Pale... tired?

yoviher

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In the last weeks I have been feeling drained... both mentally and physically. Something I've noticed in the Taekwondo, and dead tired even when I have slept well. That tiredness is also starting to affect my studies. Not feeling to do anything.

But, everyone is telling that I look very pale. And when I look at the mirror, I guess I have to agree that my face is whiter.

I don't know.... what could be wrong? Specially the paleness... I am still the bottomless barrel of always when it comes to my eating. Is this something to worry about?
 

adymarie

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Are you taking a multi-vitimin with iron? that shoulf help with energy. It sounds like maybe you should go for a physical as you have mentioned a few times that you haven't been feeling well. Better to get everything checked out.
 
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yoviher

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multivitamin? Well, my mom is always behind me complaining that I always forget to take my multi vitamin.

I guess that when it's not something it's something else.

I have a somewhat delicate urinary health... already had a kidney stone, and a month never passes by when I have some sand. Not surprisingly whenever I have some kind of lower abdominal pain, my parents land me head first in the doctor's office. In one of those episodes, where I had blood/urine tests done to see if there was a small stone but turned out to be constipation, there was a little thing which caught my father's eye in the blood test results. I don't know what's its name in English but in Spanish it's "Hemoglobina", and it's about the red blood cells. It was below average. But the doctor did not pay much concern as he said that it was just a bit below average and nothing to worry.

Just something that came to my mind... but that was in January.

As for the idea of the checkup I guess it may be more appropiate. I would have to mention that idea to my parents.
 

deb25

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low hemoglobin = anemic. That would explain being tired and possibly pale. You may need an iron supplement.
 

jcat

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Originally posted by Deb25
low hemoglobin = anemic. That would explain being tired and possibly pale. You may need an iron supplement.
That would be my guess, too. And perhaps a bit too much time spent online, instead of getting enough sleep? I say that because I find myself doing it.
 
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yoviher

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Okay, so it's time to stop saying "Yes mom" to her bitching that I constantly forget to take suplements.
I guess if it's that I also ought to take more red meat.... I love steaks, everyone loves how I make them, yet all the meat I've been eating in months now is Fish and poultry.

Actually, I've grown to the point that when I do my homework in MS Word I am with another window on the web!
 

sweets

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Victor,

As a fellow anemic, I can tell you that hemoglobin levels can drop quickly, but take forever to rebuild. I've been anemic since my teens...too many years ago to admit. I've been simply diagnosed as Chronic since they can't find a cause.

The iron needed to rebuild your blood is absorbed by the small intestine immediately after it exits your stomach. And the area that absorbs the iron is about 3" long. Thats it. Thats why it takes so long to rebuild. If you take your vitamin/suppliment with orange juice, the citrus acid causes that 3" to expand to about 5". Not alot but it helps.

If you can increase your red meat intake, as well as green leafy vegetables like brocolli and spinach, it will help. Also, red and black beans.

Anemia will cause the sleepiness, the energy loss, the color loss. Get this checked by your doctor. Its a simple blood test. My doc has the results in about 5 minutes. Its not a simple disease, nor is it harmless.

Sandy
 

twofatcats

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I believe I've probably had a case of anemia several times in my life. (My doctor seems to think that probably is the case, too, even though it was never diagnosed as anemia.) I would get so incredibly tired for seemingly no reason that I'd feel I was really dragging my behind. Then it would dawn on me that I hadn't been taking an iron supplement for months, and resume it, and would gradually get better again. But after a year or two, I'd start neglecting it and end up going through the whole episode all over again.

My husband, on the other hand, ended up in the hospital with anemia. But it was not from lack of iron in the diet. His body was no longer able to absorb some of the B vitamins, which are essential for the absorption of iron. So he needed to start getting injections of the vitamins. This problem is much more likely to happen with older people, but can occasionally be a problem for younger people, as well.

My step-daughter also ended up with anemia last year. In her case, though, she was bleeding internally.

I'm telling you all this so you'll be aware that if there is any hint that you are having other symptoms, as well, you should make an appointment with a doctor to rule out other problems causing this. Also, if you do choose to just start iron supplements and increasing your dietary iron, if you don't start seeing a gradual pickup in energy in a reasonable length of time, I'd still high-tail it to a doctor for a checkup.
 
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yoviher

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Red Beans???? Sandy, here in Puerto Rico the question is not "What are we gonna have for dinner", but "With what is the rice and beans going to be with". You are very creative here if you can make a dinner when you run out of rice and beans.


You really got me depressed when you said of "fellow anemic"... As if I did not have enough with inheriting my father's kidneys.

Bummer.
 

kumbulu

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Victor, if you do have Anaemia, it is one of those things that is easy to diagnose and treat. In the multivitamins there's usually just a very small dose of everything. That often means that you don't get enough if you are low in something. Get yourself some iron tablets and see if they help. I know it's a bummer but at least you don't have to have regular iron injections like me.
 

rosiemac

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Victor dont panic. If it is something like anaemia like Kumbulu said it is easily treated.
A girl i work with has it, in fact she knows she needs to go back to the doctor for more treatment because when it was cold here last week her fingers were white, and i mean white, she looked the colour of a corpse!.
And like you she feels tired all the time, but once she's been given medication she's fine.
 

sweets

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Victor,

I didn't mean to depress you. It has NEVER stopped me from doing anything I want to do. When I neglect my body, I know it from the weakness. But so long as I keep up with a good diet, I am fine. (I have to get all my iron from my diet because I have a very bad reaction to the suppliments.) While it is not something to take lightly, it also isn't something that I think about all the time. I work full time in a job that I enjoy, work part time in a position that I love, and have an active social life. I just make different menu choices than I did in my youth.

I'm not sure if it is available in Puerto Rico, but when I was first diagnosed, my doctor told me to try liquid Geritol with an OJ chaser. There is a small amount of alcohol in the liquid that makes the absorption easier.


Sandy
 
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yoviher

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Gee, Thanks. I guess I am just over reacting with the idea of having a sickness, which is the point of many jokes here.

I guess I am going to take the supplements a while and more red meat and leafy veggies. I can make you the best steak on earth (even my parents love my steaks!)

I guess it would be easier than the average 15 year old to make a switch to better foods, as unlike my friends I am not a junk food lover.
and am accustomed to veggies.

However, if it doesn't get better I guess I am off to the doctor in a rocket.
 
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