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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 12:28am | IP Logged
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Quote:
The symptoms of anemia can include headache, fatigue, weakness, difficulty in thinking. With severe anemia, other symptoms, such as shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat, may be experienced |
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I have all of those.. plus some fairly mild nausea, the shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat have been improving.. my midwife wants me to take molasses to help.. I can't.. I can barely look at it on a good day, I simply can not even think about trying to take it with the nausea.
Dh is going to see what iron supplements I can get locally (not floridex though - might get online and order it asap anyway).
I know to eat red meats and other high iron foods, I'm eating less than normal though.. like last night I had a hamburger that I can normally eat the whole thing.. I was able to eat about 3/4. Not because of nausea but just that that was all I could eat.
Getting rrl, plus some other stuff, my prenatals, the mail wasn't here yet with my calcium supplement.. it'll be here tomorrow.
But the BIG BIG thing is the headache.. OW!!!!!.. from what I was able to read it's caused by the lack of oxygen (not enough red blood cells to carry enough oxygen), and causes some swelling of the blood vessels which causes the pain.. so I'm thinking (which isn't easy  ) that things I would normally do for a migraine might help.. ice packs, maybe caffiene (vaso-constrictor), maybe taking the bromelain since it helps reduce swelling hmmm.. maybe arnica?
Any suggestions at all to help deal with this.. really I can live with the rest if I can just get the headache under some control here.
Apparently, it takes 5-7 days for your body to make red blood cells so it'll be about a week from the miscarriage before I even have those additional blood cells to start alleviating the symptoms.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Tami
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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{{{{Jodie}}}} I"m so sorry it's been so rough for you.
I'm assuming your midwife is watching your hematocrit #s, to make sure you don't get too low? A simple finger-stick in the office can tell her a lot.
Can you go to smaller meals throughout the day, since the nausea is so tough? And including those high-iron foods then? How about dissolving the molasses in a cup of hot water and sipping like tea? I remember reading a blog years ago where the writer had a cup every afternoon this way, to keep up her iron levels.
I'm wondering if your headache could be dehydration? Maybe complicated by allergies ('tis the season....) ?
And when you're ready for it, prune juice has a higher amount of iron/serving than liver. But, ugh.
I'll be praying for you....
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God bless,
Tami
When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. (Nouwen)
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Kath
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 10:15am | IP Logged
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Don't forget that tea (b/c of the tannins) and dairy will both inhibit the absorption of iron. So avoid those when eating iron rich foods or taking iron supplements. Also, vitamin C helps with iron absorption, so some orange juice and red meat is a good combination, for example.
I'm praying you feel better soon!
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Katherine
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Gloria JMJ
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 10:17am | IP Logged
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Jodie, I have prayed for you. This must be tough. Have you thought of using cayenne to improve the circulation of the blood that you do have? It may help to get the oxygen where it needs to go. Let us know how it goes (if any of this relieves your symptoms) and know that we're thinking of you.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 9:50pm | IP Logged
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I don't have any great naturopathic remedies, Jodie...but when my h&h plummets, and it does every pregnancy (and I mean plummet!!), I opt to add a regular diet of iron fortified cereal. I'm not sure how this will do with your nausea, but a bowl of cereal 2-3x a day saved me during my last pregnancy.
Kath mentions taking Vitamin C with iron to assist absorption, but I was told exactly the opposite - to avoid orange juice/vitamin C for an hour or so after iron rich supplementation. I hate to add to the confusion. Does anyone know anything more about that?
Anyhoo...raisin bran and mini wheats were my cereals of preference. I did eat them with milk. I'm pretty sure Martha in VA went through some rough bouts with anemia...let me see if I can dig up her thread...
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 10:04pm | IP Logged
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Here it is - scroll through a bit, it's Martha's prayer thread - look on pages 2 and 3. Martha answers my question on page 3 of her thread:
Martha in VA wrote:
| I have also upped my Vit C as that helps with iron absorption. |
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And then, apparently I'm losing my mind as I clearly remembered here that iron absorption is assisted by increased Vitamin C.  Sorry, Kath. You were right...and I am just brain-dead.  Also, I took a look on that thread I just linked to, Jodie. You followed up behind my post and mention the use of alfalfa for anemia. Have you considered that yet?
Praying for you as you crawl out of this fog!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: June 04 2009 at 10:18pm | IP Logged
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B12 also aids in the absorption or possible usuability of the iron. (It is often found teamed up with the iron in the supplements).
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Kristie in Canada
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Kath
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| Posted: June 05 2009 at 8:03am | IP Logged
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Don't worry about it Jennifer! All this info about iron is running around in my head only because my husband was just diagnosed with hemochromatosis (iron overload). So we're actually following the opposite advice here!
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Katherine
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Kath
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Oh, and don't forget about cooking in cast-iron pans, if you have any.
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Katherine
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 05 2009 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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thank you ladies.. I figured out the worst of the problem is that the headache is actually not from the anemia.. but rather I was getting a migraine on top of the very minor anemia headache. Knocked that out and the world doesn't seem quite so hard
Yes we use cast iron pans regularly, and I'm taking alfalfa and my prenatals (good b's) and red raspberry leaf and vit. C and an iron supplement, and seperate from all of those (at bedtime) I take my calcium with magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, vit D and zinc.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: June 05 2009 at 9:47pm | IP Logged
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I tend towards the anemic when pregnant and I always find great relief from a chlorophyll supplement. I get a mint-flavored one and add a generous splash to a large glass of cold water. It's nice and minty so it goes down easy and it increases my water intake as well. Also, nettle tea is supposed to be great. You can mix it half and half with OJ for better absorption and flavor. I think the flavor is fine but I like "black" teas in general.
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mayappleridge
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| Posted: June 08 2009 at 4:37am | IP Logged
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I second the chlorophyll supplement.
Also try nettles infusion. I drank a half gallon of it a day during the end of my last pregnancy and a half gallon during labor. My midwife told me that I was just a little bit away from bleeding too much and needing to go to the hospital (It was a homebirth) and I credit nettles with that. I also craved them. I mean really craved them throughout the end of the pregnancy and now I know why. I just brewed them up like sweet tea, sometimes with a decaf tea bag or two sometimes alone. I did use a lot of sugar in them, but nowadays I use less sugar.
Mountain rose herbs has it I think also any health food store. If you were in the UK, I could send some as I have a huge supply of the stuff.
I'm a big fan of nettles. So many other uses, too.
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aussieannie
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I'm a fan of nettles too and I find it is a great herb, dried to throw into every dish imaginable, the same way you would use dried parsely.
I've just got over bronchitis and it was the nettle tea that helped me really turn the corner. (bit off subject..)
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: moderate to severe anemia???
