I used to hate the cold, it actually hurt, and I was always anemic as a child (and I was in an unhealthy vegetarian family...you know the type..nothing but rice,beans and salad..the diet was missing a few key veggie nutrients). Dunno if there's a correlation. I feel much better now that I've moved to where it's warmer and given in to my bbq rib addiction from time to time.. dunno if there's a correlation there either,but mannnn do I ever love ribs....and my iron level tends to come back good when I get it tested now. I never could stand the iron pills. Didn't make me puke.. the umm...problem was umm...that nothing would leave my body period, lol.
Shameless, that is not true. Your blood is made in the bone marrow of ALL LARGE bones. This includes your shin bone (tibia) but it also includes your pelvis, femur, humurous, etc.--If what you say were true, than everone who has had their left leg amputated would die. Spooner--Iron-deficiency anemia (which I am assuming is what she has since iron-deficiency is the most common and sickle-cell anemia is inherited) CAN be cured with large amounts of iron--which stake does have alot of. No one said anything about sickle-cell anemia. If she had that, it would have been discovered when she was much younger and would have been treated differently. Lawngirl--I have the same thing--a fast heart rate and low blood pressure. My resting heart rate is around 75-80 bpm, and my blood pressure is 110/70. I, however, have normal amounts of iron--no anemia here (I do know, however, that in my case my consistantly low blood-pressure is inherited--my mother's is the same way, and most everyone on my mother's side has low blood pressure). I suppose it could be related to your anemia, but another thing to consider is that a high resting heart-rate means you're out of shape (which is definately why mine is so high, lol). How often do you exercise? If you have anemia, you probably don't have the energy for it, but it would still be worth while to try (ok, now I feel like a hypocrite--I never exercise either and I have no excuse ) About the 'always feeling cold' bit....Your body temp is regulated by your hypothalamus in your brain--part of your endocrine system which is also responsible for telling you when to eat, drink, sleep, etc. I'm not sure that iron has much to do with it--when you get a fever, it lowers the level of iron in your blood, so I'm not sure that more iron would necessarily make you warmer. One thing I thought of is that if you are inactive alot due to anemia, you could feel colder because your body is not circulating as well. But this could happen to any inactive person, not just an anemic (myself included--I'm always cold. Your hypothalamus also can adapt to your environment overtime--people born and raised in the north tend to be less sensitive to the cold than people used to the southern heat. People also have naturally different body temperatures; some people are just simply more susceptable to cold. Another thing to consider is how much body fat you have--although your hypothalamus regulates your core temperature, your body-fat percentage plays a role in how you percieve the cold of your external environment. I've very skinny, and always cold. My sister is overweight, and is always hot. At any rate, you should probably trust your doc's advice rather than a freshman nursing student -Kate
