Hello, fellow anemia sufferers! I have struggled with heavy periods and low iron for years (32F). I have fainted twice before during/after my periods, and come close lots of times. I was on the birth control pill from age 13 to 21 and it did help lighten my periods a bit. I had my daughter when I was 22 and my period didn’t return for almost a year as I was breastfeeding. I tried for a while after that to find the cause of my heavy (also very painful) periods, but no doctor I’ve seen has ever seemed that concerned. I’ve taken iron supplements before, but they never seemed to help that much and I couldn’t justify the cost of expensive supplements anymore. So the last few years I had essentially given up and just accepted that this was my life.
Well, my last period was even heavier than normal and I ended up going to urgent care as my heart was beating so fast even when I was resting, that I became really concerned. Also light-headed, weak, etc. but I’m used to that, it was the fast heart rate that was really concerning. They did a blood draw and then the doctor called at 10:30 that night to tell me I needed to go to the ER. My ferritin was at 2 and my hemoglobin was a 5.9. I ended up getting a blood transfusion (2 units of blood). That was about two weeks ago.
Since then, I’ve seen a gynecologist who prescribed me tranexamic acid to lighten my periods. She also gave me a referral to a hematologist. Turns out the soonest they have available for an appointment is July. 😭
So, what do I do for the next two months? I’m almost worried that if I take the tranexamic acid and it helps with my periods, then my levels won’t be so drastically low and it will be even harder to get anyone to take me seriously. Any advice?