Confused - Maybe I Am Too
My recent posting about vitamins (Week 12 - Monday) prompted several comments from readers. So I went back to have another look at what I said.
I reported I easily get short of breath - and Mynurse pointed out my haemoglobins are low, so I am clinically anaemic. I asked if I exercise more will this help? No, I will just be more out-of-breath. Should I take vitamin supplements like iron if I’m anaemic? No, the interactions between the vitamins and the interferon becomes complicated - especially iron. So what can I do about being anaemic? Nothing, short of stopping the ribavirin. (This is not an option!!) Actually Mynurse pointed out it is only because of the drugs I am anaemic and this will continue (with her monitoring it closely) until I stop the medication. So, I am anaemic and will continue to be short of breath - no need for any intervention unless I get chest pains (which I don’t - it’s a much milder response than that).
I think it is a case of “I know what I meant when I wrote that” rather than it being a comprehensible statement. In fact I think I have been sloppy in the distinction between vitamins, vitamin supplements and minerals. Perhaps I could blame the “brain-fog” or fatigue on the day I wrote this - and possibly it’s lack of knowledge or confusion on my part. Maybe they shouldn’t let me loose on a keyboard at all….
So, in response to some of the comments or confusion I may have caused:
I know vitamins are good for us and I believe my diet is a good source. For example, we regularly eat organic spinach and I think this is a good source of iron, making supplements unnecessary. Mynurse was not saying vitamins are not good for us!
Because I concentrate on maintaining a liver-friendly diet I haven’t needed to take vitamin supplements - but was wondering on that day if doing so could improve my blood results.
Introducing iron into the discussion seems to have been a real red herring! I have no idea now why I asked about it specifically when I was meaning to talk about vitamin supplements generally.
Buzz Trexler, who writes a blog on his HepC treatment called Gathering Wool: Tales of a Black Sheep Living in Post-Christian America has pointed out that excessive iron in the liver can lead to a disease called hemochromatosis. I know two members of my HepC Support Group are co-infected with this condition and HepC - apparently a rare occurrence in the UK. So I know there is wariness about recommending iron during treatment.
From my conversation with Mynurse I realised that the anaemia is induced by the Ribavirin and won’t really resolve until I finish the medication.
On the issue of feeling breathless, I wanted to check out with Mynurse - if I am feeling breathless, will increased exercise improve my breathing? From my conversation with her I realised the breathlessness comes from the meds and will not really improve until I stop taking them. So, I know that exercise is good for me and that increasing my exercise at the moment, however, will not stop the breathlessness.
There, I hope I have written that more clearly - and that I haven’t misguidedly and inadvertently made any controversial statements in the process!!