[Greg H]

Hi All!

I'm with Deb on this one. It's a quality of life issue. If you have a lot of transfusions, you're going to have to think about iron overload and what to do about that anyway -- so it's not worth feeling miserable just to cut a couple of units out of every twelve months.

When I was diagnosed, my Hgb was 6.2. I was functional at that level, though short of breath climbing stairs. I know I had a nine-month slide from 9.0 to that 6.2 level, and I imagine it was 12 -18 months from normal down to 6.2. So my body had a good long time to adjust.

Now, transfusions every other week bounce me from 10 down to 8 in just 14 days, and, frankly, I feel like crap below 8.0. I think that has to do with the roller coaster nature of the up and down, up and down.

I think it's important to hear what your body is telling you. Every body is different, and bodies change over time.

Take care!

Greg