Got Iron?

As I have mentioned in some of my posts (sorry to whine), I have been so tired lately. I thought it was just the fact that I was busy and was doing a lot of running around. Well, apparently there was a good reason for my fatigue. I just found out from a blood test that I am anemic. This isn't too surprising since I get a little anemic during my pregnancies, but I am always taking a good supplement with iron so it usually doesn't get too bad. And even when I am not pregnant I try to take some iron since I eat very little meat.

Well, I went to the naturopath about a month ago to finally see what was happening with my body. Dr. Jaa, the naturopath that I went to, is amazing. It takes almost 3 months to get an appt with her. She is an MD as well as being trained in Nutritional Medicine, Iridology, Reflexology, Acupuncture, etc. One of the symptoms that I have experienced over the past few months is that my cycle has been erratic, as long as 6 weeks apart. Now that we have done this blood test and know that I am anemic, it explains why I was having such long cycles- she says my body was protecting itself. Kind of an amazing thing when you think about it- that the body is so smart. She had me take the test on day 21 of my cycle b/c she wanted to test my hormones like progesterone, etc. and when we got the results back it said that I wasn't even ovulating yet (this meant nothing to me when she told me) She explained that this was a sign that my body isn't even getting ready to have a cycle yet.

When she first told me the results of my blood test, I was so surprised. She said that my ferratin was 4 and normal range is 15-290. She also said the red blood cells are small and shrunken. These are the cells that take oxygen around your body which in turn gives you energy and life- I am basically void of it!! I said, "Wow, I just donated blood on the 1st of September and they told me I wasn't anemic". She was shocked- she couldn't believe that they had LET me give blood and asked "How much did they take?" I said I didn't know. She then asked what was my hemoglobin count? How could they let me give blood? I had no clue what was happening, I just know they tested it in front of me and said I was alright. Anyway, she thinks this is what 'pushed me over the edge' the past few weeks. Apparently giving blood can make you a little anemic anyway (even if you start off healthy) so in my case it was really bad. I wish I had known!

So when I looked like the cryptkeeper 2 weeks ago, apparently there was a reason for it! I still remember for a few days I was shuffling through the day, barely standing upright. I even took a nap in the middle of the day - which I never do unless I am pregnant. I seriously thought I had mono. Now I am glad that I let my body rest. I guess sometimes it's difficult b/c I just thought that I was being lazy, or staying up too late, or working out too much (especially after the killer beach workout last Wednesday!)



Now obviously, when you have iron-deficiency anemia, you are supposed to eat lots of foods with iron. MEAT! This is a joke for someone like me. I hate meat. I make myself eat chicken every now and then, and I will eat spaghetti with meat, if I have to... but I always choose a veggie dish if I can help it. I am aware of non-meat foods that have iron in them, like oatmeal, spinach, apricots, cashews, molasses, etc. but of course they don't have as much (ounce for ounce) as meat and it's not as readily absorbed as the iron in meat. What to do? She told me that she can do an injection but she'd rather I take a supplement and double the dose, while eating lots of iron-rich foods. I don't think I will be eating a Big Mac anytime soon, but I will try to be better. Hopefully as I do this, the cryptkeeper look will go away and I can be myself again.