HELP! My blood work looks fine but I feel like I’m dying!
Is it possible that my body is experiencing anemic symptoms even if my blood work isn’t that bad? I went to the ER two months ago, because my heart rate was so much higher than normal (for a few weeks) and I was very lighted headed and nauseous. I couldn’t even stand to do my makeup in the bathroom without it going into the 130s. Anytime I got up from sitting my heart rate shot up, and even when fully relaxed and lying down, its up 10-40 bpm from normal. I was also experiencing lots of dizziness and had to stop working out completely.
This was crazy because I’ve always had a low resting heart rate, and I was eating better, running 10ks multiple times a week with ease, and suddenly I can’t even get up off the couch.
I went to the ER thinking I was having a heart issue, and they saw some irregular beats on the heart monitor. They did an echo and also put a ZIO patch on me to monitor my heart for 2 weeks. and everything looked fine, great, even. They also did a whole long list of labs, my electrolytes are fine, blood sugar fine, lab work is all great. So I figured maybe my body doesn’t like what I’m putting in it, so I completely change my diet, remove all processed foods and sugar (was already not drinking alcohol or caffeine), and still no improvements…. So I go to my PCP because I think I may have POTS and the test reads normal, so I ask them to test my iron and for autoimmune issues. Everything comes back BASICALLY normal. My doctor thinks it’s anxiety and stress…. I have had severe panic disorder as well as GAD for my whole adult life and I KNOW my anxiety would not take me from running 10ks to being bed ridden. Running helped my anxiety, I enjoyed it, it made me feel better….
My symptoms have been
- rapid heart rate
- heart palpitations
- heart spikes when standing, moving at all
- feeling/hearing my heart beat in my ears
- dizziness, almost constantly
- feeling like I can’t breathe, never feels full or satisfying
- low energy
- anxiety through the roof/ panic attacks
- aching joints, body feels weak and fragile
- terrible bloating after most meals, constipation
- hot flashes/ terrible heat sensitivity
- throat issues (it’s not painful but I can no longer sing or speak clearly at a higher volume, just feels like my throat doesn’t work anymore)
- randomly super shaky and faint, regardless of me hydrating or eating
- I’ve always gotten purple legs from standing too long, but now it’s unbearably painful and itchy even after just a couple minutes
And also my face just looks awful. I don’t know how to explain it but I don’t look like me anymore.
It feels like I’m slowly dying from the inside out, but they’ve run so many tests and labs and apparently I’m perfectly healthy.
Does anyone relate to this? I’ve read a lot of posts on here and I relate to them UNTIL they mention their ferritin or hemoglobin and then I think “surely iron can’t be the problem if my levels are so much higher than everyone else with my same symptoms”
Any input is welcome, I’m going crazy over here!
(Also, sorry for any errors or weird blocking, I’m speed writing on my phone)
EDIT: Here are my lab numbers:
Iron - 36
Iron Sat %- 17
Ferritin - 38.8
Hemoglobin - 13
Folate - 11.2
B12 - 466
Magnesium - 1.8
Potassium - 4.7
This isn’t all they tested, but the most relevant