It actually explains a lot...

[kaitou]

On Monday I felt really dizzy in the morning, and had a hard time concentrating. I thought maybe it was low blood sugar, but I've never had a low that bad before. So I got a doctor's appointment, my first in a long while. He seemed basically confused at why I was there and decided that I must have just moved too quickly. His advice was just to 'not move fast.' But I did get him to do a blood test and today the results came back.

Totally anemic. The nurse on the phone said that your iron content should be somewhere between 35 and 175 (what exactly, I'm not sure) and that mine was 22. So I'm on 3 iron pills a day + one multivitamin with iron. This seemed reasonable, if a pain the ass, until I got to the grocery store to buy the pills. Holy crow, the vitamin alone is 100% of my daily iron intake. The iron pill is 156%, and the directions on the jar only call for one a day. So basically he's got me on 568% of my daily iron intake. Which, uh, seems a little extreme.

I'm hoping that maybe this is why I'm so TIRED when I come home from work, and I just can't seem to work up the energy to do much of anything. Maybe I'm not just lazy, like I've been feeling.

And hey, how often is it that your doctor tells you to eat more red meat?

Comments

[twigcollins.livejournal.com]

*hug* I am glad that you found a solution. My dad said that women are more prone to anemia than men. *shrug*

At least it's an easy fix : )

[kaitou1412.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me too. These iron pills are huge though. It's really weird. They're these plastic tabs that look like they're filled with cocoa powder. You can see the powder move when you shake them.

[melf42.livejournal.com]

Red meat, woo hoo! I just learned that your body rarely absorbs more than a fraction of the actual amount on the label, especially of store-bought vitamins, so the 568% might be totally reasonable.

I also have tired spells and, in addition to iron, recommend taking a B-Complex and Rhodiola (which I got a specialty store not at the supermarket). My energy level has been doing much better after I started taking a handful of vitamins every night.

And just for no reason,
Pon de lion!

[barthanderson.livejournal.com]

I'm sure your doctor detailed the whole iron absorpion thing, right? Certain foods (coffee, wine, calcium-rich foods) deter iron absorption while others enhance it? Foods/Juices rich in Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, to be exact) might be good companions to take to your pill party. I believe the research is pretty solid on that count.

I'm not a doctor, however. I jsut play one on the internet.

[kaitou1412.livejournal.com]

Pon de Lion!! Wikipedia tells me that Dunkin Donuts owns Mister Donuts. They should totally import Pon de Lion. Mostly because I want Pon de Lion goods.

What is Rhodiola?

[kaitou1412.livejournal.com]

Well, I certainly trust your opinion whenever it comes to anything food related. The iron pills themselves have Vitamin C to help them work better. But I'll try adding more to my diet as well.

I know that my eating habits have never been great, but I didn't think they were that bad.

[sheraton.livejournal.com]

It's not always eating habits... sometimes a body just doesn't seem to absorb enough of what it needs. My sister also has anemia; she was tired for years and years before she was diagnosed, because she hates to go to the doctor.

Hopefully the iron pills will help. Don't forget that the "recommended amount" is a amount based on medical research which is mostly carried out on men. I think a woman's need for iron is going to be somewhat higher naturally anyway.

Hang in there!