The Day in the Life of a Newbie Anemic By Nash Cajee

That dreaded call from the doctor’s office came in on Friday. “The doctor would like to see you,” said the voice on the other end.

Just a week before, I went in for my yearly checkup, and I mentioned to my doctor that I was feeling exhausted recently, and when I stood up too fast, I would get a head rush.

As it turned out, I discovered that I was very anemic. I sat and took in all the information that my doctor gave me, asking her questions, but still, I felt optimistic, as I smiled and joked with her as I commented, “Well, all this time I thought I was just super lazy!”

As the days and months went by, I felt more and more drained and exhausted. Running my own business, seeing to my family and being a busy mom-preneur, meant I would just have to keep pushing through my fatigue.

I no longer could keep up with my regular high intensity workouts that I loved so much. My skin which is usually a healthy glow, became dried and tight. My hair which normally is full and thick, become weak and looked dull. My nails which usually needed the “extra strength” kind of nail clippers, were now suddenly becoming brittle and would break. I would have constant headaches and occasionally my eyes would feel blurry, but just for a brief second or two.

When I got up too fast, I would have to hold on to something because I would be seeing stars. When I climbed a flight of stairs, I would be breathing heavily, and my heart would be pounding. I thought I was clearly out of shape, because I had never been like that before. I would make up excuses for all my symptoms, because as far as I was concerned, my skin and hair does get drier in winter, and I broke a nail, big deal, it happens to almost everyone, and the headaches? Maybe I slept funny. Lightheadedness? I have low blood pressure.

In the back of my mind, I kept thinking to myself, “Why am I so lazy and unmotivated these days?” I couldn’t understand why I lost my drive.

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