 |
 |
Dear Jacob, I'm sorry to hear of the hypotensive incident that occurred following your blood draw. I can certainly understand your concern, that must have been a scary experience. If I have summarized it correctly, you had a quantity of blood drawn, then you had a clotting-time test, then you experienced severe hypotension, even though you were not presently on Sinemet. It's possible that you are anemic, but before beginning iron supplementation, I recommend you check with your doctor to be sure that anemia is the cause of your hypotensive incident and/or slow clotting time. There are many other possible causes, and just taking iron won't help at all if you are not anemic. In fact, iron supplements could cause other problems. If, however, you are anemic, you should know that people react differently to iron supplements. Although constipation is common, others report diarrhea. With regard to clotting time, have you been using aspirin, large amounts of vitamin E or A, or fish oil supplements? These, and other agents, can lead to blood thinning sufficient to change clotting time. Conversely, a menu deficient in vitamin K can also decrease clotting time, as vitamin K is an essential part of the coagulation process. Please check with your doctor, who must have extensive lab reports by now, and find out the likely causes of the hypotension and the slow clotting time, and get his/her advice on how to counteract these conditions. My very best regards, Kathrynne -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD "Nutrition you can live with!" Medical nutrition therapy http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ Tel: 970-493-6532 // Fax: 970-493-6538