guess I've got blood problems

[lex]

Guess who's the dumbass who forgot that iron is kinda important

yep it's me

I mean, my gums were WHITE. Are still super pale, in fact. I somehow failed to realize that my slowly-increasing lethargy might actually have a CAUSE, and it culminated today in severe weakness, shaking, and nearly passing out in lab. WHOOPS.

So yeah. I need to be more mindful of my diet. :\ Note to self: iron, B-12, iodine, calcium. Nutritional yeast, seaweed, spinach, chickpeas, kale. EAT THESE THINGS MORE THAN "SOMETIMES." Also see if the hippie store has nutritional yeast. I'm sure they do, it's just a matter of WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE.

I feel like such a dipshit. Seriously, who the hell forgets that iron is a necessary thing for the human body.

Anyway yeah, expect me to remain listless for a while, I guess. I hear iron takes a long time to do much of anything in the body, and I know it's hard to absorb (the Red Cross and I have had many discussions about my low iron) but it's not like I had to get hospitalized or anything. I am, however, going to go sleep for like 13 hours straight. I think I've been awake for a grand total of 8 hours today and I suspect tomorrow will be much the same. I'd suspect illness but my only symptom is the lethargy soooo yeah. Iron. Jeez. :\

Comments

[senmut]

Hon! +pets you gently+ Set in anemia is no flippin' joke at all. Been there, done that, and just tweeted about worrying over my a few days back. Do be careful. Also, one of the M minerals supposedly helps absorption, but I cannot recall which one.

[swordage]

I am being much more careful now! I was living in a bubble of "nutritional deficiencies only happen to other people" and it was violently burst. XD I know vit. C helps absorbtion, as well as various phytochemicals present in dark leafy greens which also happen to be pretty high in iron. I'm just a dumbass who forgot that I need to actually eat these things as part of my mostly-vegetarian diet. HERPA DERP.

[caiusmajor]

*hugs* That sucks. I hope it gets better soon. :C

(Also--are you sure it's a diet thing? I hear it can sometimes be a sign of internal bleeding...)

[swordage]

I don't have any sort of tenderness or pain anywhere, so I doubt it's internal bleeding? It could be, I guess, but in retrospect the lethargy has been building up for a good month and I would probably be dead already if it were bleeding. I find plain 'ol anemia more likely since it corresponds with when I stopped taking iron supplements, and I know I haven't been eating anything with a decent amount of iron in it, AND I have a history of low blood iron. Ideally I'd go to a doctor and get their opinion but I haven't had health insurance since January. OH WELL.

[caiusmajor]

Ah, then, probably not. I hope the supplements and food fix it quickly for you.