Iron deficent anemia, thyroid deficent.

midnight1327

Hi there, I had bloods done, you could say they were routine to begin with, then they found  i had very low iron count and ferrtin, the thyroid was elevated, but also saying i was not getting enough, the Gp felt my throat and got me to swallow water and felt it as it was going down and said there is a swelling on the left of my throat or neck so has referred me to a endocrine doctor, thyroid issues, i have been Hypothyroid since  birth, the doctor said, he hopes that i would be seen soon as the swelling is a concern to him. I got a letter today saying that my problem has been prioritised as routine. How do they work that out, i could have a growth in my throat and its only routine, i could be waiting for ever.

I am also having a colonoscopy and gastroscopy to find out if i have a bleed anywhere hence the low iron counts, despite being on iron tabs, the iron is low, the heamoglobin is low and i am sleeping my life away which is annoying as  i have no energy. so where  do i go from here, question their reasons or do i just wait and vegeitate. We do go  thru the public system, as its abit different to other systems, where you have insurance and you have to pay for yr care, we can go private, but i don't quite know how  to go about that as in new Zealand, that is a elective process or you would of needed to have chosen to get insurance early in the years. I have not got insurance, but i do have rights.  Is this the time i could exersise them. Any answer would be appreciated.

doxie

midnight1327,  I wish I could help you navigate the NZ health system, but I can at least suggest some help for low iron.  I was really anemic after my last round of chemo.  It took a month to return to normal.

Cooking acid based foods in a cast iron pan or skillet leaches iron into the food.  So warming up tomato based pasta, cooking stews or soups with tomatoes, lemon, vinegar, or other acid based food will pull iron out of the pan and add it to your food.  As long as I cooked with cast iron, neither I nor my daughter was ever anemic.  Your body absorbs iron better when it is consumed with food.  

It won't help boost it over the short term, but may over the long term.  

Hope someone from NZ can help you with the ins.

midnight1327

Thankyou for that, i have not got any of those pans, but will look into it mosy definate.  i am having lambs fry, which is supposed to be a good source of iron, red meat etc. thank you Doxie. warm hugs.

lekker

I recently posted in another forum about my experience with IV iron supplementation. I don't know how the NZ healthcare system works, but can you ask about iron sucrose (NOT iron dextran) infusions? Oral supplementation can take months to help restore low ferritin levels. I started taking an oral multivitamin with iron and consistently using my cast iron skillet after my ferritin level was down to 23. Six weeks later it was 16 so I got the infusions. I haven't had a repeat blood count and I can't say that I feel much better yet, but I hope it's a start.

midnight1327

I will ask about that too, thankyou, lekker, thankyou for yr imput, i don't know about the health system here either, abit of a circus i think,  they talk in riddles at times that makes it difficult to understand and then make you feel like a idiot for asking them what they mean. anyway thanks heaps, take care

margodae

Hello midnight1327:

I cannot help you as far as your thyroid is concerned, but I can speak on iron deficiency anemia.  I was diagnosed with anemia about two years ago.  I was very tired and lethargic, had shortness of breath, and bruised easily. 

At first, my doctors feared I had low blood platelet count, due to the bruising.  After bloodwork, my platelets came back fine and it showed I had low iron and hemoglobin levels.  I underwent a colonoscopy.  That came back normal, as well. 

It was finally determined that I just was not getting enough iron in my daily diet.  I have very, very heavy menstral cycles and I am also a runner.  So, I tend to lose alot of iron during my menstral cycle and from sweating while running.  I was not taking in enough iron in my daily diet to supplement what I was losing. 

I now take a daily iron supplement and am very conscious of my diet...I eat more nuts, spinach, etc.  Things high in iron.  I have felt great since.

Hope this helps...best of luck to you!

midnight1327

Hi Margodae,  have just found yr post, sorry, and thanks for yr imput, the thing that is worrying them that i am not having a periods and on iron tabs, i am having the colonoscopy on April 23rd and a gastroscopy as well, hoping they do them same time, one anesthetic then and safer, so i am hoping. i tell you what i have had is sore calf mussels and feel like i have run a marathon, yet  my longest walk is to the letter box, weired. i rang my GP up the other day and was  going to ask a question to do with my appointments and they told me it was not their concern, now that  i am under the Hospital system, well i have not got to see anybody ye from the hospital, so if i get worse, do i go the hospital or the Doc and the hospital say, ring your GP if your condition worsens, so at limbo at the moment.  a little bit between a rock and hard place. i guess it will sort it self eventually. Hubby wants to go and ask who is managing my care, them or the hospital as its  feels like a fobbing off and nobody wants to deal with it.