NeuroTalk Support Groups - View Single Post

Joselita · 10-12-2007, 01:33 PM

Vic,
I am just astounded that neither your doc nor your nutritionist has even explored the possibility of your being anemic. There are many things that can cause or worsen anemia. Maybe one of the reasons that this hasn’t even been considered in your case is because you a male, and you have no noticeable blood loss. I know that sounds archaic, but as I said in my last post on the subject, I had such problems getting our docs to listen to me about Jay. The main reason that I could get from any of the health care workers that I took him to was “he is male”, and as I said he didn’t have anyplace that was visibly losing blood. Or that THEY could see, or would pay attention to me about. The only reason that they DID look into the problem was because of the nose bleeds that he started having (not in any way related to or caused by the anemia. They only helped to make it worse for him, though). But, HE WAS ALREADY ANEMIC BEFORE they started happening. So, I guess it was one of those “blessings in disguise” that the nose bleeds started, because THEN it gave the health care workers a reason to check into the anemia problem. Of course, they attributed it to the nose bleeds......but at that point I didn’t care. As long as someone was listening to me, and able to give me the help I needed in figuring out the right amount of iron to give my 2 year old son.

I think that trying to introduce more iron into your diet, and doing the things to help allow your body to absorb it (like not drinking the caffeine before, during and after meals), would be good things for you to try and see if you can strat to get things turned around. I don’t know for sure that you ARE anemic, or that anemia is what is the cause of all of your weight loss issues, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that because of your not being able to eat, and then trying to eat the high caloric, fatty, and fried foods in order to try to put some kind of weight back on, that you ARE anemic now. It just stands to reason....at least to me. (LOL..I am not at all sure that I got that last bit out right, so I hope that you can understand what I was trying to say there. LOLOL. Looks like it is going to be one of those days for me again!)

I guess if you were female, you would have already had your iron levels tested, as that has been something that I have found that health care workers try to use as an explaination for fatigue and a host of other problems in women. I understand that just the differences in the male and female bodies make us women more prone to being anemic.....especially for women of a certian age. But, then, you have women like my Mom who are STILL anemic, even after having gone through menopause.

As I said, I wouldn’t even try to presume to tell you to go and get some iron pills to supplement your iron intake, as iron is NOT anything to mess around with. Not enough iron in your system is bad, but too much can be fatal. It is not something like vitamin c, that you can just go and take butt loads of and call it good and not worry. Not in ANY way. But, I don’t think that taking a daily vitamin that has some iron added in would be a bad idea. I think that it might help....at least a little.

Anemia causes fatigue...big time. You also don’t have to be underweight to be anemic. I can testify to that. In my opinion, it wouldn’t hurt ANYONE that has to take so many different medications daily to go and have their iron levels tested. There are so many things that can lower the iron levels (and other levels of things) in our blood...and Lord knows that just about everyone here takes multiple different kinds of medications that produce all kinds of different side effects. And, so may medications alter things, and interfere with things and with each other, that it is very hard to keep up with it all, all of the time. I mean, even things like Neurontin get interfered with, or interfere with others. I haven’t heard anyone talk about how you aren’t supposed to take things like Milk of Magnesia during a certain time period around Neurontin doses. I forget which interferes with the other, but if I remember correctly, it is the milk of magnesia (and other things of the same ilk) that interfere with Neurontin’s working like it should.

Anyway, I hope that you are able to get your blood levels tested. I also hope that in the meantime, you will try some of the suggestions that I have written here, and see if you see any kind of improvement at all. Even just a lessening in the fatigue would be a great improvement, wouldn’t you say? As I said, I AM NOT saying go out and buy a bottle of iron pills and start scooping them down...THAT IS DANGEROUS! But, a vitamin with a little bit extra iron in it wouldn’t hurt things (unless you know for sure that you are one of the rare people that has TOO MUCH Iron.....but, that is very, very rare). You might talk all of this over with your pharmacist to get his/her idea and input on the subject, while you are waiting to see if you can get those labs done. Pharmacists are SOO Helpful!

Anyway..I hope that you break was a good one. Glad that you are posting again.

Love and

Jose