A few hours after the Competitor
Magazine online article came out about me (http://running.competitor.com/2013/05/news/all-systems-go-5-questions-with-sandi-nypaver_71907#post-comments
) I got a call about my latest iron results from my doctor. Not only did my
iron levels not improve, they plummeted. I knew my iron results from earlier in
the year were probably worse than they looked because I didn’t know it was bad
to run before a blood test (dehydration=thicker blood), but I wasn’t prepared
to see that my iron and ferritin were both worse than they were in August of
2012.
Looking
back, I should have known it was coming. I was once again making excuses to
myself on why I was tired and I had to motivate myself to do some very simple
things. I forced myself to think that with all the iron I was taking that my
iron had to be going up. If anything, I do feel like that thinking did help me
continue to mentally push myself physically, for better or for worse.
After
getting over my initial frustration, I found a new doctor to go to in Boulder
(I had to do this since I moved). She
was very understanding of my worries and sent me right away to get my thyroid
tested (that came back normal) and then had me set up appointments with a gastroenterologist
and a hematologist.
Today I
saw the gastroenterologist and to be honest, all that did was make me more upset.
While at least I’m taking steps to figure out why I’m not absorbing iron (as well
as other vitamins), I really dislike the steps I now have to take. In two weeks
I have to get a biopsy of my intestines to see where the iron is going. I get a
tube shoved up and down two ends of me. Luckily I will not be awake for this
1.5 hour biopsy (then I have to spend 45 minutes in recovery and have to have
Sage drive me home). Unfortunately, this
will be happening less than 24 hours before I leave for Ohio/ New York for the
Cayuga Trails 50. During this biopsy they will also see whether or not I just
have sensitivity to gluten or actual Celiac’s disease. In order to do this,
much to my displeasure, I have to add a little bit of gluten back into my daily
diet to flare up the allergy. All I could think was “oh great, now not only
will I feel exhausted all the time, I’ll also get to feel sick and bloated, and
now iron and other vitamins will absorb even less.” I see the hematologist
tomorrow and will I will look for a way out of this, but I know this will probably
come to surface.
I now
have to realize with my constant state of being tired , my soon to be sick
stomach from gluten, the possibility my mood will drop (eating gluten when your
allergic to it can cause negative emotions), and the fact it takes a long time
for iron to build up, that I will not be ready for Cayuga Trails 50. I’m not
saying I won’t run it, my non-refundable tickets are booked, but there is a
chance I will just be there to crew for Rachel or Sage, or know I might just
see how far I can get or finish just because I like being outside. However I
will stay hopeful, and continue to train for the race, but on a scaled down
version of what I would normally do. I think that’s the best option I can come
up with right now.
Photo by Sage Canaday |
“It is the mind that makes the body.” – Sojourner Truth
Later this week you can expect pictures of my wonderful weekend trip to Washington, see a fun article I did for Inside Dirt, and hopefully find out what projects I have been working on.
Run Wild, Run Free,
Sandi
We are always so hard on ourselves, that realizing we ARE much, MUCH healthier AND fitter than 90-some percent of population rarely crosses our minds. Here is to figuring details for you and to running long and well and healthy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Olga! :)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck figuring out the health issues, Sandi! As painful as it can be getting to the bottom of this stuff, there's often one big thing going on, and if you can fix that one big thing...I used to have thyroiditis and anemia during my college running career. A few years later I was diagnosed with celiac, and now that I'm rigidly sticking to that diet, I don't have symptoms of thyroiditis or anemia anymore. I remember that "going back to gluten" pre-endoscopy phase well...it was torture! But whew, so glad I figured that out. Good luck and let us know what happens!
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz, I really appreciate that! :)
Delete