I've been having a lot of trouble breathing lately, so I decided to go to the hospital about four days ago. I explained to the doctor that I've been short on breath and that I've basically been having to yawn every five seconds just to get some oxygen. He asked me more questions, then decided I should take a blood test. Well, I took one and I got diagnosed with anemia.

:(

Does anybody here have or know anybody who has anemia? My best friend's sister died from anemia when we were in high school because she didn't take any proper medication, and one of my other friends has to take huge, disgusting pills for it. The doctor only told me to raise my iron intake, but I think I should be doing something more since my case is severe.

i am sorry you have not been doing well. i was only anemic during my pregnancies. and would have to take iron pills. always went back up. but maybe someone else here can be of more help. hope you feel better. you should also re up an appt with your gp to get more personalized attention and possibly a prescription.

Hi,

I used to have anemia from not eating enough meat and heavy periods. I didnt know I had it until I fainted. You'll probably just have to take iron pills. I took the ferrous gluconate because its not as hard on your stomach as the other ones. Do you know what your Hemoglobin count is? Well I don't think you need to worry to much alot of women have anemia.

There are different types of anemia, for example iron deficiency or pernicious anemia(caused by a lack of B12) You are usually anemic for a reason. For women, iron deficieny can be d/t heavy cycles. If you eat well balanced meals, your diet should not be the culprit. But there are other reasons for iron deficiency anemia. Find out exactly what type of anemia you have and make sure the underlying cause is addressed. If you do not correct the underlying problem, the anemia may not be corrected by taking the iron.

hope you feel better soon !!!!! xxooxx eat lots of greens like sp, silverbeet and red meat if you can !!!!please ask the local gp for a diet thats good for you all the best love a concerned je..y......

Hey Boobies,

Are you a vegetarian? I had anemia when I was younger, when I was a vegetarian. I always felt very tired and needed to take iron supplements. Now I eat meat e few times a weak and don't need the extra iron anymore

Good luck!

Anna

hi boobies06,

i was aneamic as well and i had to take iron tablets, very high doses, when i was aneamic i was very tired and had headaches often. i think i can only say what the other girls already said, go to the gp and find what can be causing this and take a look at your diet. also just taking iron might not help because you might have a problem with iron absorption, so you need to have other vitamins and minerals as well

hope you feel better soon

hugs, mark

Hi boobies,

I am anemic, and have been since I was about 13. So for years and years I have been taking iron. And when I was pregnant it was ungodly amounts of iron. My suggestion to you, would be to go to your doc and find out what they recommend to take. I wouldn't suggest taking anything until you find out how low you actually are and in what area. I don't think eating more meat is the right answer either, because you could be so low that it won't be enough.

Don't worry about it either. Just take the steps needed to get the supplement you need.
Good Luck
Henri

What type of anemia do you have? The one that resuls from insufficient iron in the diet, or a more serious genetic type?

HiBoobies- enimia has been in my family for years im nagged at all the time to eat iron, now some of the old fasioned ways of dealing with anemia are these:Drinking guiness-it is packed with iron and minerals (my nan drank 1 can every night b4 bed,she had enimia vbad),also wine!!, spring or savoy cabage is also excellent, as you probably know spinich is fantastic also.Bake beans and eggs are also great,(tried and tested throught the generations of my family -except how my nan had to eat raw liver-yuk)
I didnt read if you were vegetarian but most meat and poltry is also very good for you when enimic

Iv also found on a website for you good sources of iron for vegans:
Vegan Sources of Iron
Good plant sources of iron include dried fruits, whole grains (including wholemeal bread), nuts Pistachio nuts, cashew nuts,whole meal bread &, green leafy vegetables, seeds and pulses. Other foods rich in iron but which are usually eaten in smaller amounts include soya flour, parsley, watercress, black molasses and edible seaweeds.

sorry to go on but iv found a table of many foods for you and thaught it would help so here it is-Tried to coppy and paste but wouldnt work out properly so web site is:
http://www.weightlossforall.com/iron-rich-food.htm (ignore the weight loss thingy its the table futher down the page which will help u) And heres another one with everything from drink,cheese to cakes:
http://www.healthyeatingclub.com/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5e.html

Hope this lot helps u out chick, n try not to worry 2 much-one of the ways 2 tell if your low is look under your eye where that pinky bit is(u need to pull the bottom of your eye open where the bags are)it should be a healthy pink colour- if it looks more peachy or even a yelowy colour then you know you are low and need to get some iron in you

Lv n hugs gingerD

Boobies06,
If your anemia is because of iron deficiency, taking iron is not the only thing you need to do. Your body may need more Vitamin C. This vitamin increases our ability to absorb iron. My neice used this advice when she was pregnant and anemic. It solved her problem.

If you must take iron, be sure to increase your fiber intake as well. Iron supplements are known to constipate.

Please keep us informed on your progress.

hey boobies06 dont worry. i am aneamic and my blood count went down to 3. the doctor was considering sending my hospital for a blood transfusion but he thought that if i regulalry took my iron tablets three times a day i would be fine. five months later i went for a blood test and my blood count was 10.8. above 12 is absolutley fine so im getting there. please dont worry you will be fine. try taking your iron tablets with orange juice for better absorption. to be really honest i didnt take my tablets because im not one for taking pills ( u can imagine how im doing nbe!) so when i had my second blood test i was amazed how my level had increased...without the pills. the only thing i did was increased my intake of red meat. and i consumed alot of green leafy vegetables..like spinach. it really helped me. im saying to you take ur tablets but concentrate on ur diet too.

and honey we want you better cos we r all booby sisters arent we!!!! oh and brother(s) so we look out for each other.

take care and dont stress.

cutie!

Hi, I am also anemic, and have been for quite a few years. I was just admitted into the hospital for almost a week because it got so bad that I was close to needing a blood transfusion. They just injected a liquid iron supplement for 3 days (the other 2 I stayed was just because that hospital had poor communication and they didn't have my weekly medication in - so they had to wait for it to ship so they could give it to me). After that, they let me go home and didn't even tell me to take any iron supplements (although I probably should) and now they will be doing another blood test in the next month to see if I'm better. I don't think you should worry too much about it, just take care of yourself :)

I'm not amemic, but I did have the same problem that you had, I couldn't get enough air unless I would yawn...I went to my doctor a few times before the problem was correctly diagnosed...did the dotcor check your lung capacity, have you breathe into the tube?

Honey, I was told i was iron defecient when I was 12. I was put on iron pills, which made me sick. But the doctor said to eat lots and lots of green veggies, like broccoli,brussel sprouts ,and to eat liver( PASS ON THAT!) and to add red meat to my diet. I HATE red meat, so pass on that too, but I do ,however, take a b 12 sublingual liquid each day, and I eat the fool out of my veggies and ,believe it or not, prunes. I LOVE PRUNES!!! And they help me alot. I know when my iron is low because I CRAVE my prunes. So, keep in mind, there are steps you can take to get rid of that pesky problem. We are all here for ya babe. GET CRACKIN!!!