I might cut the use of EPO injections now

ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ
I always want my blood to be as red as an Apple but not my pockets getting pale and the pallor.

For the past two months or so after I came home from my recent surgery I discovered that my blood's hemoglobin level went down considerably based on the blood work or complete blood count which was done at the hospital where I was being treated for dialysis. The hemoglobin level was so low that I was put on the thrice weekly EPO injections in order to raise my hemoglobin instead of getting emergency blood transfusion.

I was actually surprised that my hemoglobin level went down to 89 whereas my own normal hemoglobin level was around 120. The normal hemoglobin level for a normal male person is about 150 which maybe why I have not much appetite. However the 120 level is quite an ideal level for dialysis patients because higher levels will result in blood clots when the patient is being treated for dialysis for the reason that the dialyzer could have more risk of clogging.

I am not sure if my hemoglobin had improved much to reach the 120 to 150 count now because I needed to get tested again. I am not really trusting the hospital where I get my dialysis treatment from for testing my hemoglobin level because I heard that they are not doing a good job doing it. Th reason was that the medical technologist would not immediately test the samples of blood and thereby it would read that sometimes the level of the patient's hemoglobin is higher. I know it because the nurses had talked about it before.

ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ
I am very thankful the EPO therapy injections are not that so expensive anymore, but I am now spending much money monthly because of my therapy of frequent injections of Erythropoietin (EPO) hormone which I now plan to cut to save some money while keeping in mind not to compromise my hemoglobin levels.

The cost of EPO injections is still high considering that the price went down to less than two thirds when I was just starting dialysis. Sometimes the price is about five times compared to the prices today maybe because of the competition where most of the EPO brands are coming from China or maybe from India too or it might be being manufactured locally. So no more expensive EPO, however it is still expensive if the patient is required to use it three times per week and it does add up to the burden to the pockets.

In my case I can do without the aide of EPO because my hemoglobin levels is not crashing down to near 60 anymore. That is why I was so happy when it happened and it indeed saved me from worrying about where to get some bags of blood which is very expensive to purchase if not hard to come-by even if I can get it for free with the assistance of my church which gives me blood donation cards in order to get blood from the blood bank but it requires me to call and then go and get those cards and then get it tested for compatibility and it is a hassle to do so because of that.

ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ
I do not like the option of getting blood transfusion for the reason that it is both expensive, hard to acquire, and a more risk of acquiring additional blood-borne diseases from it.

Now if I will get tested again for my hemoglobin level and finding out if it had reached the 130 or 150 levels, then I might cut the EPO injections to two thirds. It will mean that I will only use one injection per week just to maintain the levels. I really do not like to use EPO because it might shutdown my own body's natural production of Erythropoietin hormone which would definitely lead in making me very reliant on EPO which I do not want to happen because it is very hard to be anemic as it would lead to making me suffer insomnia, weaker body, and total loss of appetite again.

ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ
Insomnia is one of the most debilitating symptoms of Anemia that I suffered from along with very low appetite to non-existing appetite levels which is caused by very low hemoglobin levels due to my Kidney condition but I manage to have some improvement somehow until now.

It still makes me wonder why my hemoglobin level was not crashing anymore and I am just regarding it as a miracle as I had said from the past many times already. I do not want to mess with it by relying on the use of EPO which could deactivate my body's natural way of excreting Erythropoietin hormone which I have no clue where it was coming from and I am fervently praying that it will continue to do so as long as I live. That plus cutting the use of it down to maybe once a week will save me so much money in the process which I can use to pay other things. I just needed an ideal and satisfactory normal level which will be enough to make me experience a better sense of well-being while avoiding the symptoms of low hemoglobin levels.