Annoyed about Anemia

So, I've been anemic on and off for most of my adult life. It started in college, when my body couldn't adjust to the terrible nutrition in dorm food. And its been a fixture in my life pretty much ever since.

Anemia, for those of you who don't know, is the human body's reaction to a lack of nutrients in the blood stream. A lot of women suffer from it periodically in their life, as red blood cells are the ones that carry nutrients, and we tend to loose a lot of those on regular monthly basis, compliments of Eve eating the damn apple. Anemia can be caused by a number of issues, ranging from simple genetics and a poor diet, to other underlying medical conditions. My particular case is the former (hence one of the many reasons for the Paleo switch), and there are several types of anemia, as its a general term for nutrient deficiency. My particular deficiency is iron, and vitamin B-12.  Causes of iron deficiency are frequent blood loss or donation (menstruation), nutrient-poor diet (such as my life before Paleo), endurance training (such as everything I've done in the last three years between the Army and Law Enforcement), and caffeinated beverages (such as the gallons of coffee I consume each week). Vitamin deficiency is caused by a variety of medical issues (none of which I have) and a poor diet.

So, the point of this? My diet before Paleo, clearly sucked.

And I'm exhausted.

Yeah, the number one side effect of anemia of all types is fatigue. Because without iron, your bone marrow can't make red blood cells. Without red blood cells, your blood stream can't carry oxygen. Without enough oxygen, your body systems become fatigued, and in extreme cases you can become confused and disoriented.

So, why am I annoyed? Well, while at the doctor's yesterday, my anemia was so bad, I was given an entire bag of blood. I felt better almost immediately after. Then today, on my day off, I worked a four hour detail, and I was so tired after, I came home and passed out for an hour and a half. I lost an hour and a half of my day to a nap, which would be wonderful, if I didn't have 10 million things to do.

And that's how anemia goes. You do minimal tasks, and then exhaustion hits you like a train wreck. And that's my day. Every day.

Today, it just annoyed me more than usual, so I needed to share.