1) Toasted Oatmeal Flakes from Trader Joe’s. Man they’re good! I gave them up when Mr. Ben and I moved to Park Slope; we joined the Co-op, which is the closest I’ll ever get to being part of Skull & Bones, and I started buying Puffins instead.
Puffins, though lovely, have no iron, while TOF are whoa-fortified. And delicious.
2) Avoiding sharp objects.
3) Femme pride. There’s something dainty and sweet about being anemic, like having consumption. Maybe it’ll make me sexier!
The doctor was testing me for something else entirely, but I was in exemplary shape except for being low on the red blood cells. This struck me as funny, as though he had said, “The government is doing great, except that the President has just been shot.” I mean, aren’t red blood cells rather the whole point? Aren’t they what blood is made of? I don’t remember too much from what I learned in high schools, except words like Hemoglobin and Platelets, but I’m pretty sure …
Anyway, if I’m wrong, please don’t correct me. I may be too delicate to handle it.
cast iron skillet! you don’t have to eat anything new, you don’t have to take any pills, and your food cooks up better than in a non-stick pan anyway. you do, however, have to come to terms with that you’re actually eating metal.
that works???
yep! they often recommend it to vegetarians. don’t know if it’s enough to make up for a big deficit, but it definitely adds iron to the food cooked in it, and you can absorb some of that iron. ask the google!
i originally read the title as “things amelia has driven me to.”
ah, narcissism.
Anemia doesn't have to be iron — it could be folic acid or (more likely) vitamin B12. If you eat a lot of greens you may already get close to enough folic acid, but there is no harm in taking another 800 mcg (or more, if you also take B12) a day. B12 is best taken using under-the-tongue lozenges (http://www.iherb.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Methyl-B-12-5000-mcg-60-Lozenges/117?at=0). Try 5 mg (5,000 mcg) at first to get started quickly. My experience is that you can be off the chart on the upside on your B12 blood level and your doctor will be pleased. As for iron, you could try heme-iron capsules (http://www.iherb.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-Energizing-Iron-90-Softgels/2126?utm_source=shc&utm_medium=c&=ppnshpng&at=0); much more is absorbed (http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/7/2214). Of course, if you got a serum ferritin and a TIBC (http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_ironstud_crs.htm) and they told you it was definitely a low iron problem, then do not ignore the iron. Btw, get this anemia fixed ASAP.