For the last five monthly labs, my Hemoglobin readings have exceeded the upper limit of 11 with readings of 11.6, 12.2, 11.4, 12.9, and the last reading of 11.4. My brother-in-law Jerry is currently in the hospital with a reading of 6.0 and is receiving blood transfusions to help alleviate his shortfall. This value indicates the amount of red blood cells in my body. These cells contain iron and carry oxygen from my lungs to the rest of my body. My O2 readings which I take every morning or always 98 or 99.
For most of my life, I have engaged in one form or other of exercise. While in the US Navy, I was required to maintain a high level of physical fitness as “part of my job.” To do this, I ran in 5k, 10k, and 15k races just about every weekend for the better part of four years.
After retirement, I ran in a couple of marathons organized around the Indianapolis 500 race, joined a fitness club to stay in shape to race my Porsche (I did quite well BTW), and even after triple bypass surgery hired a personal trainer for years to continue to work with me on my personal fitness. I’m still, even with dialysis, not a couch potato and can hold my own.
According to several web references, The typical female athlete tested in 2019 had a hemoglobin of 13.6, while the male athlete has an average hemoglobin level of 14.7. Both are well above the levels of anemia and fall into, what is termed, the “optimal” athlete range.
I posit that my higher levels ARE NOT a problem, nor have they been flagged as such by my Dialysis Team, but are a holdover from my more athletic endeavors. Comments?
I have been meaning to question the limit of 11. Before I started dialysis I went to the hospital out patient clinic and had my hemoglobin checked every month. If it was under 12 I would get a shot. Their goal was to keep me above 13.