Large blood loss.... Problems 1 year on

[Melrose86]

Has anyone had large blood loss and still felt effects over a year later? 16 months ago I lost 6 pints after childbirth. I had transfusions and took iron tablets for a couple of months. I felt better for a while other than brain fog but put that down to baby brain :). I stopped breastfeeding 3 months ago and have felt awful since. I feel like I may be anaemic again and wondering if I've never really recovered fully from the blood loss. I'm totally wiped out after work/doing anything with the kids, emotional and feel weak/spaced out. I've made a Dr's appointment but just wondering if anyone has been through feeling similar.

I know that being very anaemic is dangerous so do see a doctor.

I didn't feel right for at least 15 years after. It was a real turning point for my energy levels. Probably not what you want to hear but I'm sure you'd rather hear true experiences.

BTW, I've found doctors pretty unhelpful as my blood work is all fine. One told me that a family member (maybe her mother, can't remember) had also had a very large blood loss and felt the same way as me - never quite recovered energy levels. I did find it very helpful to hear that it wasn't just me and it was quite validating.

I'm not saying this is going to be true for you. I may be a minority. Maybe others who have had different experiences will share that.

I do live a full life and am very active. I've learned how my body works and how to manage it.

Here's one study relating to shorter and longer term impacts of PPH, if you're interested:

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.08.24.22279096v1.full

Finally, be prepared to be told on here that it's impossible to survive that much blood loss. I lost at least half my blood and was told it was impossible to survive that. I guess I'm a zombie and don't know it.

I'm sorry to hear that OP.
Could any of your reduced energy levels be to do with the trauma of the birth circumstances (I'm presuming whatever led to 6 pint blood loss wasn't a barrel of laughs).

Not the same at all but I had lymphoma (blood cancer) and a stem cell transplant which has left me prone to persistent anaemia (not the kind you can fix with diet and iron tablets). I still sometimes struggle with my energy levels 18m later and it's a known side effect of stem cell transplant as it's such a big shock to your bone marrow.

Maybe having 6 pints of your blood replaced is a similar large event, particularly if you can't recuperate properly afterwards due to looking after a newborn/breastfeeding (breast milk is a kind of blood product too, I guess.)

It could also be at least partly due to hormones if it got worse when you stopped BF - that will have been activating your oxytocin levels which now have maybe tanked?

@lifeinthehills thank you for the honesty. This is what I'm worried about, being told I'm fine when I really don't feel it. No one has ever mentioned long term problems it might cause but I really feel losing so much is hard to fully recover from.

@Babamamananarama definitely think my hormones are all over the place. Its like my body has just crashed since stopping breastfeeding. Hoping the doctor doesn't just say it's hormones and leave me to get on with it!

Please come back and update how you get on with your doctor. I'm interested.

Yes. My daughter is 5 and I’m only now starting to return to “normal” energy levels after almost bleeding out during the c-section. And that’s after losing a significant amount of weight. It’s tough.

I had a huge pph (survived a huge blood loss because they were pumping more in)

I think part of my issues were ptsd/trauma. That can be knackering too. It was about 5 years before the birthdays didn't bring flashbacks and even now when I see these threads my heart seems to panic a bit.

Combined with lack of sleep/general becoming a parent exhaustion...

Oh great. My attention span is shot but scanned the article.higher risk of cardiac issues? My body is so not great already ("the body keeps the score". I'm doomed)

Have you had any emotional support like EMDR therapy? They say the body holds any unprocessed trauma. I had very mild anaemia and used to wish it was bedtime when I woke up in the morning. Get them to test for b12 and thyroid etc too. You’ve been through a lot. Rest is an important part of recovery. Difficult with a baby I know. Take care.

I've never been checked for cardiac issues afterwards. I was checked for pituitary gland issues which was okay. Something changed in my body the day my baby was born. I'm not sure if it's directly related to the PPH or having had blood transfusions. My cycles didn't resume for 20 months after that birth, so I don't think it was hormones. Looking at another thread, people with much smaller losses (1-2L) seem to have issues too.

Have you ever had a huge PPH? Yes, there's some trauma and that could contribute, but the 'it's all in your head' approach has just added to any trauma for me. What I've had to deal with for years is physical. Considering my organs and body started shutting down, it shouldn't really be surprising there are ongoing effects, even if they don't show in blood tests.

Have a google of sheenans syndrome. Not sure if I’ve spelt that right. I had this after losing nearly 3 litres during a c section and having several blood transfusions. It damaged my pituitary response and I’ve been left with all sorts of issues - particularly adrenal insufficiency / Addisons disease (also worth a google- if you think you might have it you need to ask for a morning cortisol blood test).

I had a 6000ml loss with 14 units blood and 2 units platelet transfusion with DC3. It definitely impacted my energy levels. Anaemia impacts the oxygen carrying ability of your blood and therefore the availability of oxygen for your mitochondria in your cells, mitochondria to use oxygen to make ATP. ATP is the primary energy source for most biochemical and physiological processes in the body. It is no wonder you are fatigued. My iron levels took a long time to recover as my Hb was still just under 80 after the transfusions. I had repeat bloods done via the GP at 8 weeks to make sure the level had come up, but was on iron supplements for over six months. More severe PPH has also been linked to lower iron levels pre-labour something about how it impacts how your uterus contracts.

Trauma isn't "all in your head." Actual trauma can be very physical and leave lasting effects hence mentioning it.

Sheehans syndrome Xrays

You poor thing. I would definitely prioritise getting your blood checked to include ferritin in the iron bloodwook & also B12 and vitamin D. I would also insist on a full thyroid panel as I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism after my first baby and the tiredness it causes is like nothing else I've ever felt. I hope you feel better soon.

I had a PPH over 10 years ago.
I am eternally grateful to the people who donated the blood used in my transfusion, however I do recall wishing I'd been given the blood from an athlete as, yes, it took many months for me feel better. I was on iron tablets for quite a while afterwards too.

Really interesting research article (sorry can't tag the person who posted it). Strangely, apart from feeling physically unwell for many months after, I wasn't initially affected mentally. It's more now, over 10 years on, that it's affected my mental health. Perhaps it was just hidden before as I was just 'busy' with a newborn, toddler, young child etc. No I'm in the teen years, I perhaps have more time to think and 'hear' my own feelings?!

I don’t disagree with you. It is very upsetting when someone especially a doctor implies something is psychosomatic when it isn’t. That wasn’t what I was implying at all so I’m sorry if my previous messsge comes across that way.

I haven’t personally had PPH but I did have a traumatic birth that left me near death and I would have died without prompt medical intervention. It was stomach ulcers that caused my mild anaemia. I am also a scientist in a medical field with a lot of physiological knowledge. I just wanted to add about the potential trauma impact of the ops’s experience, as no one had mentioned that the brain can also be medically traumatised and that can have huge physiological impact across the whole body too. As it happens my post did cross with another poster who also mentioned that the trauma impact of having huge PPH had been significant for them.

Crossed posts again. Totally agree.

thanks for the link to the article @lifeinthehills makes me feel a little bit less alone and more validated that 10 months on I’m still knackered

I'm not disagreeing about the impact of trauma on energy levels. It's worth considering and treating from a psychological perspective, I am just a commenting as I've seen too many times things being written off by doctors as mental (probably because they don't understand themselves). Just wanted to add a voice for those who might experience this.