i had to make another trip to Boston (from NYC) to get a dGEMRIC MRI done and give a pint of blood (Dr Millis wanted 2 pints total). the dGEMRIC MRI is only done 4 or 5x's/wk at specific times. the blood donation center is closed on mon. blood giving has many restrictions--how far apart you can give blood again after the first time, how close to surgery date. i chose to have my blood drawn at CHB because if i donated it in NYC to have sent up to boston, there would be a $470 charge that is not covered by insurance.
the day before i went up to BOS to have my blood drawn, i had a stomach bug. i was wondering if that would affect my blood draw and was hoping it wouldn't. there's quite a few things that will make you ineligible for blood draw that i wasn't aware of. you can't have eaten aspirin or NSAID or other blood-thinner in the last 72hr. you have to pass a hemoglobin pin prick test (minimum 11). and unfortunately for me, i got dinged for my stomach bug so i had to wait til i was symptom-free for 48hr before i could go back. i was able to reschedule for the next day (exactly 48hr from my last episode) and then went up to get my dGEMRIC.
i got injected with a contrast before going in the MRI tube and then i had to walk around the hallways for 30min for the contrast to distribute properly. i was given a helmet to watch a movie for my MRI. they only had children's movies but it's better than staring at nothing, esp since this MRI took over an hour. another perk of being at a children's hospital is they offer juice and crackers after every procedure. the MRI confirmed that i was a good candidate for PAO. the report showed abnormal cartilage near the labrum, bone marrow edema, and some cysts (which Dr Millis couldn't explain). Dr Millis also wasn't sure why my degeneration was on the medial side of my femoral head (vs the lateral side).
back for my blood giving the next day, i passed the hemoglobin test but then they had to check if it was ok that i had gotten contrast injected the day before. luckily i was cleared and 10min later they had a bag of my blood. i didn't think i felt tired but i ended up sleeping a lot the next few days, and i decided it was from giving blood. i was originally told to start taking iron pills and eat iron-rich foods with calcium (to increase absorption) to prepare for my next blood giving 2wks later. the blood center lady said my iron was plenty high and not to bother with the iron pills. plus they make you constipated. so before my next blood giving, i ate a lot of steak, liver, smoked clams, miso soup (with firm tofu and seaweed), dates, and prune juice mixed with OJ. yum.
other medications/supplements that need to be stopped prior to surgery are birth control pills to prevent clotting (2 wks prior and can resume 1mo after surgery), fish/flaxseed oil or any other blood thinner.
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