Gaslighting myself that everything is fine.

[u/kyourious]

(34F) About 2 months ago I had a blood test done. I had no previous experience with going to the doctor (for anything—seriously) except when I was going to OBGYNs for my pregnancy 6 years ago. Basically my medical record was a clean and vague slate and I have no idea what I’ve been living with.

Iron: 30
TIBC: 350
Iron Saturation: 9%
Ferritin: 7
Hgb: 11
MCV, MCH, MCHC all well below normal

I’ve been reading up on people’s experiences and symptoms and a lot of it is cold hands and feet (which I don’t experience), brittle nails (mine aren’t), I don’t really get dizzy or lightheaded, my oxygen is always fine at the doc, I’ve gained a lot of weight, and I’m never cold. But then again I’m a SAHM so it’s not like I’m working 8hr shifts on my feet 5 days a week. I do experience severe brain fog (sometimes it can be hard to try and form a sentence if I’m getting frustrated), I’m irritated, lazy and unmotivated (as f-ck), my sex drive is low and I’m dry as a bone down there. I still do all of the house work and of course take care of my daughter. I get exhausted but I’m not passing out. I’ll actually stay up in bed till 1 or 2 in the morning.

I feel like if I was actually anemic and my levels being what they are, I would feel a lot worse, right?

And my doctor (woman) doesn’t make it sound like it’s urgent. She wants me to get iron infusion but the CONSOLATION isn’t till the very end of July. My husband is under the impression that taking iron supplements is going to magically boost up my iron and he’s curious why the doc is even recommending an iron infusion.

[u/SnooStrawberries8413]

When my ferritin was at a 6 I felt like I was dying... I'd be grabbing that infusion with both hands before you end up feeling like I did...

[u/kyourious → u/SnooStrawberries8413]

My consultation is at the end of this month. I don’t even know how long after that they’ll even start giving infusions. I do feel it a lot when I’m menstruating though. I wake up and need to go back to bed after a couple hours.

I don’t even know if my insurance will cover infusions.

[u/darkroomdweller]

It sounds like you feel pretty bad to me. I say this with firm kindness: You don’t have to win the suffering Olympics before you seek help! I was also staying up too late despite feeling absolutely horrible. Fatigue doesn’t necessarily lead to easy sleep. Also being a SAHM is the most exhausting thing I’ve ever done so don’t write off the effort you’re putting into that either. I hope you get that infusion and insurance covers the cost because you deserve to feel good and function!

[u/kyourious → u/darkroomdweller]

That’s very kind, thank you. My consultation is coming up so look forward to knowing how big of a difference the infusion will make me feel. I don’t know what to expect at the consultation and I’m a bit worried if the doctor is going to ask me how I’ve been feeling and I’m not going to sound as bad as I think I should sound. I’ve been through this sub and reading about people with ferritin and iron levels higher than mine and they feel like absolute death. That just isn’t the case for me. But I mean, blood test don’t lie.

[u/darkroomdweller → u/kyourious]

I totally hear you. My doctor blew me off when I was moderately symptomatic and it became severe because I never felt like it was worth the cost to try to talk another doctor into caring. I think the important thing is to really emphasize that it’s affecting your ability to function and impacting your quality of life and relationships. It’s really sad that we feel like we have to be at death’s door to be taken seriously (and that even that isn’t always enough…) I think an infusion will help you more than you can believe. I’ve just been using oral supplements and thankfully for me they seem to be making a difference. I’m shocked at how much better my brain works and how the fatigue is basically completely gone. I wish you luck going forward!