To clarify the basics …
Ferritin is responsible for storing and releasing iron. Iron deficiency is when ferritin
levels in the body are low, which means your body is not storing iron well.
Haemoglobin transports red blood cells around the body,
providing oxygen to body tissues to enable you to function. Iron deficiency
anaemia (or just anaemia) occurs
when iron levels get critically low and red blood cells are starved of iron,
meaning vital organs don’t get oxygen. If
your haemoglobin level is low, iron deficiency anaemia is the result. The condition is not that uncommon and has a
variety of causes and levels of severity but, at its most serious, anaemia can be
a life-threatening condition if not diagnosed and treated. It can ultimately cause your heart to shut
down.
And now, here’s my real-life story of severe iron deficiency anaemia (early 2015)
…
It was nothing hugely noticeable but, gradually, over time, I
started feeling a little weak and under the weather. Nothing specific, just a bit of fatigue and a
woolly head and I put it down to sinus or hayfever (never had either in all my life - and by now I was 52!)
As the weeks passed, I began to feel really tired all the time, to the point where I was struggling to do what I needed to do. But being a get-up-and-go sort of person all my life, and always generally healthy (my doctor has always joked he could never get rich on account of me!) it didn't alarm me too much, although it was a tad unusual for me to feel so lethargic. More of a nuisance factor than anything else.
As the weeks passed, I began to feel really tired all the time, to the point where I was struggling to do what I needed to do. But being a get-up-and-go sort of person all my life, and always generally healthy (my doctor has always joked he could never get rich on account of me!) it didn't alarm me too much, although it was a tad unusual for me to feel so lethargic. More of a nuisance factor than anything else.
When I got up in the morning, I would feel a little dizzy,
and was pretty slow to get going but I'm NOT a morning person, so bouncing around in the morning wasn't my usual behaviour anyway. Once I was up and about, I felt okay and became
my usual busy self and got on with the day.
Life was too busy to be getting sick.
I had work to do, people to take care of, projects to complete. I carried on, despite the nagging tiredness.
Meanwhile, I began to crave popsicles. Now, I’ve been known to enjoy the odd Fruju
on occasion, on a hot day at the beach, but popsicles have never been on my
menu. And here I was, eating them for
breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was a
warm summer and I just put it down to a weird and sudden urge to eat something
cold. Little did I know I was in the
throes of pagophagia, a condition associated with severe anaemia. [See separate post called Ice Craving.]
Beam us forward a bit, and the time came when I just didn’t feel right at all. My mind was fuzzy, my heart was racing and I could barely take two steps without feeling exhausted. And I
most certainly had a weird popsicle addiction!
When I got out of bed one day and simply couldn’t stand up, collapsing back in a heap, I knew something was wrong and off to the doctor I went.
It turned out my heart rate was up and blood tests were not good. My haemoglobin count was dangerously low and my thyroid was in a severe state of over-activity. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and, most alarmingly, extreme anaemia. My haemoglobin count was 66g/L. Normal is 115-155g/L. My doctor was surprised I was even standing. Truth be known, I was barely functioning. I was stunned about everything.
The anaemia seemed to be due to a long slow depletion of iron. No idea what might have caused the hyperthyroidism.
My anaemia was critical. No real answers as to why either condition had befallen me, but they both needed fixing. And fast.
When I got out of bed one day and simply couldn’t stand up, collapsing back in a heap, I knew something was wrong and off to the doctor I went.
It turned out my heart rate was up and blood tests were not good. My haemoglobin count was dangerously low and my thyroid was in a severe state of over-activity. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and, most alarmingly, extreme anaemia. My haemoglobin count was 66g/L. Normal is 115-155g/L. My doctor was surprised I was even standing. Truth be known, I was barely functioning. I was stunned about everything.
The anaemia seemed to be due to a long slow depletion of iron. No idea what might have caused the hyperthyroidism.
My anaemia was critical. No real answers as to why either condition had befallen me, but they both needed fixing. And fast.
I was immediately put on iron tablets and thyroid medication
and monitored. I then had an iron
infusion – a mega-burst of intravenous iron.
Almost instantaneously, after the infusion, I felt normal again, alive
and alert and full of energy. The
thought of a popsicle absolutely repulsed me.
The craving was gone. (More
explanation around all this very bizarre condition in separate Ice
Craving post).
Subsequent blood tests have shown everything is fine and my
haemoglobin levels remain normal. More than a year later and all is fine.
IMPORTANT: If you feel unusually fatigued, your mind is fuzzy and you
aren’t functioning properly, get to your doctor and get a blood test. Living in an anaemic state is no fun, and it
can be treated easily.
 |
| "Freedom" (ink on paper on board) - tones of blood red! |
No comments:
Post a Comment