A ferritin test revealed that I had iron deficiency

 

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Last December I went to get my blood tests done. I bought a blood test set from *Puhti. It’s a new service, where you can choose what tests you want to get done, without doctor’s referral.  I didn’t even know about it until Risto told me. He’s very excited about everything health related and he wants all the information he can get. Once again, I was lucky to have him push me in the right direction.

 

I went just to check that everything’s fine. You don’t really get blood tests done in a normal appointment on the public side, unless you have some problems or symptoms. I felt fine, except that I was a bit tired. I though it was just the winter. Well – if I hadn’t gone I don’t know how bad my situation would have got. Because the ferritin test revealed that I was actually very low on iron.

Puhti blood tests – my experience

It’s easy to choose and buy the tests you need and then you can just schedule an appointment in a lab. It’s actually awesome – normally going in a lab you need to wait about an hour, or more. Now I could just go and have it done in less than 10 minutes.

I bought *the test set for active women, since I exercise a lot. It has basically all the information you can get, including your cholesterol, vitamin levels, creatine, blood sugar, CRP, thyroid and liver levels. I was interested to get an idea of my overall fitness.

I’m also a vegetarian so I was intrigued to see how my B12 and D levels were.

I got the tests done in December 2019. I got some of the results on the same day and the rest the next day. And guess what? I was almost as healthy as a horse! My vitamin D and B12 were great. I actually do take supplements for them.

 

Low on iron & magnesium

The bad news was my low ferritin level and also low magnesium level. They both may have something to do with the fact that I run a lot. Low iron is also explained by my diet. I don’t really get iron from my food easily, since I’m a vegetarian.

Getting that information was a shock and a relief. I realized I had been tired. And just trying to push through. I felt bad for feeling tired, which made me feel lazy. Now I know I had a good reason for sleeping late and napping!

Immediately I bough iron drink and Risto bought me iron tablets from amazon. He orders most of our vitamins there and judging on the data, I’d say they’re working pretty great.

The iron I take is *natural element’s EISEN, which has 40g of iron and vitamin C. I took it every morning on an empty stomach for about 3 months. The last month I have been less precise with it and just taking it a few times a week maybe.

I also started to take magnesium in the evening more religiously. Before I only took it every so often.

New tests in five months

On May 2020 I took my ferritin and magnesium levels again and was pleased to find out they were both fine! This time I only bought these two tests.

In just five months, my ferritin level rose from 16,6 to 50,9 μg/l. I had heard that getting your ferritin up is difficult, but I think it happened pretty fast. I also started to feel better – less tired and I did not get out of breath as easily as before.

One of the important questions: what does my stomach think of the iron supplement?

I’ve heard that iron can be rough on your stomach. And I was a bit worried, since my stomach is sensitive. At first it took some getting used to to taking iron every day. I had some mild stomach issues, but nothing serious. Very quickly I got used to it and it didn’t affect me at all. I think the fact that I take it on an empty stomach and that it has vitamin C helps it to absorb.

All in all I would definitely recommend the service, if you want to get an idea of your fitness. You can also choose specific tests, so if you doubt that you’re low on iron for example, you can just buy the ferritin test or get the ferritin + vitamin D set. See all the tests and sets on *Puhti.

Have you ever experienced iron deficiency? Do you think paying for blood tests is crazy?

And you’ll get through anything

Life does break you.

As unfair as it seems, you just won’t get through it without bruises. You’ll live through situations you never knew you could handle. And normally, you wouldn’t. The only time you’re strong enough to live them is the exact time they happen.

Life only gives you as much as you can carry. And you don’t know how strong you are until you have to be. And you are.

But being strong doesn’t mean no crying. It doesn’t mean you won’t crawl in the darkest corner of your house and stay in a child’s pose for a while.

Life breaks you and for a moment it hurts so bad everything stops. Yet still somehow everything keeps going on as normal. A mother hurrying to a bus, dragging their child behind them. A familiar face sitting in the café, probably having the same pie you always get. The same red van stopping where it usually stops. And the trees holding their line like they usually do. Perhaps a few leaves falling in the wind, the sky grey as ever. The minutes and hours pass you by, the numbers change on your phone.

There’s sadness in knowing all that, but I’m calmly writing it down: Life breaks you.

But you get to live it.

You get to ask the important questions. You get to ask the dumb ones, too. Those are especially important. Even if it was the world’s greatest film in a room full of nerds and they would look at you like crazy when you dared to ask: what movie is that? And of course – it would be Forrest Gump.

You don’t need to know all that and do all this. But you get to.

You get to ask the most important question, which is this: What matters?

Love.

The moment when I hug my loved ones and close my eyes to really take in the hug. The moment when I laugh so hard at my sister tears start to fall from my eyes. The moment when I fall asleep holding a hand that loves me. The moment I look at the beautiful lights on our terrace and cars pass by.

The moment matters, where I ask my friend how is she doing and listen her moan about work and crazy customers. The moment matters, where I tell a funny story and everyone laughs. The times, where I’ve had coffee with family. Just sitting by the table and being there.

Life does break you. But you get to live it.

And one morning, you’ll notice that you’re watching deer in the valley, while a thick morning mist surrounds you. You’ll feel the cold air on your skin, but your muscles are doing the work. You are walking, running, falling and stopping. You are here, as are the stars on the sky.

And you’ll get through anything.

Photographed by Mia / Beauty Highlights

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