OhCecilia
so possible lady body TMI forthcoming
OhCecilia
I got my first period at 11. I'm 42 and until fall 2018, I have never had regular periods because of my PCOS. I'm strangely proud that I got my body to "work" after all these years. It was NOT easy. It took finding the right balance of meds and supplements, figuring out how to eat better for my body without going too disordered eating etc.
OhCecilia
Anyway, yay to my body being back to "normal" BUT I'm now fucking ANEMIC
OhCecilia
as in, diagnosed officially and my dr thinks this is why
OhCecilia
so
OhCecilia
fuck you, body
OhCecilia
Also, anemia sucks huge balls, it's even worse than hypothyroidism (for me at least)
ChefKarl
Yes. Anemia is a pain. That was the only symptom I had for my cancer, took 3 years to get near normal and still have to take iron every day to function.
ChefKarl
I am glad you have found your balance, we are all chemistry experiments and it takes time and research to figure out what works.
ChefKarl
Ouch, just re-read that again. Just your iron serum or ferritin or both?
OhCecilia
ChefKarl
: I honestly had no idea it could feel this shitty! I also thought it was one of those things that you either didn't have that bad and wouldnt even really know about OR you just pass out. I honestly thought it was just that simple
OhCecilia
I just checked my labs and it my dr basically drew a line around the following with the note "anemia" low hemoglobin, hemocrit, mcv, mchc and high RDW
ChefKarl
The low energy and fatigue is a bitch.
OhCecilia
the breathlessness, lightheadedness, and heart racing crap is what I did not expect
OhCecilia
fatigue sucks too, but I'm used to it from when my hypo was untreated
ChefKarl
yes. We are all different with symptoms. I had low hemoglobin and low everywhere else and very pale.
OhCecilia
My iron is BARELY low, it says 28 and 27 is the low side of normal, but I guess the other tests point to anemia as well
OhCecilia
I just keep wondering how this wasn't caught at some point last year when I was like legit constantly seeing every kind of dr in the world and I had the medical scare with a bunch of stuff on my CBC
OhCecilia
my lymphocytes are STILL high, they've been for years and I don't want to be paranoid but I just want to know all that's wrong with me so I can just address it already
ChefKarl
It took me +3 years to get all my numbers back to normal and even then I still fight them. Hemoglobin is why your breathing is a problem and the lightheadedness. That is what carries the oxygen around your system. Mine was 1/4 normal and my iron serum level was in the basement at 14 with 40 as the low end of that specific test they used.
ChefKarl
Sometimes the doctors are too focused on one area and not looking at the whole picture. I have run into this too often and those of us with chronic conditions have to keep pulling them out of their narrow focus to look at the bigger picture.
OhCecilia
I get serious dr/medical fatigue from trying to get my health stuff addressed.
(((Cajsa)))
What kind of anemia, it's not just iron. B12 anemia is also a thing and that comes with nerve pain. I have had iron anemia and B12 anemia. B12 is far more painful. Iron is exhausting. My grandmother died of pernicious anemia (B12) that you can treat with OTC supplements today
OhCecilia
I used to be pretty proactive and now I'm just like, "ok dr, tell me what to do" and just go through the motions.
ChefKarl
Even though your iron level is near normal the low hemoglobin is still treated with iron supplements from what I remember.
OhCecilia
(((Cajsa)))
: my dr said iron deficiency. My b12 is fine. I do wonder a bit though because I have the MTHFR gene mutation and hashimotos and there's supposed to be a connection between all three?
OhCecilia
she believes the anemia is because my periods are heavy AND for the first time, regular as well
(((Cajsa)))
ah, when I had anemia it was internal bleeding post-surgery
OhCecilia
I did the fun ol' poop test to make sure no internal bleeding was present
OhCecilia
ChefKarl
yeah, she said she wants me to start on 1 325 ferous pill a day and get re-tested in a few months
ChefKarl
I take this and it is the best bio available iron I have found that does not cause issues when taking iron.
Hema-Plex® Vcaps®
OhCecilia
oh, thanks for the recommendation! I already ordered my iron though, but if I don't dig it, I'll look for this one next
ChefKarl
I was put on 2 tabs of 325 per day pre cancer surgery and 3 after to get my numbers up. Since then I found the supplement shown above. 2 capsules per normal dose and I only take 1 dose as a daily maintenance now.
ChefKarl
They have this one that is vegan and they have a regular one as well.
ChefKarl
My oncologist was surprised when my numbers shot up after I started this supplement, my issue was the Crohn's not allowing me to absorb the other iron and this is much gentler on the system.
OhCecilia
how long before you felt a difference yourself?
ChefKarl
I started to feel the difference in a few days with the rising numbers, but I was not feeling "normal" for a few weeks. I could do more, but I could not push it due to the low numbers. As I said above it has been a rollercoaster for many years and took me 3 years or so to get it all sorted to where my GI is happy with the numbers.
ChefKarl
The breathing, brain fog, and lightheadedness cleared up first. Fatigue, muscle pain, etc. took a few weeks for all the cells to get what they needed to heal and not be stressed for nutrients and oxygen.
ChefKarl
We are all different and it depends on how your body absorbs and processes the supplements. I wish you a speedy recovery.
OhCecilia
thank you!
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ohgod, iron deficiency is such a bitch
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i've been struggling with it all my life
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everytime i have bloodwork, same story, oh your iron and iron stores are so low, we need to do something
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iron pills always wreck my digestion, so i skip them more often than not :/
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the very best thing i've found is iron administered via intraveous infusion - it can't be given as a shot because stuff and things, but it's okay when given dissolved in saline. got them weekly for 6 weeks and on week 4 i was feeling like a new person. i could run to the bus and not be totally out of breath and suffering!
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insurance doesn't cover it, over here it costs about 120 EUR for 6 weeks and requires a weekly dr's visit. but if pills don't agree with you, it might be an option.
OhCecilia
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: oh man, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that for me or I’d be screwed