Dear Scarlett

Friday 02.04.22

Hey, it’s been a while. I wish that I could say that I’ve been busy, but why lie. I will freely admit to you that I have no life, because you already know it. I sometimes wonder, do you really read my letters? Maybe when you crawl into bed, you read my letters to help you sleep!

Any way, finally got into see my new doctor. First appointment was on Dec. 29th. Took about an hour. We went over everything in my history. Had the basics done. Weight, blood pressure all the fun stuff. Talked with her about my concern with the hair loss. It’s really been noticeable in the last 6 months. Still was thinking it was my thyroid. So I vampirezied….(yeah I know it’s not a real word…..). Then waited for the tests to come back. I already had another appointment to get a tetanus shot and have a pap.

Of course I went off the rails for New Years! At work they were going to start a 90 day weight loss on the 3rd. I decided to participate and figured what the hell for New Years weekend. I’d already decided to cut back on the alcohol, empty calories!

I got a call on the 4th from the clinic. Iron levels were high in my blood and the doctor wanted me to not drink until my next appointment (which was schedules for Feb 2nd). Crap crap crap……

You know what happens when someone other then your self makes a decision about your actions…..It’s HARDER then Hell to do. But I did it! Weekends were the worst.

I was also all over the internet checking about low iron, high iron, etc. So I didn’t really understand the woman that called me and gave me the information. I looked at the test results and everything looked like it was in range. I even sent M a couple snap shots of the screen and she thought they looked OK too. Looking up both high and low, I had more symptoms of the low than the high. So I didn’t drink. Started eating better to, sort of, to compete in the 90 day challenge at work. Exercising, and didn’t really feel a lot better, I’ve lost almost 10 LB.

Wednesday was my appointment. I got a lot more information. So my iron was OK it’s the Ferritin levels that are high.

(Ferritin is a protein that stores iron. Red blood cells need iron to form normally and carry oxygen around your body. Other parts of your body, such as your liver, bone marrow, and muscles, also need iron. High levels of ferritin can damage your joints, heart, liver, and pancreas. Too much iron is most often caused by an inherited disease called hemochromatosis. Many people with this disease never have any symptoms, especially women who lose iron through menstruation. But men and some women slowly build up excess iron over the years. They may begin to feel joint and belly pain in their 20s or 30s. Heavy alcohol use increases the amount of iron that is absorbed.

If your results are higher, it may mean you have:

• Hyperthyroidism
• Hemochromatosis
• Liver disease
• Inflammatory diseases
• Cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or breast carcinoma

You may also have higher levels if you are getting iron-replacement therapy or had a recent blood transfusion.

What might affect my test results?

Eating foods that are high in iron, including meat, leafy green vegetables, and beans, or taking iron supplements can affect your results. Drinking a lot of milk, donating blood frequently, and running long distances regularly can also affect your results.)

So I’ve been taking extra iron for a couple of years now. Also alcohol can affect the results, hence the no drinking. (I also stopped the extra iron)I got vampirized again and now it’s waiting, waiting, waiting……to see what the results say this time. I’m hoping for good results.

But my mind keeps going in the opposite direction….as it always does. If it’s still high I’m going to end up having to go to Hematology or some such place. It means that I have Hemochromatosis which means there is to much ferritin in my blood. To basically off set this the actually drain off blood to reduce the ferritin. Doesn’t that sound like fun or what. The doctor didn’t get to deep into what would happen if my level was still to high. She said we would cross that bridge when the results come back.

Here’s hoping for LOWER! Not to self, just because it’s a supplement and not medicine they can still have an affect on your system. Hindsight…..she’s a Bitch.

TTFN