Layla H.
“How did you get here alone?” the CBC doctor asked me. And I thought I was just lazy… How a ferritin test saved me. A post from a frail Anaemia woman and how I treated the illness
I never thought that I would become a regular on this thread. But I had to. How did it all start?
Surprisingly, but true: it all started with gynaecological problems. My cycle was out of whack. It had always been irregular but “normal”, according to doctors. And then it started jumping around like crazy.
In addition to the cycle, there were problems with activity. I did not leave the house, and my work results dropped, but I worked A LOT, albeit online, and attributed everything to fatigue and accumulated stress.
I googled CBC and decided to take the tests I had prescribed for myself: general, D, thyroid, and ferritin. The logic was simple: there was a lot of blood flowing—I needed to check the iron in the blood.
Results
The analysis came back. Everything is normal except for iron levels, haemoglobin and ferritin.
How abnormal? Very, very abnormal.
What did I think when I saw the results? That Invitro was lying. Ferritin can’t be that low)
5 when the norm is about 60, that’s ridiculous.
The doctor looked at the CBC tests, looked at me, and asked: “Did you walk here? On your own? Go and get them re-checked.”
I went to retake the Anaemia test in two months. And I was lazy. I was tired from work. It was hot, and the workload was crazy. I couldn’t force myself to leave the house.
So, I receive the test results by email, look at them, get off the couch and rush to the Anaemia doctor (as far as possible).
I come to the doctor and he asks: “Did you come here again on your own? On foot?” – “Yes,” I say. “Well, just like that, on foot, without any sudden movements, go to the CBC procedure room for the IV. A double dose. We’ll talk later.”
Treatment Plan
They prescribed me Venofer 5 IVs every other day to raise ferritin. To make it even more effective, they gave me two ampoules at once, all five times. To make it even more effective, they gave me Tardiferon in a horse dosage for six months. After six months, a control result was obtained.
I will write separately about the price of the drugs, it changes often, but they are not cheap.
And I can tell you about the effect right away) Already two weeks after the IVs, I was jumping like a goat) I brought order to my home, and everything became good at work. I went for a walk around the capital several times. The difference is colossal. I HAVE HEALED.
Dietary Supplements vs. Medications
Let me explain. Right after the IVs, I started taking Tardiferon. Judging by the sensations, the IVs boosted my iron reserves, but Tardiferon dropped them back. However, I felt much better after the Anaemia sampling than before the first test. I thought about it and decided to treat myself. Instead of Tardiferon (160 mg of iron), I prescribed Nature’s Bounty Easily Available Iron 28 mg. Then, I again had no time to bring myself to Invitro or a doctor; I felt fine, and I took my dietary supplement regularly until an event happened that forced me to undergo a full check-up of the body, including checking haemoglobin/ferritin. And you know what?)
Dietary supplements work better for me than medications)
My diet remained the same. It’s all vitamins)
What I would like to say in conclusion.
Anaemia is not about fatigue and apathy, not about lack of strength.
Anemia is about lack of oxygen for vital organs. In my case, it hit the female part. For some, it hits in a different direction. But it can hit hard.
Haemoglobin, CBC and ferritin tests are great ways to monitor iron levels in the blood, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND checking your blood at least periodically so as not to let it get worse, as I did; it’s more expensive to treat later; I’ve checked.
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Lucy
Why might treating anaemia with iron supplements not help?
Given: Female, 52 years old. A very good person. And I think that about only a few people. Currently single, no children. Friends, as I understand, also one and a half, as often happens with shy introverts. And in one moment, everything in her body fell apart at once.
At first, something happened to her tooth with complications. They removed fragments from the jaw, and the first time, it didn’t work out well, so they removed it a second time. Then she lost her vision, which had been very bad all her life. She had a series of operations, replacing the lenses in both eyes. Of the whole bunch of reasons for the operation: cataract, glaucoma, destruction of the vitreous body, high myopia, retinal angiopathy, presbyopia – they removed and corrected only part. And she gradually began to see again. Badly, but she can see. With glasses a little better, of course.
Thyroid Issues
A couple of months later, her neck started swelling on one side. She went to the doctor. The Anaemia diagnosis was thyroiditis. Well, to be more precise, from the results of the thyroid ultrasound a month ago, a quote verbatim:
“Right lobe, occupying the entire lobe volume: – a conglomerate of nodes up to 70 mm in size, isoechoic, unclear contours, no halo, mixed blood flow. CONCLUSION: Cytological picture of a colloid node (Bethesda II) with secondary changes
Left lobe, the centre of the lobe: – node up to 15 mm in size, isoechoic, clear contours, no halo, mixed blood flow. CONCLUSION: Cytological picture of a colloid node (Bethesda II).
They scheduled an operation; they said the thyroid gland needed to be removed. But there was a contraindication for the operation – anaemia, haemoglobin according to the tests, is 57 g / l. They prescribed Totema to increase the haemoglobin level. She drinks it for a month – CBC based haemoglobin rises quickly and then decreases again.
They told her to continue taking this drug. How safe and competent is this? Who knows? I’m not a doctor at all. I accidentally cut myself on this other person’s grief, and I could not pass by. The woman is in St. Petersburg, I am in Moscow, and with extremely poor eyesight, she will not be able to take a picture of her medical card for me. And this tumour/node (I don’t know the correct way to call it) on the side is growing.
Recent Developments
Yesterday, I dragged her out by force to talk on Telegram; I saw her and got scared; in a month, this ball on the side has grown even more; it is confidently approaching the diameter of a tennis ball, probably. She can’t even say two phrases without a barking, heart-rending cough; she suffocates because it is obvious that these nodes are pressing on the respiratory tract.
I was about to rush off to St. Petersburg the other day, go with her to the clinic at her place of registration and listen to her doctors. And if something is wrong – to be a little tougher (in this sense, due to my character and professional deformation, I can be useful to many, not very assertive people if their legal rights are violated) so that they at least do something as soon as possible. But then I slept at night with this thought and cooled down.
I decided to first find out from everyone about the CBC and I could ask around me – how can I raise her haemoglobin in the shortest but reasonable time so that it does not fall? So that she can be put into surgery as soon as possible? What do you think can be done about this? Intensive therapy and various IVs may help cope with this trouble.
The second question is: Can chronic lack of sleep be the reason that iron preparations are poorly absorbed and a diet with products that increase haemoglobin does not help? He sleeps poorly and speaks. No matter his position, he starts coughing because of the nodes, so his sleep quality has deteriorated greatly.