Kitty Chat

Hello world.

Because I am only able to update this Blog so infrequently, and because I have received some 'hate e-mails', I have decided to make this Blog accessable only by password. To that end, I have restricted access to my past postings in the archives. You can still read them, but you will need to ask for a password to do so.

I will send out a weekly or so newsletter to those of you who are interested to let you know when I update this Blog.

Drop me an e-mail and I will add you to my list.

I hope you understand my reasons for doing this, I like to be honest and open but I also don't need the aggravation and stress, either. This is supposed to be a theraputic outlet for me, not something where some silly people can gather information to use against me.

Take care, Kitty

I have been sooooo cold, my feet and hands have been freezing. Plus soooo tired that I have been taking naps every afternoon for hours at a time. I just have no energy whatsoever.

Even so, I thought I would try to donate blood when the 'Don du Sang' was on in Pontivy the other week. After managing to convince the doctor that I could answer her questions if she wrote them out. (Have I ever murdered a dog? Why would I do that? Oh, I get it! Have I ever been mordu by a dog-- bitten! Um, the answer is non.)

She pricked my finger for the hemoglobin/hematocrit test. As soon as saw the blood, I knew the count would be low as my blood was pale red, not rich red. (I have been borderline anaemic my whole life but still have donated blood or plasma since I was 18.)

"Non, we cannot allow the donation. The hemoglobin is only 9.8. You must be at least 12 for women for us to accept a donation. But we will take a tube, if you like, and test it and send you the results. If you still want to donate later, when your iron count is up, you can do so then, we would welcome it."

Ok, fair enough.

I went to my own doctor later that day as she had suggested I get some iron supplements. He decided to do a blood test to check if my thyroid was playing up, because of the fatigue I was experiencing and the coldness and numbness I was experiencing in my extremities. Got the blood test done the next morning, started the iron supplements right after that (one morning, one evening) and the lab faxed through the results to him that night. Next day I went in to see if I needed anything else.

'We need to increase your iron intake. Take two in the morning, with lunch and again at night, so six per day. Also we must stop your règles for the time being. You still have them every month?'

Oh yes. My Mother didn't start her menopause until she was 65 and I take after her...

'You will still be fertile for up to 18 years, perhaps...' (Zounds!!) 'What do you take for contraceptives?'

'Well abstainance has been working quite well for over a year', I replied, dryly.

'I see. Well, you cannot take the combined oestrogen pill because of your history of deep vein thrombosis, but we must stop your blood loss. Your iron count is dangerously low. It should be between 160 as a high, down to 15 absolute minimum. Yours is 5. So I will give you something to stop the the règles along with the progesterone-only pill. This will strenghten your uterine walls plus help stop the blood flow or lessen it considerably. This in combination with the vitamin C and iron will help bring your iron levels back up. You should see your fatigue lift as well.'

So a week later and yes, my fatigue has lifted somewhat. I don't need a nap every day. My hands and feet are not quite as cold and I am not as pale as I was. However the stuff I took did not really stop my period from happening so I am back to square one with the iron.

Any female reading this who feels unusually tired, and is of child-bearing age, might ask their own doctor for a blood test and especially the test of the iron in the blood. It will help to put you on iron/vitamin C supplements. (The vitamin C helps the absorption of iron. Tea diminishes it, by the way. So drink less tea and never with either an iron-rich meal or when taking a vitamin that contains iron.)

It's flippin' freezin' here in our little corner of Bretagne. Minus figures every night means the bedrooms are never more than 8-10°C at night. So tonight we are having a slightly spicy pork curry before we trot off to Hilary's Music Night at Tranquility in Pontivy. Tomorrow features a lovely and warming beef stew. I have a new recipe for the beef stew I have never tried before and I'll post the recipe in the next few days if it turns out, otherwise we'll just forget it, eh?

Microwavable wheat/rice bags in all the beds means we go to sleep warm. The paraffin heater in the living room is a Godsend, by the way.

Today is little one's birthday.

She is six today.

We are going out for lunch and then having a little Birthday Tea later on.

Coincidence? I think not....