Pumping Iron

well, not that kind

I've had an interesting couple of days.  I have anemia and to help with that little problem, I take an iron pill and get a B-12 shot every week.  I went in on Tuesday for my weekly shot.  I wasn't feeling to hot.  Well, actually, I was feeling really hot.  That was the problem.  My chest hurt and I was having pains shooting down my left arm.  My heart felt like it was pounding right out of my chest.  I wasn't sure what to think.  When the nurse asked me how I was doing, I told her that I didn't feel right.  She told me I looked a little pale and that she would take my blood pressure.

HOLY CRAP!  

It was through the roof.  They worked my right into their schedule and ran an EKG.  It came back abnormal.  The doctor read it and told me that he thought that I may not be getting enough oxygen to part of my heart.  He ran some blood tests to rule out any sort of heart attack past or present and to see how my iron levels were.  

He sent my labs off with a courier and told them he needed them STAT.  It was 2 hours before the courier even showed up to the lab.  Apparently "STAT" is not in his vocabulary.  The lab is only 20 minutes away....

Finally, we got the results.  My iron hadn't budged but on a bright note, there was no sign of a heart attack.  At the ripe old age of 31, I was praying that was the case.  haha

So, we concluded the the lack of iron is the cause of the heart issues.  He said he would set up an appointment for me to have iron infusions done.  This is supposed to speed up the process of getting some iron in my system faster.  I'm also waiting to see a cardiologist.  

Today was my first one.  I was terrified.  I had no clue what to expect.  I hate needles.  The thought of people jamming an IV needle in my arm for hours on end scared me.  It took me a half an hour to get the paperwork completed.  When I got back there, none of the nurses had ever seen an iron infusion and were confused by the orders.  The pharmacy was taking forever to send my test bag up and the nurses didn't understand why I needed to have a test bag in the first place.  I am no medical professional so I wasn't much help.  It turns out, some people have had allergic reactions to IV iron.  Who knew?  They also were supposed to pre-dose me with Benadryl JUST.IN.CASE

So after 2 blown veins, they finally found one in working order.  They flushed that bad boy out hooked up the test bag of iron and started it.  I asked if the Benadryl was in the test bag.  I could see the curse words boiling to the surface of their heads when the realized they forgot the Benadryl and just started pumping iron in me.  I had to laugh at them as they were scurrying to undo the iron and shoot me up with the Benadryl.  Nothing funnier than iron spewing all over the place, and their faces were priceless!

After I was all settled in, I looked over at my roommates.  They were all like a hundred years old.  I figured "Whatevs, I'll deal"  The old lady had control of the remote.  She was watching Jerry Springer.  She was having a good ole time too!  Laughing at the hoochie mommas on the tv with the tight short shorts, low cut shirts, bouncing boobies, and the big jiggly booties, all trying to figure out who their baby daddy was!  This woman was a hoot!  

The man next to me kept snoring and falling asleep.  He was sweet as pie.  He had been going there for 2 years to get blood transfusions.  He was telling them to hurry it along because he had places to be.  They did too.  All was fine and dandy for him.  He got up, called his friends to pick him up, and walked out using his little silver walker.  Then I hear someone screaming for the nurse.  I hear the man saying "calm down.  I'll find her."  He walking back in with blood spewing all over.  His site had not clotted all the way AND he was on blood thinners AND he took his bandage off too soon AND he tried lifting his walker.  Anyway, I was finally out of there around 6 pm!  Yep.  I was there from 1pm to 6pm.  I'm a little nauseous, very tired, and have a horrible headache.  Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end! 

So, if you ever need an iron infusion, this is what to expect.  One infusion down, 3 to go.  I hope next week is eventful too.