Please Help about a Hemoglobin level question! Is seven dangerous for a women?!


Question: I had some lab test done yesterday due to feeling faint, and sleepy all the time. I work full time, and go to school full time and feel like I am really run down over the last week, and my doctors office called and said that my hemoglobin level is seven and I need to go to their office first thing in the morning! Should I worry? I know I sould have asked but I was running out the door to get to class! Thank you !!!:)


Answers: I had some lab test done yesterday due to feeling faint, and sleepy all the time. I work full time, and go to school full time and feel like I am really run down over the last week, and my doctors office called and said that my hemoglobin level is seven and I need to go to their office first thing in the morning! Should I worry? I know I sould have asked but I was running out the door to get to class! Thank you !!!:)

The normal ranges for hemoglobin depend on the age and, beginning in adolescence, the sex of the person. The normal ranges are:

Adult women: 12-16 gm/dl
Women after middle age: 11.7-13.8 gm/dl

A low hemoglobin is referred to as being anemic. There are many reasons for anemia. The more common reasons are:

Vitamin and iron deficiencies
Acute or chronic bleeding (heavy periods)
Hormone deficiencies, such as thyroid hormone or testosterone
Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus

Your doctor will most likely want to do more tests to figure out the cause. Then prescribe treatment accordingly. Don't worry it's not anything life-threatening. Most anemia cases can be treated with an Iron supplement , Folic Acid , or possibly B-12 shots depending on the underlying cause. As soon as you begin treatment, your sleepiness & faintness should go away.

In the meantime, try & eat a well-balanced diet, The best sources of iron are beef and other meats. Other foods rich in iron include beans, lentils, iron-fortified cereals, dark green leafy vegetables, dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Folate, and its synthetic form, folic acid, can be found in citrus juices and fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, legumes and fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamin B-12 is plentiful in meat and dairy products. Foods containing vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, help increase iron absorption. Hope this helps! Good luck!

usually 5-7 is a good range.
but it might be too high for you, different people have different levels.

That is low. The value below is from the source. The simple answer is that you are anemic. Your doctor will determine the specific cause and recommend the correct therapy. This certainly explains you feeling faint and sleepy. I could offer a few guesses about why your hemoglobin is low, but it would do you no good now. Since you will see your doctor in the AM, wait for the answers from someone who has examined you and actually knows they are talking about.

I am an RN.

"Adult women: 12-16 gm/dl"

it's low - normal ranges for women are 12.1-15.1. Hemoglobin is a molecule in your blood that carries oxygen from the lungs to your organs and tissues etc. If you don't have enough hemoglobin, you can't get enough oxygen to your body. When this occurs, there is a possibility it could be due to you being "anemic" - I'm sure you've heard of that. Anemia is a condition in which you just do not have enough red blood cells in your body. People who are anemic have symptoms that include fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pain - which it sounds like you are falling into that category! Treatment depends on the type of anemia, and it's very common, especially around women's menstrual cycle due to blood loss. In any case, it is important to get checked out, but you'll be fine!





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