A little iron goes a long way

This week has been filled with doctor's visits and needle sticks.  The hematology appointment yesterday went as well as could be expected.  He supported my PCP in the need for an immediate iron transfusion, which was set up for today.  He seemed more interested in finding out why my iron levels kept depleting than my previous hematologist. His first guess is Celiac's disease. Basically it is an autoimmune disease that is caused from a wheat allergy. The body has a toxic reaction to wheat-products which causes a malfunction of the small intestine. This malfunction prevents the small intestine from absorbing nutrients from food, leading to malnutrition (anemia).  I was tested for it yesterday, but will not have the results until next Monday. 

In the mean time I am supposed to follow a gluten free diet. This means no wheat, rye, barley or malt in any form.  After mom and I went through my pantry this morning, it seems that I can't have anything from my normal diet other than fresh veggies and fruit.  The more I look into food that I can not have the more I am frustrated. Just a few of my favorite foods that I can no longer have include: lasanga, pizza, rice krispies, Nestle hot chocolate, Rice-a-Roni chicken flavor rice, chocolate chip cookies, Campbell's chicken noodle soup.........and the list goes on.  On the positive side, Kroger and a lot of natural food stores have a lot of gluten free foods you can buy including pasta, crackers and cookies. Hopefully they will not taste like cardboard. 

After much debate with my insurance company, I had my iron transfusion today. The Zangmeister Center was very nice.  I had my very on "reclin-o-cubical" (definition - individaul area for those who are receiving treatment which includes a recliner, blood pressure machine, trash can, magazines and IV. See picture.)

Surprisingly, it only took 2 sticks to find a good vein for the transfusion. 

After the IV was placed they give you a test dose of the iron to make sure you do not have an allergic reaction to it. Then they give you a mixture of dexamethasone and Benadryl. That may have been the worst part. The dose of Benadryl  was so much so quickly that it made me very lightheaded and loopy. After all of that was in, they hung the big bag of iron and attached it to the IV. Pictured below. 

The next three hours were filled with intermittent napping, returning emails, sudoku, and one potty visit.  The whole time looking like this.........

So now you are updated and know what is going on. If anyone has any knowledge of good gluten free foods please pass that along. Thanks to Elizabeth for telling me about the great nut thin crackers.