Day 249: Health Update

So I think my visit to the doctor was a success!! I haven't talked about it a whole lot, but I have not felt like myself at all since getting pregnant with my youngest daughter...and she's about to be two! I should have went to the doctor a long time ago, but I guess I had kind of gotten to the point where I thought, "I'm aging, I have an energetic toddler, we have three other kids... This is just what it feels like to get older." It had gotten to a point, though, where I couldn't work up the energy to do ANYTHING. I wasn't tucking the little ones in at night and I don't ever play with them. I would try to catch up on my sleep thinking that was the problem, but no amount of sleep ever seemed to put a dent in the insane exhaustion. Obviously this has affected my exercising as well. I have done little to none which has left me feeling really guilty for letting my teammates down. I just felt like something was wrong with me, like I had this complete lack of motivation and it was a personal weakness. It hadn't really struck me that it might be a medical issue. I have also had spectacularly bad acid reflux since I got pregnant, though, and it has gotten to the point where I was waking up to throw up during the night (not to mention taking 3x the amount of OTC medicine recommended). I finally went in to a new doctor. (I despise my old one; I haven't seen him in five years for that reason.) Oh my gosh, she was wonderful!! I kind of felt ridiculous after talking to her because she made it very clear that it's not that I'm weak or lazy, but that my symptoms are something to be concerned about. She ran a slew of blood tests, put me on a prescription for the acid reflux, and scheduled an endoscopy. The blood tests came back and I am have a pretty nasty case of iron deficient anemia. I seriously wanted to throw myself a party (if I had the energy) when the nurse called to tell me! I am NOT lazy. There is a valid reason why I can't shake this horrific exhaustion. I am currently taking an insane amount of iron (plus changing the iron intake in my diet) and I am feeling pretty nauseous from it. With that being said, I'm still happy! I can't wait to get back to normal; I'm not even sure I remember what that feels like! Next comes the journey of figuring out the acid problem and making sure that I'm not bleeding internally (i.e., ulcer, etc.). But I'm excited! I might feel human again someday! Apparently it's not normal to feel like you're 108 when you're only 33. Hmm, who knew?!

Thank you to everyone who has sent me kind messages while I haven't been feeling well. I adore you all!!!!