#perspective

Hi there Fierce Friends!  Sorry it has been so long since I've been in touch, but you know, life happened! Life has been a revolving whirlwind of a door lately with kids, sports, extracurriculars, work, etc!  All good things though.  In my experience, I have come to appreciate when time flies by because life is full of wonderful and exciting things.  Sure, there are always hurdles or sad life events, but that is all part of the journey.  If you've followed me at all, you know that #littlebutfierce embraces each moment - good or bad - and accepts it as part of the larger picture. 

In these few months since my last post some things have greatly improved, like beyond all expectation improved.  And then there are the other things that continue to linger or advance in complexity.  So due to my god-given atypical GI system, I struggle to absorb iron;  even post-op this time which reconfigured my tangled web of an intestinal tract, my body still struggles to absorb nutrients which had led to dry skin, hair loss, headaches and most recently some pseudo-heart symptoms which all turned out to be due to SEVERE anemia!  ---like I'm talking iron not even detectable in my blood anemia!! 

Now to remedy this inability to absorb iron, I see yet another specialist - a hematologist - (who is wonderful BTW) who routinely orders IV iron infusions (my last one, though, was in 2016 so BONUS).  This time we walk in thinking it'll all go easy-peasy since we've been there and done that.  Oh no!  How dare I make that bold of an assumption.  No sooner does the iron infusion start than I start to feel a funny sensation in my mouth and throat, struggling to swallow.  Seriously?! OF COURSE I would have a reaction to the iron product - I should've assumed - but truth be told, all other areas had been going so well I kind of forgot about my body's propensity to be a challenge!  That's a good thing, right?  I had been so used to being sick and having reactions and being the small 1% who had whatever issue they made me sign off on, that when the road started to improve I kind of developed the pregnancy brain and forgot about all that.  I maybe even just decided to be done with worrying about it all.  So I naturally assumed all would be fine with the infusion since it WAS all fine two years ago.

But lo and behold, one can develop a tolerance for the product and actually develop an "allergy" over time.  Fabulous. So now we need to explore how to minimize my iron LOSS since we cannot improve my iron absorption.  Great.  More doctors. Ok...end of pity party.

But you know me - perpetually optimistic - so instead of writing a woe is me post, I focus rather on how to empower myself.  I've researched how to promote the body's ability to absorb iron, found information on nutrients to and not to combine with iron-rich foods, learned about the types of iron and their jobs in our body, reacquainted myself with some of my own body's signals that my iron stores were getting low and yes, even kicked myself for not recognizing those signs earlier in the most recent inning of this game!  I found a local functional medicine physician who also happens to be an OB/GYN and have reached out for an appointment; I've communicated with my surgical team in Cleveland who I see next month for a follow-up anyhow; I've dusted off my self-advocacy skills and am feeling pretty positive about how to proceed and manage this challenge.

You see, when things get as bad as they were for me a year ago, a challenge like this is a mere bump in the road, small change compared to what I had to go through to even get here.  So it really IS all about #perspective.  Tell me - which do you see - a weed...or a wish?

Stay fierce friends! and as always, for daily inspiration and musings check out:

my Facebook page Little But Fierce Wellness  OR Instagram @littlebutfiercewellness