OK, no problem. Try to find out with a phone call when you can. Here is some information to put it into perspective.
Severity of Anemia
| Mild |
9.5-13.0 |
Often no signs or symptoms |
Commonly remains untreated |
| Moderate |
8.0-9.5 |
May present with symptoms |
Requires management to prevent complications from developing |
| Severe |
< 8.0 |
Symptoms usually present |
May be life threatening and requires prompt management |
Also to treat it one should follow this advice:
In order to correct anemia, your body must manufacture new red blood cells to replace those that were lost. It takes about 5-7 days to start developing red blood cells which should increase hemoglobin levels within 2-3 weeks of starting iron supplementation. Therapeutic doses of iron (50-60 mg of oral elemental iron twice daily) should increase hemoglobin levels by 0.7-1.0 g/dL per week.3 You may need to continue to take an iron supplement for several months in order to build up iron stored in your body and prevent anemia from returning. Therefore, it is important to take pills for as long as your doctor recommends, even if your symptoms have lessened or disappeared.
The most common reason iron therapy fails is because doses are not fully taken or they are not taken properly.8 The amount of iron absorbed decreases as you take larger doses of iron. For this reason, it is recommended that most people take their iron supplements in two or three equally spaced doses.9 In order to decrease side effects, iron supplements are often taken with food – but it is important to note this may decrease iron absorption by as much as 40-66%.8 Since you are receiving less iron this way, you may need to take your supplement for a longer period of time for it to have the same effect.
Hope this helps. In summary I buy my Iron supplements at Costo. I use Nature Made. One tab gives you 65 mg of elemental Iron daily. I take one tab daily. An important aspect of iron tx is that it should be monitored. I get my ferritin level once a year and always check my Hg level on my CBCs. Too much Iron can hurt you.
MyUC