March 24, 2011
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Anemic
Three weeks left until D-Day!! Although, I decided that April 2nd sounds like a lovely day to have a baby. I talked with Miriam and she’s thinking it over
If she agrees with me, that means only 9 days to go!A few months back, they did a routine blood test and discovered that my iron is really low. Not surprising, since I tend to be anemic anyway – a condition that is often worsened by pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, it was low but not too bad. Second time, they had me on a prescription strength prenatal vitamin with extra iron and still I ended up with iron supplements. Now, third time around, the prescription prenatal and the iron supplements together don’t seem to be cutting it. They’ve retested my blood multiple times and despite my best efforts, it hasn’t gone up at all…not even a 10th of a point!! It is still too low for me to safely deliver this baby.
Conventional wisdom says there are a number of things you can do to get extra iron in your diet. Cook in an iron skillet, eat meat (especially red meat), spinach, nuts, raisins, etc. All of this is I have been doing. But for some reason, my body is failing to absorb the iron. I’ve been drinking orange juice and upping my vitamin C intake, which is said to enhance your body’s ability to absorb iron. But my last test revealed no change in my iron levels. My doctor says to take more iron pills. But considering that it hasn’t worked at all, I don’t think more is the answer. (add to that the fact that iron overdose is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in young children, and I definitely think taking more iron is out)
So, we are just praying that it will somehow go back up and everything will go well through delivery and recovery. Right now, my low-iron symptoms include weakness, fatigue, dizziness (including blacking out), numbness in my hands and feet, insomnia, depression, etc. Apparently delivering with my iron low like this could mean greater blood loss, extremely long recovery time, and more severe symptoms like I’m already experiencing. Not exactly what I had in mind as a mommy of three small children!
Comments (4)
praying for a safe delivery. despite your iron-low symptoms, you look fabulous!
We will pray with you.
My sister was anemic…it was one of the symptoms that finally convinced her to get tested for gluten intolerance. Since going gluten free she hasn’t had any problems with it. You could try for the next few weeks…just sayin’.
I agree with heather, try gluten free.
Worth a shot, right?
Also, try drinking less milk and don’t take antacids, calcium supplements, or eat liver, tea, or coffee. They prevent your body from absorbing iron, as well. Try a vitamin C pill, lima beans, oatmeal and lots of broccoli, and be careful with the iron pills. If you have to take them, take them with dinner. When you eat potatoes, leave the skins on. Tomatoe juice also has a lot of vitamin C.
I can only give suggestions, but I hope they’re a little bit useful. You have a beautiful family.
Best of luck with the new baby!