Transfused.

This post has relatively nothing to do with marriage other than this has been the all consuming topic in our lives the last several days, weeks, months.

About a year ago I started having issues with my period. My period was lasting 3-5 weeks long. I will spare you all of the other details of what was happening. Lets just say that it was a big deal. I was seriously annoyed. A few months later, I started feeling very tired. I could have taken a 3-4 hour nap every day. My arms and legs constantly felt sore, like I had just completed a marathon. I was feeling pretty bad about myself. It was the middle of the winter. I wasn't exercising. Of course, it was Christmas time and junk food was everywhere. I felt horrible about myself. I blamed myself for how I was feeling. I never equated it with the fact that I was bleeding more often than not.

In February we were planning a trip to Disney Land with our six kids. We had never taken a vacation before, and our kids were thrilled. I made our reservations at a hotel about a half mile away from Disney Land. I figured we could walk there and opted not to get the shuttle pass. I mean....Anyone can walk a 1/2 mile, right? Of course the first morning at Disney Land everyone was full of energy and eager to get there. Hubby kept telling me to hurry. I thought I was. But I looked around and everyone and I do mean EVERYONE was passing me. I was in tears by the time we got to the front gates of Disney Land. I told myself how horrible I was for being so out of shape, that I had a hard time making a short walk to Disney Land. I'm not quite sure how I made it through Disneyland other than sheer will and the opportunity to stand (sit) in a lot of lines. The last day there Hubby wanted to ride on ride with me. We got a switch pass and arranged for our Older kids to take all but our baby on the ride and then they would stay with the little kids while we went on the ride. The ride was Space Mountain. It was fun to spend a little alone time with Hubby. As I got off the ride my head was spinning. I was so dizzy and sick to my stomach. The feeling didn't go away. I remember laying in bed that night and thinking "I still feel like I am on that ride." The next day we were heading home. Of course, we also discovered that we had lost our car keys at some point. Hubby and our oldest son headed back to Disney Land to look for the keys, while I started packing up with the rest of the kids. I was still feeling awful. I was dizzy, sick to my stomach, my head was pounding and so was my heart. I felt so weak that I could not lift more than our simple over night bag. Thankfully Hubby and son were able to quickly find our key and get back. Once we were on the road I told Hubby I needed some sleep. I slept all that day and most of the next. I just couldn't wake up very long or stay awake once I did wake up. The following night Hubby took me to the ER because I was sure I was having a stroke. They checked my blood pressure and it was elevated but not dangerous and I let them triage me out.

Two days later I had an appointment with an OB/GYN to deal with the issues I had been having with my period. The doctor walked in and told me that he knew what the problem was. He said "Your lips are the same color as your skin. You are horribly anemic. A quick blood test confirmed that he was right. My hematocrit was 16 and my hemoglobin was 6. I dont know what "normal" is but eventually this was extremely low. Did I mention that this wasn't a particularly great doctor? He sent me home with an Rx for iron. I spent the next 2 months in bed, trying to build my iron levels to a functional level. Oh...he did give me an Rx for a hormone that was supposed to regulate my hormones as well.

I did start feeling better in May, but I never felt 100% or even 80%. In July I could feel my stamina fading again. My period lasted 5 weeks. My best friend was so concerned she researched doctors in this area, and called and made an appointment for me with the best one she could find. My appointment was for the first of part of August. Best friend did her job well. This doctor was much more proactive. She ordered an Ultrasound and some blood test. The blood test revealed that I was in fact anemic again, but no so anemic that it was an emergency. (Evidently my first numbers at the other doctors office should have been treated as an emergency!) But the ultrasound revealed numerous fibroids, a super thick uterine lining, and oddly a huge cyst on on of my ovaries. I told her I wanted to keep my uterus if possible. (which is a whole different post.)

I was referred to a radiologist for a procedure called a Uterine Fibroid Embolization. We scheduled surgery. Its set for Sept 22. (and I think I will continue the story in a new post.)