long story short - my normal OB did not do my c-section with Mychael two weeks ago.  His assistant doctor did it, and I really dislike her demeanor, and the fact that she knows absolutely NOTHING about thal and refuses to research it - she only calls the internist and hematologist in when I am at my appointments and at the hospital.  Luckily, I saw Dr. Cummings (my normal OB) for a follow up appointment because a little bit of my incision was infected (due to the low oxygenization and my low platelets).

They did a CBC and a ferretin study, as per usual...And all my levels are back LOWER than they were when I was hospitalized a month before I had Mychael.  Hemoglobin 9.2 and hematocrit 27.  My B12 is the lowest my hematologist has ever seen, but all she seems to say about my spleen, which hasn't gone down any in two weeks is - "I've seen bigger." Yeah okay, its rubbing against my ribs when I breathe, and hurts if I exert myself...I'm still bleeding from the childbirth, which should have been done by now, but my platelets are so low its having trouble clotting.  They had to give me a uterine stimulant and a strong antibiotic...And thus I had to stop breastfeeding for a week.  Mychael decided that the bottle is easier for him which makes me so disappointed...I tried to return to nursing, but he is frustrated with it. I had hoped to nurse for a lot longer than 2 weeks!

And with all this, all my doctors can do is shrug and tell me to keep taking my extra TWO iron pills a day plus my prenatal vitamins which have iron in them too! I am literally depending on oatmeal and colace to function.  When I see the OB that did my c-section...She always says I look tired and pale - and to make sure I'm taking my iron.  What in the world is she thinking? That a couple iron pills are going to cure me? She drives me nuts - I can't believe that a woman who was in India less than five years ago practicing medicine can be so clueless about thal.

I'm going to call the hematologists that assisted in my c-section from Strong Memorial in Rochester on Monday.  I'll drive the darn 45 minutes if I can get some better care than this!

Hi Courtenay,

Try contacting the local chapter of La Leche League. You can find their info at

http://lll.ravenglass.com/

They should be able to give you some tips and ideas on how to get Mychael nursing again. Nursing not only is the best way to feed your baby but it also will continue to stimulate mild contractions that can help with the bleeding problem.

Also, make sure you're avoiding aspirin and vitamin E right now because they are both blood thinners. And have you been given B12 shots since the birth?

Has anyone discussed a transfusion to get your Hb level back to normal? One time may be all you would need. And definitely talk to the hematologist at Strong in the context of this being somewhat unchartered territory, as your combination of beta thal minor and the HbC gene has not been throughly studied and your postpartum experience is proving to be much different than a typical minor's would be.

Thanks for the link, Andy! i will definitely check it out...As far as the asprin, etc...i take ibuprofen once daily for the pain from the spleen, and tylenol once a day. does ibuprofen contain asprin? hmmm...

No talk of a trans. yet. I think that might change if i continue to bleed at this rate.

Aspirin has by far the strongest of the blood thinning effects of the over the counter analgesics. Advil has a short term effect but it lasts hours at the most.

From http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/142/7/I-54

All of the volunteers had normal platelet function before starting ibuprofen. Of the 11 volunteers, 7 had abnormal platelet function 40 minutes after the last dose of ibuprofen. However, all patients had normal platelet function 24 hours after the last ibuprofen dose.

On the other hand, aspirin's effect on clotting lasts 4-7 days.

Each article I read said to check with your doctor before using any analgesic if you have a bleeding problem.