I am Such a Complainer/Whiner!

It's that time of the month...the ladies know what I'm talking about...and I feel like such a complainer/whiner right now. I feel like crap. Constant headaches, cramps, extreme fatigue. Anything that would annoy me or stress me out is doing so at the speed of light. I hope the next few days goes by quickly. I had my fiance give me another B12 shot this morning. I am hoping that it will combat my sluggishness and whiny-ness.

I got my lab results from the medical weight loss clinic yesterday. The first thing that popped up as abnormal was my cholesterol. Get this...my cholesterol is LOW. I know, right? Weird. The problem is, that while my LDL (bad cholesterol is not high...it's pretty low but in normal range), my HDL (good cholesterol) is on the almost too low side. It was suggested to get that up to par, I should try to take a niacin supplement. I was told to find a flush-free supplement, as most niacin supplements have the unpleasant side effect of making you have hot flashes. Yeah...no thanks! I got the flush-free one. The next thing that came up abnormal was my blood counts. I've always known that I was border-line anemic, and when I have my monthly cycle (as heavy as it is) that it puts me over that edge and makes me totally anemic. Well, according to my blood work, I am now completely anemic all the time. And having my cycle makes me super anemic, to the point that all I want to do is sleep all the time. I've been doing research about anemia, and I'm learning a lot about it. Like I guess I knew that it meant that you didn't have a normal amount of blood, but I did not know that it meant that your organs do not get oxygen from your blood like they should. That explains why I am so tired all the time. My organs don't have enough oxygen to function properly, and it makes you sleepy. Apparently, there are a few different types of anemia as well. The mildest form requires iron supplements. I have taken those in the past and it didn't really help with my tiredness. Being that the B12 shot makes me feel better and have more energy, I am thinking that I have the second type of anemia. Megaloblastic anemia. With that type, you are deficient in vitamins B12, B6 and folic acid. People with chronic diseases are at high risk for that, and I was diagnosed with Crohn's or IBS a few years ago (the docs couldn't decide). The other type of anemia is so severe that you need blood transfusions on a regular basis. So, I don't think that's me. Several of my blood count levels were way below the normal range. They were as follows: Red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, MCH, MCHC. I wasn't sure what some of those things were, so I did some research. (BTW, apparently I can clot like nobody's business...platelet count was only 3 points from being higher than normal) Hemoglobin is the actual protein in blood cells that carries the oxygen, so this is not good to be low. Hematocrit is the part of the blood that is made up of whole red blood cells. My blood is only 28% red blood cells. Not good. It's supposed to be closer to 40%-45%. MCV measures the average size of your red blood cells. Mine is low, so my cells are too small. MCH and MCHC both measure the amount and concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. Again, mine is too low. On a good note, my thyroid checked out ok and well within normal range. So that's good.

Wow, this B12 injection site really hurts. It's hard to concentrate. It's very sore. It was cold, and I'm sitting on my butt right now, so I'm putting pressure on it too. But it still hurts. Sorry, my ADD kicked in there. I will try harder to be more accountable with my food today and not let Aunt Flow and my stress dictate my diet. Though I really wish I wasn't so tired.