Are edibles still in play?
S/he will definitely. I have them in the system, in my phone, in my wallet, and I usually bring a print out copy 
@doschicos not in almost a month. They make me too sleepy (on top of my other fatigue issues) to keep up with course work.
Ranitidine has been know to affect heart rate to make it feel like your heart is beating intensely. I know you started it after your heart started acting up, but maybe it is piling on…
This! Very important. Before they draw your blood tomorrow, ask the phlebotomist what the orders are for. If it’s just a TSH, ask them to call the doctor’s office and get the additional tests added on.
My PCP does the whole thyroid shebang. My Rheumy ordered the last test which is why it was only a TSH test.
For many years when I was anemic, I was very borderline… nothing anyone would blink an eye at. But I had all kinds of symptoms. I developed pica, and for several years (until I figured out why), I craved ice at all times of the day. I’m lucky I didn’t break any teeth with all the ice was chewing. And it really had to be the ice that came from our refrigerator ice maker (which after a while couldn’t keep up with me). I was in grad school at the time, and the commute was at least an hour each way. I would load up a large thermos with ice and go through most of it on my commute to school, but several hours later when it was time to return home, my ice would be gone, and I can’t tell you how many times I would stop at a Walgreens or some similar place, buy a bag of ice, just to get me through my ride home, where I would have my ‘good’ ice waiting for me.
I also got very winded when I would go up the stairs in our house; I would have to stop and rest at the top; I also had terrible restless leg syndrome. When someone finally suggested to me that I should get my iron checked, it came out as borderline low. But as soon as I started taking iron supplements, all my symptoms went away. Thankfully in menopause I no longer have to take iron and I haven’t craved ice, had restless legs, or gotten winded in several years now. But again, I was borderline anemic…not bad at all. I can’t even imagine how I would have been impacted had I been more anemic than I was.
So just remember that those ‘norms’ are just based on the averages, yet for you, they may be enough to cause trouble. Unfortunately, iron ‘can’ be troublesome for the GI tract, so if you do decide to go with an iron supplement, ask your pharmacist which formulations are easier on the GI tract.
Duly noted, teri. I stopped the iron pills when I was younger was because of what they were doing to my GI system. I do remember being quite miserable.
Side note:
ACK! Mr. R does this and even the noise gives me chills. I don’t understand how people can chew ice lol
I think I posted this earlier, but since we’ve moved on to my blood: does anyone know why an RBC count would be HIGH while HCT is NORMAL and HGB is LOW? Aren’t these three all supposed to more or less mirror each other?
@romanigypsyeyes I’m so sorry you are going through this.
Though what you are going through is more serious, and I’m certainly not intending to minimize it, but I want to let you know that I’ve had several things that doctors could not explain successfully treated with Chinese acupuncture from a well trained Chinese medicine doctor trained in China. (It’s really hard for a practitioner to get enough clinical experience in the US). The reason I resort to this sometimes is that the Chinese medicine system is a completely different holistic view. I view it more as a supervised learning pattern matching approach developed through thousands of years of trial and error. Sometimes it gets is right and it’s very non-invasive and low risk. Some insurance companies provide discounts. The only significant risks are financial ones.
Good luck.
Iron pills - when and how you take them will make big difference in how much iron you actually absorb. Some people recommend taking the “coated” type iron tablets to lessen the gastrointestinal symptoms, but those are actually counter-productive for absorption. Nearly all the iron is absorbed in the duodenum - the section of small bowel that is right after the stomach. The coated tablets do not dissolve until they are already south of the duodenum, so the iron just passes on out unabsorbed.
For best absorption take an uncoated iron tablet along with a 500 or 1000 mg vitamin C tablet on an empty stomach. This usually upsets my stomach, so I eat a little yogurt about 30 minutes after taking the pills which settles my stomach down. Unfortunately, an uncoated pill on an empty stomach is also the situation most likely to cause digestive upsets, so if you find you cannot tolerate it, ask your doctor about getting some iron infusions. That way you get the most absorption by simply bypassing the gut altogether and putting it directly into the blood.
@scipio if I do have to start iron pills, would it be best to go through my GI doc for the best way to take them or do you think a PCP would be sufficient? (This, of course, assuming I don’t get shipped off to yet another specialist lol)
Went in for the blood draw today- thyroid and anemia things. I was right in that the ER said nothing about my thyroid in their notes to my doc but she was more than happy to order the tests I asked for. Also Rheumy thinks Hashimoto’s is unlikely but I’ll see what the PCP thinks when the thyroid results come back.
Whack, whack, whack-a-mole.
romani-Is there one doc who oversees all meds? My mom was seeing a PCP, GI, Rheumatologist, Endocrinologist and Cardiologist and the meds became very overwhelming. One med would cause gastro issues, so then the gastro would prescribe something but that would cause cardio issues, etc., etc. Finally, the cardiologist said he would oversee all meds and any changes by any other doc had to go through him. Her case, like yours, is a jumble of complicated autoimmune issues and the PCP was just not as well versed in all the intricacies. This system seems to be helping. I hope you find some answers soon.
I think Hashimoto’s is extremely likely, but that causes hypo, not hyper, thyroid, and I don’t think it would explain a rapid heartbeat.
Good luck.
My friend’s son, who is about your age, almost died from undiagnosed Graves’ Disease recently. On the flip side, because it’s hypo-not-hyper, Hashimoto’s is also an autoimmune disease (I have had it for 40 years). That pesky thyroid gland can cause a host of problems. An endocrinologist is a must in diagnosing thyroid problems - my PCP sent me to an endo when I was a teen because she was sure I had thyroid problems, but nothing was turning up in the testing she ordered. The endo diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s.
I had irregular, and elevated heart rates when I was found to be anemic.
Romani - If I were you I would try a taking uncoated OTC iron pills with vitamin C on your own on an empty stomach for a few days before you even get to the doc. That way you will already know whether you are going to be able to tolerate that approach. And if the answer is no you can discuss the possibility of iron infusions with your PCP when you go (assuming that iron is prescribed for your anemia). The PCP can guide you as to the best doc to administer such treatments.
When I was anemic (see post 96), my PCP had me take 25 mg Gentle Iron by Solgar for two months, then 5 mg Ferritin by Cardiovascular Research as maintenence. Just sharing what I was prescribed, not saying you should do the same.
My son takes Slo Fe time released and it works really great for him. I believe these are coated.
If your hemoglobilin level is 12.1, I’m surprised they are saying you are anemic. I’m not a doctor but it is my understanding that is generally considered normal in women (before menopause).
@scipio thanks. I’m going to quickly check with my PCP on Monday (still waiting for an appt to be scheduled) to make sure she isn’t going to want to run more blood tests that the iron pills might unintentionally interfere with.
Thanks for the iron suggestions. Last time I just took the regular generic OTC iron pills.
@nottelling yeah, and there are other parts of my blood work (RBC count for example) that show the exact opposite of anemia even though others are consistent with it.
I’ve done some research on my own over the last few days (no, I’m not someone who self-diagnoses from WebMD but I also know how much doctors keep up on current research… or don’t, to be more specific- as is to be expected with such a demanding career). Over half of all lupus patients have anemia but it can be from a variety of things, not just low iron, like bone marrow problems.