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I get my labs every four weeks now and am on Hydroxyurea also. I was curious when you said he watches your hemoglobin to determine your phlebotomy? My Doc watches my hematocrit. Once over 45 I go for the phlebotomy. It’s been six months since my diagnosis and I’m hoping we got the dosage correct. It was two months before I needed it which is the longest I’ve gone so far. Maybe I’ll be lucky like you!
Replies to "I get my labs every four weeks now and am on Hydroxyurea also. I was curious..."
Whether your doctor follows your hemoglobin or your hematocrit shouldn’t matter. As a retired medical technologist, we were taught to use one to double check the other. The hematocrit should be 3x the hemoglobin. My hemoglobin is 12 and my hematocrit is 36. The only thing that might affect this is if your red cells are very large, as immature red cells can be.
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The first year after diagnosis, my doc was using my hematocrit #’s to determine phlebotomy frequency and med dosage. Switched to using hemoglobin because my WBC and platelet #’s also run high and I understand that can affect your hematocrit readings. I’m guessing too high a hydroxyurea dosage can knock your platelet levels too low. I don’t mind the monthly blood tests because I have a lab right close to my home. And my treatment center has a very cool reporting system that I can access from my PC .It gives interesting graphs and charts that I can use to track my progress.