Drat it all! I have a long history of battling low iron, and it looks like it's back. A recent test showed my ferritin stores at 33, with the bottom of the normal range being 30. I know I've been more tired than usual the past few months, and I guess now I know why.
But here's the good news! It was my gyn who did the blood test, and is on my side to get it corrected. Whereas my primary care doc says over and over, "you're in the low normal range," my gyn said, "To hell with the 'normal range'. With what you love to do, the 'normal range' is not good enough for YOU." Wow, a doc who gets it.
After much griping with my PC doc, I finally got a referral to a hematologist. And a hematologist who, as it turns out, is a marathoner at that! (Law of Attraction at work for sure!) He echoed the same sentiment as my gyn--for me the low normal range is not good enough. He believes I would feel much better, and am a proper candidate for iron infusions. We're talking 200x the amount of oral iron given intravenously. My body says, "aaaahhhh" just thinking about it.
The bad news--stupid insurance. You won't believe the circuitous route I have to take to get the infusions covered. In conversation with the hematologist, it's clear that I have restless leg syndrome (RLS) at night. RLS is a sure sign of low iron. Insurance WILL cover infusions for RLS if linked to low iron. (Who knew?) But before I get clearance, I have to go do a sleep study night in a lab!!!! We're talking video camera monitoring, and electrodes, the whole ball of wax.
Unfortunately, I don't see the sleep doc for another month. I have to have a consultation before I can schedule the sleep study. I wish all this could happen sooner. At this rate, I won't get any infusions until August or so. By that time, I'll be starting to get deep into the IM training. The timing could be better, but I'm going to stay positive that I'll finally get some pep and feel better.
I KNEW something was off. I KNEW I always needed help with my iron levels, and I KNEW if I were better fortified in this area, I'd just feel stronger--triathlon training or not. I'd pursue this even if I didn't have an IM in the offing. I need this help.
My take away lesson is this. If you know something is off in your body, listen to it, and fight for what you need. It's no fun going up against this mess we call health care, but finding the right help can be done. I almost walked out of the hematologist's office, sitting there surrounded by chemo patients. "What am I doing here," I worried. But the doc reassured me I needed to be there as much as anyone.
I love my triathlon lifestyle, and don't want to give it up because of one doc who is unwilling or unable to think outside the box. I'll keep you posted on how this all goes. For sure, this is going to be a new experience!
