Q&A

Hot and cold flashes?

I am almost to the point where I can’t live like this anymore. I found out I was a severe anaemic a few months ago after fainting (heavy periods) and very low b12. Also, I recently had surgery for heavy periods, even after infusions and shots. My iron numbers hardly raised, and my b12 went down 💀

My haematologist insisted I get a new OBGYN (glad I did because the amount I was bleeding was not healthy).

Anyway – for the past year, I’ve been having hot flashes to where I am wet with sweat in an air-conditioned room. I’ll turn a fan on to cool off, and then I am freezing again. My fingers and toes feel like they will fall off. I genuinely am not comfortable anymore.

I figured out a sleeping routine by taking the blankets on and off. However, I am freezing my husband and cats out, lol.

I have a follow up with my hematologist next month along with lab testing, like CBC, Iron, B12 and Ferritin, but how can I cope with this until next month?

I know this is such a weird question, but I am struggling. Also, I work remotely so I constantly change clothes from shorts to pants to long sleeves and tank tops. I don’t know what to do. Please help with any advice.

Answer:

Hi! I’ve experienced (and sometimes experienced) hot flashes as well, and I’m 19. They used to be horrible when my ferritin was lower (<25), but now they’re ALMOST gone (I’m in the 40s now if I had to guess, and haven’t tested since 2mo ago at 28).

It got so bad that I would sweat in 2°C weather as long as I was moving around or doing some physical work; my hands would feel like they were burning crocheting in winter with my room cold, and I couldn’t do any work around the house without a full-body hot flash. I feel it was my body’s way of compensating for the lack of oxygen to the tissues that needed it most, which is ferritin’s job of transporting the oxygen to those places. It was not because of my hormones, just low ferritin.

I also used to be very sensitive to cold at the same time, funnily enough, but my main issue is and was heat.

And I still deal with some of this now, but it has gotten A LOT better. I can do work without immediately feeling a burning warmth, and I don’t feel (as much) nausea while doing something, either. My skin still needs to breathe not to get too warm so I can go out in cold & windy weather in a hoodie, but I think that will also change when my levels get higher.

Diana

Question:

Pregnant and anaemic but NOT iron deficient?

I’m so confused. 20 weeks pregnant. Found out last week that my hemoglobin was 8.3, hematocrit 24%, and RBC 2.44, which is low even adjusted for pregnancy. And I’m exhausted all the time, so I fully believe it.

I’m seeing a haematologist tomorrow for what I’ve been assuming would be a discussion of an iron infusion. They got an iron panel yesterday, and it turns out it’s all normal. Ferritin is even high at 159. They also checked vitamin B12, and that was perfectly normal, too.

One month ago, my haemoglobin was 9.8, so I’ve been supplementing with 27mg of iron and vitamin C since then. So now I need clarification about why it dropped so much if my iron isn’t low. I know there’s a lag between taking iron and producing more RBCs, but…I’ve been supplementing since almost the beginning of pregnancy. What happens now? What else could explain anaemia in pregnancy if not low iron? (They didn’t check folic acid, but I’ve been taking a prenatal with methyl folate for 2 years now)

Just looking for others’ experiences. Thanks!

Anonymous:

From my experience, it’s just the baby sucking up all you’d nutrients, but you’re right; it does take a long time for those RBCs to come back up. Maybe it’s the iron you’re taking; have you checked other supplements? I use Mega Foods Blood Builder, and that seems to keep my body satisfied between infusions, but I’m iron deficient and anaemic. When they did the iron panel, what were your RBCs, or are they still sitting at 2.4ish?

Diana:

They didn’t recheck the CBC since it was only a week ago, but they might check it at the appointment tomorrow. It’s just frustrating because I know after birth, I’m going to be sleep-deprived for the foreseeable future, and I wasn’t expecting to be this tired for this long.

People try to sell the second trimester like it’s the “honeymoon phase” of pregnancy because your energy returns! Libido comes back! Appetite comes back! And I’m like….nope. Not my body. It didn’t get that memo. My appetite also sucks, and I’ve had no cravings for anything and have to force myself to eat and even drink water….was hoping iron replacement would remedy some of that, but now that’s not an option.

Anonymous:

I feel that so much. This is my third pregnancy and I’m 21 weeks today. I felt good last week, but this week, I feel like a train hit me…I haven’t had an infusion since March, but I asked them to do a blood draw, and sure enough, my haemoglobin is 8.2, and ferritin is a 1! There’s also a shortage of Venofer, the only infused iron approved for pregnancy, so that’s fun. I want to feel good when I have an infant 😔

Question:

Heart pain that radiates to the back (19 F)

Is it common to have heart pain that radiates to the back? I have anaemia, and I’ve been slack on medication. I often don’t tolerate a lot of things well, such as caffeine or types of medication, due to my anaemia. I’m experiencing chest pain, which is radiating to my shoulder blade area. It’s very dull and mild, but it still concerns me, as these symptoms are similarly described as having a heart attack. So I just wanted to know whether that’s like a common thing. And yes, I will get checked out by the doctor, but I would like some insight.

Oh yeah, I have had a lot with the caffeine thing today. Could it be that?

Answer:

From someone who thought the first sight of chest pain was panic attacks and heart attacks, do get checked by a cardiologist so you can rule out any heart issues. It ended up happening to me at the beginning of my whirlwind of issues, but the main one was the pain I’d feel radiating from my inner shoulder blade to my left shoulder/arm and intense chest pressure with palpitations. Come to find out, they were muscle spasms, and my heart is working on overdrive due to iron deficiency anaemia.

I’m no doctor, so I don’t want to say you have exactly what I have, but gaining some insight into other people’s experiences should help ease any overthinking you have. Stay positive and read more positive posts here than negative ones. Your thinking can go spiralling, and when your body’s in a stressful state, more health issues can be triggered from that.

I hope you get to the root cause of what’s causing you your issues. Goodluck 🫶🏼