Friday 6 April 2012

Anemia

For the last several weeks I was experiencing a strange kind of lassitude. I was feeling  a total lack of strength in my body. I would be badly tired when I came home after driving from the residence to the temple and back In the mornings, when I finished my morning chores in the bathroom, I would be completely exhausted and felt like hitting the bed. Unfortunately, I could not do that as I had to perform the morning prayers, which normally took about fifteen minutes. I would, somehow complete the task trying to finish it sooner and then go to bed and lie down there.After taking a rest for about ten minutes, I would restart reading the newspaper for about an hour or so.In the meantime, I would be given a glassful of green tea with some biscuits and dry roasted grams.I would read the newspaper and simultaneously eat biscuits and grams and would feel slightly better. Between one o'clock and two o'clock I would take my lunch and would feel almost normal for the rest of the day. Gradually, the condition deteriorated and I began feeling very weak and exhausted. Finally, I measured my blood pressure with a digital machine I had kept at home.It was low--diastolic being somewhat in forties and systolic between one hundred nine and  one hundred forty. What was alarming ,however, was the heart rate. It was one hundred eight. I mentioned this to my surgeon Dr. Anil Agrawal, who suggested that I should get in touch with a cardiologist. Dr. Ranjith Nath of RML hospital casting the first glance at me blurted out instantaneously that I was anemic. He however, suggested some blood tests and also a 2D Echo. I got the tests done and was shocked to see the report of haemogram .My haemoglobin count was 5.9, much below   the normal count which should be between 13 and 16 for men. The echo report was all right and Dr. Nath had no hesitation in recommending  a blood transfusion. Dr. Anil Agrawal advised that I should also undergo an endoscopic examination of  UGI i.e. upper gastro intestine part of my body. This,I got done at the famous Apollo Hospital in Sarita Vihar. Against my expectation, the endoscopic examination was rather painful.They took a  few tissues for histopathological examination and said that the report i.e. the biopsy report would be available after five days and the same should be collected from Gate no. 4 of the hospital in due course.
My son Aishwarya collected the report on the 6th evening. As I was eager to find out the result I telephoned to him  during his journey back home to ask him  and he, in somewhat anxious voice said that the disease had come back.