I wanted/went to donate blood yesterday and as expected- I wasn't allowed to because of my low iron levels/iron deficiency. Well I wasn't that taken aback because half the time I wanted to donate, I couldn't, for exactly the same reasons. And when I do get to donate blood, I merely passed the level required. This time round though, being my usual paranoid self, I went to google the effects of iron deficiency hahha.

Those listed here are more relevant to me

1. You're exhausted.

The most common symptom of iron deficiency, it's also possibly the most difficult one to detect. "Women are so used to having frenetic lives and feeling tired that they often just dismiss being tired as part of life." However, iron deficiency causes less oxygen to reach your tissues, so your body is deprived of the energy it needs. If your "normal" fatigue is coupled with you feeling, weak, irritable or unable to focus, iron (or a lack thereof) might have something to do with it. After all, there's a reason people whose iron deficiency progresses into anemia are often said to have "tired blood."

2. You feel anxious for no reason.

As if your life wasn't stressful enough, iron deficiency can trick you into feeling even more anxious. A lack of oxygen revs up your body's sympathetic nervous system, which is kind of like your body's gas pedal. Plus, since iron deficiency can send your heart racing, it's easy to feel like you're in fight-or-flight mode even when you have every reason to feel relaxed.

//could this be the reason why I tend to pick on things? Or I worry too much/think too much? You've said that to me before and I tried to be "simplier". I wasn't able to make a connection then on why I kept being anxious when there's nothing to be anxious about because I do trust you. I hope it isn't too late now for you to know that I tried though..

3. You're losing your hair.
Iron deficiency, especially when it progresses into full-blown iron deficiency anemia, can cause hair loss. It sends your body into survival mode, so your body channels oxygen to support vital functions as opposed to ones like keeping your hair intact. Don't panic if there are a few hairs in your drain, though. Most scalps lose about 100 hairs on a good day.

//YES. Now I know. My hair has been thinning in recent years and exacerbated after I reduced my diet. I do not merely lose just 100 strands of hair. I lost enough hair to know it's not merely 100 strands a day!!!

4. Your heart is pounding.

An overworked heart can end up suffering from irregular heartbeats, heart murmurs, enlargement, and even heart failure. Before you freak out, don't. For things to get that bad, you would probably have to suffer from iron deficiency anaemia for quite some time, suggests a review of cardiomyopathy and iron deficiency in the Texas Heart Institute Journal.

//Do you remember when we were fighting and I told you my heart hurts? No just emotionally but physically? Ever since our quarrel the pain came back again :/

5. Your head hurts.
An iron-deficient body will prioritize getting oxygen to your brain before it worries about other tissues, but even then, your noggin will still get less than it ideally should, Berliner says. In response, the brain's arteries can swell, causing headaches, according to the National Headache Foundation.
source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/01/iron-deficiency-signs_n_5043342.html

I've started taking Iron supplements (given by doctor at the blood bank). It’s my 2nd day on it and I'm taking a step at a time. Basically I'm just seeing how it goes before I do make myself go through a more comprehensive blood test. But for now, I hope you do understand I was trying. And I still am.

Still missing you loads bee


new past