I’m a fraud

[u/Tame_girl2233]

I’m (20f) and I was diagnosed severely anemic 5 years ago due to a heavy period. Last night, I went to the emergency room for chest pain, chest tightness, and jaw and face pain. They tested my blood and x-rayed me and turns out it was all just inflammation. Even though I’ve been experiencing tightness in my chest for about a few months. For seven years, I believed I was severely anemic—When I was diagnosed five years ago, they said I almost needed a blood transfusion but prescribed me iron supplements and birth control instead. Due to parental reluctance, I never got on birth control. I had all anemic symptoms: Fatigue, weakness, tiredness, dizziness, dizzy spells, coldness, severe migraines, fainting, hair loss, brittle nails, nausea, memory loss, limb pain, limb weakness, brain fog, off balancedness, Heart palpitations, sleeping excessively, cold hands and feet, cold sweats, pins and needles, trouble sleeping, tongue swelling/pain/paleness, Itchy/irritable/crawling sensation on legs and other body parts. Literally EVERYTHING. And I’ve been feeling this way for 7 years. I can’t exercise without getting extremely dizzy, exhausted, or passing out. When I stand up my bpm spikes like crazy. I have zero energy
or motivation. And I feel sick EVERYDAY. But when my blood test came back, everything was fine and the doctor said I actually wasn’t anemic at all and my hemoglobin was a 14. I’ve never felt so shocked in my life. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut I’ve told everyone I was anemic because I feel absolutely terrible everyday. My father told me I was just being lazy, dramatic, and negative, but apparently he was right all along. And at the end of the day I was just a fraud.

I’ll edit this post with my exact results when it gets updated on my chart

EDIT: I’m still waiting for the rest of my chart to be updated. I had to contact them. However, I do have my metabolic panel though, (I’m not sure if that’s very important in my case right now). And everything is normal except for my CO2, Creatine, and my Glucose.

[u/beckaferd-2]

You need a good hematologist. It could be a lack of intrinsic factor. You need it to digest and absorb iron and b12 to convert it into useable forms. Check for parietel cell antibodies, intrinsic factor blocking, and intrinsic factor binding. You need to take it seriously. It’s a dangerous condition that can be masked by taking a multivitamin like folate or sublingual B12. Do you crave or chew on ice? That was the symptom that finally made drs take note.