Health "Bump" Recap

I have had a lot of different people ask me what is wrong with me after I posted about my health scare. That made me realize I didn't actually say what was wrong. Sorry. Foggy mind and memory problems is a symptom, as well as, a personality flaw... I didn't mean to leave anyone in the dark. That really isn't my thing.

Last October I started to feel a little ick, so I called to get a doctor's appointment. Apparently my dr retired so I needed to find a new one. I found a new doctor who could see me in January... WHAT!?! That is insane, but I could deal. It was probably just a bug that was leaving me a little out of sorts.

I toughed it out. I was feeling tired, but nothing else was wrong. It was probably just me being mom-tired. I ignored it. A week before my appointment, my doctor needed to reschedule. She could get me in sometime in March. UGH!

I kind of started to panic. I really didn't think I could just deal much longer. My mom-tired was starting to interfere with life.  Sometimes I was so tired it would hurt. I could fall asleep almost anywhere. I was first trimester tired, without the perk of a baby in a few months. I was miserable. I was having trouble doing simple things, like walking up stairs hurt. My legs and lungs were on fire. I would have to sit and rest before I could do whatever I planned on going upstairs to do.  I was dizzy all the time. Luckily, a friend convinced me to find a different doctor. I called and the new new doctor could see me in 2 weeks. Much better than 2 months!

My new doctor was awesome. She didn't make me feel silly when I told her I was just. so . tired. She took me seriously. She did testing. We both thought it was probably thyroid, because I am the only adult woman in my family above the age of 21 without a thyroid problem. Plus, I secretly wanted it to be a thyroid problem, so I could blame the weight gain on my faulty thyroid and not my McDonald's addiction. 

A few days after my blood tests, I got a call from the nurse. My thyroid is fine. Boo. My B12 is a little low and my iron is really low. I needed a few more tests and I needed to start taking B12 and Iron. No problem. I can do that. I was anemic, no problem I can deal. That will be easy enough to fix. I know tons of people who are anemic. I was taking my iron twice a day and my B12 once a day.  I kept waiting to feel better. I wasn't.

After a month of taking my iron, I had to go back for more blood work. A few days after, I got another call from the nurse. This time she questioned if I was actually taking my iron. I was. She seemed discouraged. I got a little nervous. She said the doctor wants to see me again and she also wanted me to see a specialist. My iron went down since the last appointment.  Ugh! I didn't really know what that meant, but it didn't seem good.

At my next appointment, we went over my symptoms. She told me she was concerned because my numbers should be improving, but they were going down instead. She wanted me to start taking 3 iron pills a day. She was very candid with me. I didn't understand the seriousness of the situation until she told me she was concerned about my organs shutting down because of the low iron. Hold the phone! What do you mean organs shutting down!?! I need my organs running. I need my organs doing their jobs. If my organs shut down, that would be bad news. This is just a little iron problem. I know tons of people who are anemic. Really this can't be all that serious. Maybe she is just exaggerating. I am only anemic. I can deal. 

I went home and panicked. And worried. And lost sleep. And worried some more.

By the time I saw the hematologist, (which is also an oncologist, which made me panic more after I google stalked him) I was in full panic mode. Thankfully, he was awesome. He came in and did not mess around. He was no nonsense. He explained everything in a way I could understand. He praised my doctor for not wasting time and getting me in to take care of the problem right away. He set me up for 4 iron infusions and then more testing. He explained that some people are just anemic without any underlying cause. If that was my case then I would need to come back periodically for more infusions, but he would monitor that and we would deal with it when we came to it.

So basically to recap, I am anemic. My body won't absorb iron, for some mysterious reason, that maybe my Gastroenterologist will discover in the next couple of weeks. In the mean time, I will continue with my infusions and hope they start to work, because I like my organs working.

I know there a lot of people who are anemic. I know there are a lot of people worse off than me. But there is just something about hearing that your organs could shut down, if we can't fix the problem, that sends me into panic overdrive. There is something about being so tired that I fell asleep sitting up, that makes me worry. There is something about having your legs and lungs burn after going up the stairs and not being about to keep up with the A Team, that makes me get discouraged. There is something about being dizzy and passing out that makes me a little concerned. There is something about a little heath "bump" that makes me realize I am not immortal and I am not as young as I used to be.

I know that I will get past this. I will someday stop looking like a vampire. I will stop being so tired. I will be better!