VERY Boring Post

I have debated writing this for a while.  No one wants to hear about my health woes.  Boring stuff.  But decided it did happen and I need a reminder to take my iron since I hate doing it.  And my great great grandchildren may want to know about me one day.  Who knows??:)  So you can all go back to your much more interesting lives and click back in another time.
New Years Eve in the afternoon we were sitting on the couch waiting to go to the movie when suddenly I had intense chest pain.  My left arm felt like I had slept on it and it had not quite woken back up.  Because of my iron levels I am at higher risk for a heart attack.  Not HIGH risk but higher than normal.  Not enough iron and your heart stops.  Too much and your heart stops.  My body does not absorb iron, so I am supposed to be on pills all the time.  To monitor I get it check every 3 month.  I don't like seeing the doctor and they always say the same thing.  Levels are almost normal, reserve is low, stay on it and see you in 3 months.  About a year ago I quite. I mentioned my chest pain to Dave, since I was a little concerned.  He didn't say much so we just carried on.  That night as I did the Resolution run I got the best time I ever have.  I was sure that if it was indeed a heart attack I would have collapsed while running.  Yet the pain and sleepy arm continued.  I felt like someone was stabbing me constantly just below my left collar bone.  It hurt to move, never mind lift things and help Dave with the house building.  We relied on Cora a lot for her strength during this time.  About two weeks later I could not stand it any more.  I called my DR and they did an ECG and other test.  Conclusion was I had a virus above my heart and it was swollen and pinching nerves.  Hence the sleepy arm.  Dave was not happy to hear I had gone to the DR without letting him know something was bothering my that bad. I was put on anti inflammatory.  Lessened the pain, but not by much.  About this time I also noticed that I was really light headed often.  I thought maybe it was the meds. I wasn't tired so didn't think about it being my iron.  One night just before my birthday, Dave was away on business and I was in the middle of a Primary meeting when suddenly everything went black.  Just for a couple of seconds, but I couldn't seem to concentrate after either.  I had a basketball tournament the next two days and was worried about blacking out while driving down the road or during the night when Dave was gone..  Finally I called my parents and asked them to please come sit with my kids while I went to the ER.  They were so good and came straight in.  After sitting for hours and doing more test it was determined that the virus was not in my heart lining as they originally thought and I had no fluid around the heart which they feared.  But my iron was dangerously low again.  And the virus was still there.  I was told it would take at least another 3 week for my body to fight it and to get back on iron immediately.  The next day I went and bought some iron.  I have been feeling much better.  It took about a week for the light headedness to go away, and once in a while I will still get a little stab of pain, but it does not last long, just an hour or two.  During all this time I did not exercise thinking I was going to do further damage.  As much as I hate it, I will probably be on iron the rest of my life.  I really really did not want to be a pill everyday person.  And I now also have to work to loose the weight I gained while not being active for 7 weeks.  But I have learned my lesson.