If my hemoglobin is 10 and I want it to be 14 before surgery, how many months pre op should I start taking iron?

Hello darling,

I recommend you to check your body with your principal doctor to know the real reason why your hemoglobine levels are too low and you can work on it.

Please make a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon.

Hope this helps and best of lucks.

Dr. Luis Mejia.

It is always best to optimize your condition prior to surgery including treating anemia. This is dependent upon a host of factors including the amount of surgery performed, the cause of the anemia, and the treatment necessary to improve that anemia. BBL can be performed for most individuals with a hemoglobin above 10 or 11. Your surgeon or hematologist should be able to recommend an appropriate regimen based upon the cause for the hemoglobin of 10. Taking iron pills and Vitamin C along with eating dark leafy veggies, liver, lentils, almonds, dried apricots, beets, and other high iron foods will also help to elevate the level. Have your labs repeated a few days before your scheduled surgery. If they remain low, ask your plastic surgeon if he/she recommends that you postpone your BBL until they reach a satisfactory level.

Dear hope2310,
every plastic surgeon has his own preoperative protocol which he recommends to his patients. I would suggest you to discuss this with your plastic surgeon.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Typically when you take iron for 4 weeks straight, your hemoglobin will go up by 1. So if you are starting at 10 and want to be a 14, you need to take iron for at least 4 months. Some patients don't respond this well to the iron and it may take longer. Also, if you have sources of bleeding such as heavy periods etc., this may cause your hemoglobin to go down during this time. It is best to take the iron for a month or two and recheck to make sure you are responding appropriately.

Good afternoon, there are several factors that produce a decrease in hemoglobin that is not only a lack of iron, I recommend going to a hematologist to do the necessary tests to determine because it is your anemia and thus take the necessary behavior before surgery.

luck

The fact that your hemoglobin is low does not necessarily mean you’re iron deficient. if your anemia is not related to your iron levels then taking supplemental iron isn’t going to change anything.

Your body will not continue making red blood cells just because you take supplemental iron. It’s unlikely you’ll bring your hemoglobin from 10 to 14 by simply taking iron. It is highly unlikely you’ll ever go above 14 by just taking iron. If you were severely iron deficient than it is possible to have a significant increase in red blood cell production from taking iron.

I suggest discussing this with your primary care Doctor Who is better informed than I am about anemia, it’s causes and treatment options.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD