Anemia and flying….

HaleyA,

My doctor's have never said anything like that to me..... But I didn't ask about flying. Whenever I ask about going to visit in Colorado..for 6 weeks at a time at 6700 to 9700 feet above sea level...they have all said go. Have fun. GI, Nephrologist, Infectious Disease, Urologist, Rheumatologist, PCP..I left out a few.. but they all said it was ok. I had to get labs done and sent back to them every 2 weeks...but they said go. So I went and nothing happened. So now I dunno.

I think I would ask though just to make sure.

Clo

It might have to do with how low your hemoglobin is now. I read something that said with low levels you should have supplemental oxygen when flying. Maybe check with your doc.

Clo,
Do you remember what your hemoglobin was at ?

Haley,

It's been awhile.(2017) So I can't really remember. They had been lower and were just starting to rise.

I did go see the local doctor in Colorado every 2 weeks for blood work while there and she called and worked with my Texas doctors. Maybe you could research and do something like that?

I am on 1500 mg of turmeric daily which acts as a blood thinner. I have been on it since then so maybe that is why they weren't terribly worried about blood clots.

When we go to stay in Colorado we stay at a sustained 6600 to 7500 feet above sea level for 4 to 6 weeks at a time...(that's where the cabins are). I stay in Colorado about 5 and a half months of the year.

Some people flare when going between altitudes. We've tried having me stay home in Texas but it does not make a difference for me--and I actually feel better when we are going back and forth.

Clo

Post Edited (clo2014) : 2/14/2022 7:23:37 AM (GMT-7)

Interesting. I’ll ask my doctor tomorrow to double check. My hemoglobin was a 9 in December and I flew then and had no issues at all. A friend recently asked me about anemia and flying but prior I had no idea it was an issue. My flight next week is short, 1.5 hours.

Yes I flew to my cruise in December. Short flights. One 30 minute flight and then an hour flight. This time I’m going on a direct flight and it’s under two hours.
I actually have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow so I’ll get to ask him face to face

So my doctor said they’ve never actually has any issues with patients being anemic and flying. He said he thinks the only way that would be a problem if you were close to a critical level. They did take my blood today and I’ll know the results tomorrow, although they didn’t think I would be in the critical level

Fingers crossed it hasn’t gone down too much!

If my friend hadn’t asked me about it I wouldn’t have ever thought about it either, so it worried me. Helps to get peace of mind though!

My GI and doctor's have never given me an infusion when my level was at 8 or 9. They all indicated to me that 7 to 8 was moderate anemia and that they preferred a wait and see regarding my situation. For me 6 was the lowest number that was acceptable and we would do an Infusion then. But I am older so my numbers might be different.

Perhaps that is different with others?

Post Edited (clo2014) : 2/18/2022 7:38:31 AM (GMT-7)

Well results are in, my hemoglobin actually went up! It’s a 9.6 now. I have no idea how it went up but I’ll take it. Good news on a Friday