So I Now Have to Treat Anemia on Top of Everything Else [sigh] (aka the June Medical Update)

I saw my main doctor last week to get the results back from the labs I had done at the end of April. They took 8 vials for a slew of tests and overall, the results were positive.

The iron pill culprits.

However, I found out from the tests that my anemia actually has two sources. First, I have low iron levels, which would be bad by itself, but apparently my kidney issues are causing my body to not produce red blood cells like it should.

I was supposed to take a 150mg iron supplement daily, which I did for three weeks. But I started menstral bleeding (sorry guys reading this) every day. I did some research and it seems the iron pills do not play well with thyroid meds, which is not a good thing for me. So I stopped taking the iron to give my thyroid meds a chance to work right and the bleeding has stopped.

Next week, I’m going to try a lower dose over-the-counter iron supplement, and take it at night, so it’s as far away from my thyroid med dose as possible. We’ll see how that works, but if I have to do without the iron, well, my thyroid is more important.

I keep reminding myself that I’m still doing better right now than I was this time last year, but it’s so frustrating when stuff like this happens.

But in really good news, my kidney doc says my kidney function has increased from 32% to 50%. This is really good since the better my kidney functions now, the less likely I’ll need dialysis later in life. The doc says we might even be able to get it higher, like into the 70% range, which would be awesome.

Thanks so much to all of you who keep me positive with your well wishes and comments. It really means a lot to me.

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About zengrrl

I'm Michelle Snow, the writer and creator of Zengrrl. I write about travel, entertainment, women's issues, health, body positivity, and more, both for this blog and freelance. I have also authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida. If you aren't already following me, the links are below, as well as on the top right of this page. Thanks!