So it seems the anaemia is getting worse – well, according to my medical knowledge of exactly zero, and the NHS Health A-Z? For a while now I have been feeling really extraordinarily lethargic and tired all the time, this fatigue being accompanied by very uncomfortable heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, some nausea… which I’m aware are all textbook symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia. The thing is, having been iron-deficient anaemic for about half my life, I haven’t really found it so debilitating as to be a cause of concern. Until now, apparently: this weekend I have been so consistently tired and lightheaded that I have barely been able to function, and have spent most of it taking long, long naps that don’t help because sleeping is obviously not going to increase the amount of iron in my blood (sorry to everyone i was supposed to talk to online today. I was comatose!!).
Do I really have to bite the bullet and see a GP/take iron supplements/eat liver/eat spinach? I don’t know which of the above options is most horrifying… all sound dreadful. Well seeing a GP is only dreadful insofar as it will probably be a complete waste of my time and won’t tell me anything I don’t already know (given the NHS’s dismal track record) and require extra precious effort to be expended in dragging myself to the clinic and back, so I suppose it is the best of a dire set of choices. But how frustrating… I hate feeling physically incapacitated.
On the bright side, I have managed to painfully agonisingly complete a total of one job application over the weekend by working in 5-minute spurts between taking naps, which is better than none I guess? And also finished a backlog of correspondence, which is always quite happifying. When you can’t sit down and have coffee (or more likely breakfast, in this case!) with one of your most treasured friends, devoting an evening to writing her an email is probably the next best thing, short of spending a ridiculous amount on a long-distance phone call. Love you lots.
sq
cui
LcT
sounds pretty dire, hun. why are you averse to taking iron supplements? probably best to see a GP anyway because at least he/she will be able to work out a supplement-dosage or nutrition plan to make up for the iron you havent got? that’s me and my unwavering faith in doctors. give me 4 years and i’ll probably tell you never to trust a thing your doctor says. haha.
Reply to Charmaini’ve heard iron supplements have icky gastrointestinal side effects! and i am a bit wary of taking external dietary supplements unless i know i need them… i haven’t had vitamins or any medication that wasn’t prescribed since i was a kid and had these chewable dino-shaped multivitamins. hahaha.
i have yet to see a doctor in london so i really don’t know where to go, which is a significant stumbling block that i know i probably have to get over sooner or later (i’m not optimistic enough to think i will never ever get sick in london :P). i was thinking i might go to one of the bigger boots/superdrug branches and see if a pharmacist could help. my possibly illogical rationale being, if they sell iron supplements off the shelf, they can’t be all that dangerous to take without a GP’s prescription?
Reply to cuiwell one other good reason to see a doctor is so that he can rule other things out! even if you’re 99% certain it’s worsening anaemia, it’s good to rule out the other 1%. and i’ve never had trouble seeing a GP (aside from when i was using the uni health service, which i quickly learned to ditch) under the NHS. you’ll be able to search for walk-in health services in your area, or alternatively there’s a very useful directory on the NHS which will tell you which GPs within an x-mile radius of you are still taking patients. that’s how i found my oxford GP, right opposite the jericho cafe, which as you might remember, is barely 5 minutes’ walk from mine :) good luck!
Reply to Charmainliver is pretty tasty! maybe this can be your excuse to start eating copious amounts of foie gras =D
(although i suspect that isn’t too healthful either, hmm.)
Reply to LcTin truth, i’m very close to telling you to eat your greens/iron pills, because i’m worried.
please take care of yourself, and don’t be afraid of meds/greens/pharmacists/doctors/friends’ support if you feel like you might need it.
Reply to shirlenethank you ever so much shir – as always. -hugs- i think i will indeed go see a gp soon, just to make sure, so don’t worry. and i spent a ridiculous amount of time at work today wondering how to make spinach palatable…
Reply to cui