Well I have solved some of the mystery surrounding my recent health complaints.  This is a two part story that may or may not be related.  First of all, I went to donate blood this past week.  This is something I have been trying to do every few months in honor of my grandparents who are now gone, but who donated frequently.  The last time I donated, I was right in the middle of my period.  They checked my HiB levels and I was just below the level you need to be to donate.  I asked them to wait and try again in a minute, and when they did, I was over the mark. 

This was a very bad idea.  I was violently ill for two days after the last time I gave blood.  Nausea, dizziness, terrible fatigue.  I swore I would never donate again during my period (something they do not ask you by the way).  And I swore that if my HiB level was low next time, I’d skip it.

It just occurred to me that you might not know that HiB measures the amount of red blood cells in your blood stream.  (I didn’t know exactly what it was until I was so sick last time and looked it up. When you are low, that means you are anemic.  Which is totally common when a woman is on her period, so I didn’t worry too much at that point.

So this past week I went to donate and low and behold I was really low.  I mean, I was so low that they said if I came back anytime in the next four weeks, they would not let me donate.  So I went home and did a little more research.  And what I found really pissed me off.  All they symptoms I have been struggling with for the last few months, that I had written off to general illness due to the flu, are all symptoms of anemia.  DUH!

There are over 400 different kinds of anemia, cause by a myriad of conditions.  The most common causes are nutrition (not getting enough iron), low levels of B vitamins (which aid the body in absorbing iron from food) or gastro-intestinal disease such as Crohn’s or Celiac’s.  Some of the common symptoms include: easy fatigue and loss of energy, headaches, rapid heart beats, difficulty concentrating, weight gain, and oh yeah my favorite, CRAVING CARBS!    You can get more info about anemia here.

Long story short (too late) I am taking a new B-Complex supplement and the doctor thinks I’ll be back to my old self in about two weeks.  I’m upset that I have suffered with something so fairly dangerous for so long and it is something simple and easy to remedy.  Sometimes I forget how important it is to be a good advocate for ourselves when it comes to doctors and our health.  Why didn’t it occur to me to go to my doctor and ask about this after my last experience with donating blood?  :rollseyes: *

Anyway the second part of my story is the fact that we discovered our bathroom is completely full of mold.  One of the tiles in our shower came off and there is literally no wall behind the tile.  It has rotted away!  I don’t know if the mold issue is possibly related to my rapidly worsening anemia problem because I haven’t looked it up, but I wouldn’t be surprised.  I can tell you that we have been sick A LOT in the last year.

Luckily, we are renters, so we will either have the landlord deal with it appropriately or we’ll move.

So that is my news for today.  Not all good, but I am very relieved in a way.  At least now I know what I am up against.  It is relatively easy and quick to fix, and I should start feeling a lot better very soon!

*Confidential to the Commune:  I am still convinced that the anemia could be related to the flu that has gone around.  A lot of people that have been sick this year have commented about lingering fatigue.  Perhaps the flu attacks something in the body that helps regulate the production of red blood cells?  Or it could be related to the fact that some anemia can be caused/exacerbated by over use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like Ibuprofin!