Lies, Popeye! All lies!!

30 weeks in and I'm low low low.................on iron, that is.

So, I had a midwife appointment on Tuesday, bloods were taken, and I was tested for anaemia because my blood pressure is low (it's been like that for at least the last 3 appointments so it's nothing new, but they wanted to check things out now it was time for the blood test) and it turns out that, yep, my haemoglobin and ferritin levels are low. I suspect they have been like that for a while, but it's another case of the MS and my perception of pregnancy masking things (I put the breathlessness down to bad MS fatigue/smaller lung capacity/generally just thinking every pregnant woman gets bad breathlessness etc....silly). At least now they've spotted it and something can be done though.

I got a phone call from the surgery two days after my test to book another blood test in a month, but there was no mention of going on iron supplements in the meantime, and obviously the receptionist couldn't really advise me on anything. Then the next day I managed to get out for a bit of a walk (hallelujah), but afterwards started to feel increasingly rubbish and noticed that my lips had a blue tint to them. Not a good sign, surely! I phoned the midwife, and she was pretty shocked to hear that the surgery had booked me in again in a month, with no consultation. Normally, you get put on supplements and re-tested after two weeks! Not sure what's going on there, but I'm certainly glad I got the midwife involved. I never really know who to ring and when, about stuff.

In the meantime I have taken things into my own hands and had a Spatone sachet over the last two days (just to bump my levels up...after all, there's not much chance of me overdosing at the moment), but I'm hoping to get the docs tomorrow to get confirmation on how much extra iron I need. The breathlessness has improved a bit, but overall it's been a crappy weekend. I've tried to eat well, and get more iron in my diet (as well as avoiding tea and coffee, as they are iron inhibitors), but the smallest things are tiring me out. I didn't feel too bad when I woke up today, but by the time I'd gone downstairs and had some breakfast, I was exhausted! I've practically been in bed the whole time, which of course isn't particularly comfortable at the moment anyway. You just can't win!

All I can do is focus on how quickly the pregnancy is going, and hope that things will improve this week. I'm trying to stay positive and accept that if all I feel up to doing is resting, hobbling about and not doing much over the next 9 1/2 weeks (assuming I go full term), then so be it. Sure I'll be bored stiff, but I'm sure I'll be thankful of it when Junior arrives. I'm so glad we sorted out nursery for Lib beforehand though, because at least I know she's getting a few days a week of good stimulation to counteract the slow days here, and of course, I'm just so lucky to have family who are willing to help out so much. Thank you!! :)

Do you know what I've learnt this week? Spinach doesn't have as much iron in it as you think. In fact, it's actually an iron inhibitor, so unless you eat it with something that increases iron absorption, it just gets lost. What a waste, Popeye!