Hi. Thanks for stopping by - I hope you find what you're looking for here. One of my goals in beginning this blog is to increase awareness of anemia, especially for those who may be anemic and not yet know it, as well as for those who have discovered that they are anemic and are making their best effort to improve their health. This is also a forum where I intend to chronicle my journey from severely anemic to super-hero healthy, hence the name.

Beginning a new blog was probably the last thing I intended to do right now, but after several days of having the idea of Iron Woman FeFe occupy more and more space in my mind, I decided that I would write - for me and for you - about anemia and anything that significantly relates.

I suppose from the photograph, you have already determined that I am not a hand model. I'll get to that later. I will tell you that by day, I am Gluten Free Gigi, completing a cookbook filled with beautiful original art (not mine, but that of a wonderful young artist), engaging commentary about food (mine), and original gluten free recipes (mine, again). I also homeschool my two children (grades 4 & 12), and I tutor Algebra, Geometry, and Trig. several hours each week. And what exactly am I trained to do? Well, I am formally educated with B.S. and M.A. degrees in Experimental Psychology, specializing in Behavioral Neuroscience with research experience in chronic pain and analgesia, stress, anxiety, and depression. If you check out Gluten Free Gigi, you will see the passion for science and research creeping in with recipes often served up with Gigi's "Side of Science", but there is more.

I am severely anemic and have been for some time. I suppose I have been skirting by for many years, much too busyto be under a doctor's care for something like anemia. And the iron tablets, well, who wants all that GI upset and nausea? Besides, after three years gluten free, I have banished GI upset from my life. Sure, I have been warned by doctors about the dangers of anemia over many years that included many moves for work and college. And I have danced around with a hemoglobin of 7 more than once. A reading of 9 always made me cheer (I think that's the highest reading I've ever received). But I'm a busy girl, so of course I'm tired a lot. And I have always eaten well and exercised a lot, so certainly the "tired" was simply that.

And then came May of this year when I was such a good girl, going in for my annual checkup, only to have a frantic phone call after my lab work was processed to inform me that my hemoglobin was 7.5. Well, that explained why I was having trouble making it through the pilates. So, with 40 literally right around the corner for me, I decided it was finally time to get to the bottom of this anemia situation - in a month or so. I mean, I didn't want to rush into it, so I continued my daily routine and trudged through the workouts, and continued to eat all the good stuff. Oh, and I continued to be tired.

But finally, I decided I would go see my doctor - because I thought I had pneumonia. (I did mention not wanting to rush into the anemia issue, right?) I had all the signs - tightness in my chest, shortness of breath, especially when I tried to workout or exert myself otherwise, and fatigue. So, off I went, self-diagnosis in hand, to get the professional to confirm what I already knew and to write the script that would lead me to the antibiotic that would clear up this pesky little matter.

Except, here's the problem - it didn't quite turn out that way. You see, it seems that I mis-diagnosed myself. My lungs were surprisingly clear, my oxygen level was near perfect, and I had had no sign of fever. "Are you by any chance anemic?" was the question, to which I replied, "what does that have to do with pneumonia?"

Clearly, it takes a bit of time for me to catch on. But finally I did. My doctor ordered a battery of blood tests to determine the cause of my severe anemia, and my serum ferritin level revealed that my body does not store iron. At all. I am not kidding - I had zero iron stores. So, the typical symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, headache, and lethargy were understandable at this point. The other symptoms of chest pains and shortness of breath; however, were still a mystery to me. I did not realize that severe iron deficiency anemia these symptoms and more - pica (that explains all the ice!), impaired cognitive functioning (focus!), and brittle, weak, mishapen nails.

And now we get to the hand photo. You will note there are 2 short nails among the longer acrylic nails. I have worn acrylic nails for years to cover up my unsightly "foldably" weak ones. But as I finally realize the seriousness of severe iron deficiency anemia, and that a "cover up" of symptoms can be life-threatening, I have decided that I will tackle this issue and achieve my perfect health - nails and all. So, as unsightly as they are now, I am exposing my real nails during my iron therapy, allowing the acrylic nails to grow off (hoping for not too much damage below them) and I will update the blog with nail photos as I progress. It is symbolic to me of not ignoring my anemia any longer and becoming as healthy as I possibly can.

If you have the symptoms that I mentioned above, and cannot attritubte them to any legitimate cause, do have yourself tested for anemia. And if you are anemic, please seek out treatment if you have not yet done so. It really could save your life! And then you can join me and be an Iron Woman (or Man), too!

Iron Woman FeFe