comprehensive health update
well, the doctor finally called and results still aren’t conclusive but i’ve been talking so ambiguously about what’s going on that i’m just going to lay it all out.
in november, i went to see my doctor because i hadn’t had my period in 3 or 4 months. she sent me for bloodwork and the cbc indicated that my hemoglobin was really low (i think it was 6.9) and that i needed to go to the emergency room at once. this was a complete shock to me because i always though i felt fine. fortunately when they tested me at the ER, the results were a little better (around 8) so no transfusions were necessary.
i’ve been on iron supplements since then, which has made me feel so much better. the problem though is that they have no idea WHY i’m so anemic. so i saw a hematologist and got some more blood work done. she runs a test for celiac and the results indicate that i probably have it.
so now she sends me to see a gastroenterologist. he tells me that i probably have it, based on my blood work, but they need to do an endoscopy to confirm the results. i had the endoscopy done last week and got the call today about my results.
they’re inconclusive. the villi in my intestine are blunted but not as obviously damaged as he expected based on how anemic i am. he said that his gut feeling says it is celiac but at this point he can’t be 100% sure.
the next step is for me to have a colonoscopy done, just to be sure there is nothing wrong there. if they come back problematic, then it’s a colon issue and not celiac. my doctor said that he thinks those results will come back normal - if so, it’s probably celiac and they’ll start me on a gluten-free diet and do some more blood work in about 6 months.
i’m so tired of all this waiting and not knowing.
tl;dr: i’m very anemic. it might be because i have celiac. it might not be.
also as long as i’m rambling about my health i also have hypothyroidism but that’s been a part of my life for years.
