These past few years I have suffered greatly from a severe iron deficiency called Anemia. At one point, my ferritin levels were at a 2 and they are suppose to be around 44. Needless to say , I was not well.
This summer I was close to getting fed up with feeling like I had been hit by a bus and so I decided to finally do something about it. I say that because I could have actually done something 3 years ago when this first started. I had a procedure scheduled but then I cancelled it out of fear and passed it off as being not THAT bad.
However, when I went to my doctor he looked at my blood work and said, “I don’t know how you’re even standing!”, I thought it was time to get something done.
Why do we pass off those important things? Why do we act like they are not really that important, when experience tells us that they are? For me, it’s the fear of the result. What if it’s this, what if it’s that? Well, what if? We will have to deal with it at some point, whether we like it or not. So, why not deal with it so you are not plagued with that little niggling voice in the back of your head that never really allows you to rest?
So, I went back to the doctor and scheduled a vast array of tests to help me figure out why my iron stores were dangerously low. The doctor recommended a flexible sigmoidoscopy to in essence, check the “back end”, to make sure it was all good. When he told me how the procedure was performed I said to him, “No thanks, I’ll pass.” He laughed and told me a story of a 70 year old man who said the same thing. You guessed it, he died of colon cancer 6 months after refusing the test.
So, I went. Sure, it’s uncomfortable, no one WANTS to do it, but it was over within 5 minutes. I kept telling myself…anyone can handle anything for 5 minutes.
And I did.
The test results came back normal and we moved onto the next test. This time a hysteroscopy and biopsy. This one scared me a little more. No one likes that word B-I-O-P-S-Y. Again, I put my big girl pants on and asked my mom to drive me there (yes, I’m 46). When the doctor came out to invite me into the procedure I just shook my head and said, “No thanks.” He laughed and said, “Well, to be honest, I’m surprised you’re even here. I pegged you for a runner.”
I sure felt like running.
I didn’t want to do any of it! But you know what, after the procedure and a clear biopsy, we are sitting at 4 months later and I feel incredible! I just told a client the other day that I don’t nap in the afternoon anymore and I don’t feel that shortness of breath. I’m not 100% yet and the ferritin is only at 17, but I dealt with the issue and the issue is improving. Plus, I don’t have that little anxious feeling in my soul that I need to attend to something that I have been putting off for years.
So, here’s today challenge toward wellness: Go and get the tests, book the procedure, and be proactive in your health. Those are steps to not only your physical wellness, but your mental wellness too.
