Going to start my search today!
And start looking for a new doctor tomorrow!
I first went to the Dr. because I felt ill. I would feel like I was going to pass out, get really dehydrated and my blood pressure would drop. Then I would feel like I over all just had the flu but with alot of shakiness and wooziness. It happens for a couple of weeks every month and I have lost 69lbs without trying. I have also been totally taken off my insulin that I have been on for 11 years. They said I had anxiety and tried EVERY ssri on the market but they made all the symptoms worse. So, during one of my visits he wanted to take blood to see if I was anemic, hence that is where he found I was low on the folic acid. (B 12 was fine) He said I am way to close to having a folic acid deficency. But, won't give me a real answer on what is causing it. He doesn't "know" if my symptoms could be from the deficency or not. And his "boss" won't let him do any further testing. I turned 40 the other day and I have an awesome husband and 4 beautiful children that are VERY understanding about the whole thing! Sometimes it knocks me down for days to weeks at a time!! I just want to feel better ya know?!?! :) I left him two messages on the 6th and 7th. Haven't heard back. "they have 48hrs to return a call" The ladies at the front desk are something else!! Thank you so much for your support, I get so frusterated and it is good to have someone to talk to!! I think I wear my family out :) HAHA!! Trying to stay positive!! Starting the folic acid tonight.
Why did you go to the doctor in the first place? Did you have a specific symptom to discuss with him? Did you have the lightheadedness and the anxiety issues before or after you began the folic acid?
And now you say you feel "terrible." Again, did you feel terrible when you went to see him or did that begin after the folic acid, or did you feel terrible when you went, took the folic acid, and now feel "more terrible?"
Obviously I'm not qualified to tell you what it means if your hematocrit, hemoglobin and RBC's are elevated, so I strongly suggest you call his office and if the Great One won't speak to you personally, ask to speak with his nurse and have her explain, in full detail what all this means, if the folic acid should be making you feel terrible and anxious, why you are lightheaded and anything else you want to know. If SHE tries to give you the push, tell her, DON'T ask, that you want to speak personally with the doctor. Perhaps you are not the agressive type, but I'm so damn tired of doctors treating people like morons who have no feelings and are probably too stupid to understand what's going on with them anyway. Gee, does it sound like I have issues with doctors? I work in a major hospital in Seattle and they've more than earned my disrespect when it comes to educating their patients. They may have awesome diagnostic or surgical skills, but the vast majority of them I wouldn't let speak with my chickens! They probably wouldn't lay eggs for weeks.
Just how far off topic did I get? Where are we? AAACCKKKK
Call your doctor and get the answers you need/want. Or send me his number and I'll get the info for you! I'll have him come over ater dinner and give it to you in person.
Let me know what he tells you!! I'm just itching for a fight now...........
Go get him, g/f
Peace
Greenlydia
HAHA LOL I like your sense of humor :) No he didn't tell me about the urine thing! The thing is my WBC is normal. It's my folate level that is low and I have high hematocrit, hemoglobin and RBC. So what all that means??? I know whatever it is folic acid or what I feel terrible!! The lightheadedness and paniky/anxiety thing is bad but I just don't want to make it worse :0 Thanks for your help and the giggles :)
There is no such thing as a "silly" question, not on this forum anyway.
Don't be too quick to diss your doctor's. Maybe they don't look outside the box as much as the city boys do, but sometimes I think the city docs need to take a page from the good old fashion doctors. Your doctor did a blood test, your WBC's were low, what do they give someone with low WBC's? They give them Folic Acid. Then in a few weeks, your blood will be checked again. Probably at DR.BIG MONEY's, you would have been sent for further blood work, maybe a scan or a scope or two. Perhaps a night in the hospital for observation is advisable, well, if you're in the hospital we might as well just give you a transfusion and, well, that maybe worked, but if not, well, a bunch of us docs will sit around in the lounge and come up with a butt load more tests we can run and oh look, her potassium is .0000000000002mc less than what it should be so we better treat her for potassium deficency as well, so let's keep her here another night.................I'm sort of joking but working in a teaching hospital, I've seen this kind of scenerio play out a little too often. Be glad you "in the box" guy is just going to start out with the oldest and cheapest treatment for low WBC's. There may come a day when you're going to want the fancy pants docs, but this isn't the day.
Oh, did he tell you that Folic Acid is going to turn your urine bright yellow? I mean, like day-glo yellow? Wear sunglasses to the bathroom. Maybe some sun screen.
Keep me up to date, OK?
Peace
Greenlydia
Hello, thank you so much for responding! That did sound kinda silly didn't it!! He said my folic acid level is at 3.0 it should be between 6.0 and 20.0 I ask what might cause the numbers to be low and he simply said not enough veggies and enriched foods in my diet. I then told him I eat plenty of green veggies (mostly Turnip greens and Broccoli) and enriched whole wheat bread (3 servings a day) He said it could be Celiac but my blood test looked normal and he said my B12 is good so he doesn't believe it is anemia. The Dr.'s here aren't great about looking outside the box. It is straight standard blood testing no extras!! He says that taking the 1mg of folic acid a day should fix the problem but it could possibly cause a little anxiety. Which I really can't afford anymore :) So I wanted to write and see if anyone that has taken it has run into trouble with it. Thanks again for your response!
I am, as usual, astounded that your doctor did not explain exactly why he was prescribing folic acid, aside from saying your blood test showed you were deficient. I'm also surprised that YOU didn't ask him WHY you were deficient, WHAT that meant, or not only HOW to fix it, but how to prevent it, which is easy with a few dietary changes.
Folic acid is NOT just a pregnancy drug. Most women are prescribed folic acid along with other prenatal vitamins and minerals as growing a human being can take quite a bit of moms "stuff."
Folic acid and vitamin B12 fucntion interdependently in the formation of normal red blood cells and the production of an essential building block of DNA, thymidine. A deficiency of either of these vitamins results in a serious anemia (such as pernicious anemia), in which the red blood cells are few in number but large in size.
I've been on folic acid through two pregnancies and a couple episodes of anemia. I have never experienced ANY anxiety because of it.
Peace
Greenlydia