Ok now I can explain why I totally blew IM AU bike leg .. and the race took me 16 hours where I was hoping to have <14. Phew !
If you have not read my blog of my race ( last entry is the race report) you can check out how I felt on the bike (ears ringing .and all the good stuff ) IM Austria Race Report
Just got a call from the oncologists nurse who said that they knew why I was fatigued ( gulp.. me fatigued ? .. hmmm I felt fatigued after my mammogram psychologically. Before that I felt like the Tasmanian Devil ! ) My iron absorption levels were low and I was not able to absorb the electrolytes .. ( and some other medical info that I could not grasp ) and they wanted to schedule an iron transfusion which is a 4-6 hour procedure ( bumping the iron levels up with supplements takes a long time). They are not scheduling it immediately since it is not an emergency situation.
I am suspecting they want me to go into chemo ( if I need to do chemo) fully loaded, which I have no problem with, hit me with anything that will strengthen me !
So as expected in my current state of mind I freak out and start thinking WHY my iron levels are low. I do not eat that much red meat but am pretty diligent about my nutrition balance ( chicken/salmon twice a week, legumes/beans once a week ). But I am so anal about lab results I had a copy of my blood work results from last years checkup at home.
Rummaging through the file cabinet found it... And voila ! my iron saturation was the same low level ( just little lower than the lower normal limit) last year highlighted nicely by the nurse saying that my doctor has been informed. And my PCP had requested a Urine Analysis which did not show a problem so he had let me go saying that female endurance athletes did have a slight level of anemia which was normal. ( hmm should I be mad at him ?? for not putting me on supplements ?? Nahhh... )
Athletes and Iron Deficiency
So gals !!! Eat your steak ! Check your iron levels.
With my iron levels bumped up after my treatment I think I might be able to hang on to the A riders !!
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1 comment:
I just saw Mary's posting about your cancer in the Chain Gang blog.
I am a ten-year survivor of stage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I was 30 when the cancer appeared, 31 when I was diagnosed, and finished all my treatment when I was 32.
I also had a bilateral mastectomy, but because of the type of breast cancer I had and the required treatment, reconstruction has not been an option.
I'd be happy to email, talk, meet or just act as a sounding board. If I remember correctly, right about now life is coming at you about a million miles an hour and at the same time standing still.
Leighsah Jones
Longwood
(407) 756-9256
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