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Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS): how to increase red blood cells?

Posted by jaylevel1 @jaylevel1, Nov 16, 2018

is there a natural alternative that has shown success in promoting more red blood cells. Currently I am receiving shots of Vidaza but not helping at all. I did better when I had a port but my body rejected it, so now I gt the shots in the back of my arm in the muscle. Strong dosed of vitamin b12 don't help either. With the port I was holding 11 12 easy in red blood cell counts. Normal range in males is 13 to 18. But anything over 10 is great. With the shots I can't break 9 and just had to have a transfusion when my blood counts dropped to 7.2 I don't have cancer but there is risk at that low of having it set in. I was just looking to see if anyone that has this have other suggestions to try. I've bought and tried Prohemia which promises increases of red blood cells but I've tried it for a couple of months with no improvement in counts.

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jrwilli1 | @jrwilli1 | Sep 1 6:47pm
In reply to @jacklyn "Hi Lori: I just got out of the hospital. I came down with COVID and it..." + (show)
@jacklyn

Hi Lori:
I just got out of the hospital. I came down with COVID and it wasn’t so bad but around day 8 I started getting pain in my chest and back. Not a stabbing pain but like muscle pain. As you know I have CMML and tske hydroxy. After several tests done (blood test an ultrasound a chest X-ray COVID test on an iv and heart monitor and later that night a scan. It came back I have pericardial effusion ( water around the heart and inflammation). My red count were 108 white count 20 and platelets 78 they didn’t give me a blood transfusion he said I have been 108 before. So they are putting me in naproxen and colchicine. They told me to check with my pharmacist to make sure it doesn’t interact with
My other meds i. e. hydroxy. The COVID messed up all my counts.

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I thought my husband just had the flu. He had a fever and some chest congestion so we went to our local hospital and they did an EKG because he said he had some chest pain when he would breath (didn’t tell me this though) and it said he was having a heart attack. Well this hospital doesn’t do heart cath on the weekend so ambulance ride to a bigger hosp. I did request they take him to our cancer hospital but they said with this you go to the closest hosp. Well no heart attack thank goodness it also was pericarditis . Since he is a MDS history he was in the hospital for several and released with Motrin and colchicine and had to come off eliquis. He tested neg for Covid though. But then a month later he got human metapneumovirus and then a month after that just a normal pneumonia. But each time you get a fever with your history they might hospitalize you like my husband for at least 3 days until cultures come back neg. I count my blessing he hasn’t been back in hosp since June and is 18 months post transplant.

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