My friend Wendy used to be a midwife.  She asked me if I had been tested for anemia (I haven’t been).  She was pretty shocked.  She said lots of people are deficient in iron after losing a baby at this stage because of the large amounts of blood loss. Now this just seems obvious to me.  Even after the operation, you bleed heavily for 3 weeks straight, additionally, I hemorrhaged and I don’t eat meat.  I am surprised they didn’t test for it.   Anemia causes, guess what? exhaustion (chronic fatigue) and chest pains.

Now I am starting to wonder if the acupuncturist suspected that and that is why he was recommending I start eating meat.  I just found this fat: “meat-derived iron, known as heme iron, is more easily absorbed by the body”.  Hmm, he suspected I was iron deficient, but didn’t suggest a supplement.  That’s odd.

Wendy suggested a liquid iron supplement (AMAZON PRIME!)  I did a bunch of research and taking an iron supplement even if you DON”T have anemia won’t hurt and can still be good for you – so might as well try it. I am so tired and spacey that I stared at the bottle for a good few mins trying to read the dosage, before I realized it was in Spanish.  Maybe my lizard brain was translating just enough?  (One note on iron supplements, you need to be careful with iron supplement pills, they can cause constipation!)

I spoke to both my GP and my gyno just to make sure I wasn’t turning into a self-diagnosing weirdo at home.  They both agree the most likely cause is anemia – and that “someone” (there is passing the blame for you) should have tested me.  GP said to get a blood test and also one for thyroid (as pregnancy can affect that, too).  Gyno said no need to get a blood test if I don’t want to.  I have been taking the iron for 2 days so we might never know anyway – just keep taking the iron supplement and come see them in 2 weeks if I am not feeling better.