u/dangerrrmuffin

My iron is 19 and my ferritin is 3, so my doctor ordered iron infusions 3x/week. I called the infusion center yesterday and they said it will take about a week to get to my referral and won’t be able to quote me a price until then.

Anyone else self pay infusions in the US? How much were yours? Just trying to maybe gauge a ballpark figure at least.

I don’t have health insurance and won’t be able to get any until next year. The marketplace website is a joke, the cheapest I got quoted was $1400 a month for a high deductible ($18,000) plan. So, self pay for now

I had routine labs this week and they posted a few days ago. I’ve been having an increase in symptoms (shortness of breath from small tasks like getting in/out of the car, cooking, showering, etc, extreme fatigue, headaches, tachycardia) but I have PoTs Syndrome, so I thought it was that. Never would’ve guessed I could have anemia. I do also have Celiac Disease though. 

These are my results:

Hemoglobin: 10.8
Hematocrit: 33.5
MCV: 72.4
MCH: 23.4
TIBC: 431
UIBC: 403.8
Iron: 27
Iron saturation: 6
Ferritin: 3

I have a physical scheduled with my doctor for 2 weeks from now - she likes to get the labs drawn 2 weeks prior to the physical so they’re available to discuss at that appointment - but given my results, should I send her a message to go ahead and let her know about my symptoms? I feel like I might should go ahead and start taking iron or something? Or is it okay to wait two weeks? I don’t know what I should do

Over the past few years, I’ve built up a social media following on Instagram for my hobby related account. I’m considered a micro influencer but I have about 10,000 followers. I get PR and have relationships with brands. I only post about the hobby, but here are a few photos of me and my first name is on there. People regularly mention my first name in the comments of my posts because it’s a close knit hobby community.

Professionally, I’m interested in transitioning from consulting into academia so I’ve been applying to instructor positions.

Should I deactivate my influencer account? It’s been fun but I don’t want anything to interfere with my chances at landing a job.