My Iron Deficiency Anemia

I'm having another spine operation to correct a "lump" which developed on the incision site from my first operation.  The "lump" is a pseudomeningocele.

From Wikipedia:
"A pseudomeningocele is an abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that communicates with the CSF space around the brain or spinal cord. In a pseudomeningocele, the fluid has no surrounding membrane but is contained in a cavity within the soft tissues."

Anyway, while having my pre-op blood work they found that I have anemia.  It was a surprise to me because I have no symptoms.

I thought the treatment would be easy. Take iron tablets 3 times a day.  But after spending a day on and off the toilet with painful black tar-like stools; I decided to stop taking the medication.  Maybe after my operation next week I might try 1 tablet a day.

I found the chart above with some strange causes for anemia.  I can believe some of them but there are others that are just too much for me to believe.

~candle burning (This is my favorite.  How can this cause anemia?  I thought about it but haven't come up with anything.)


~excess tea/coffee (Well maybe)


~Poor Detention (What the heck?  Does this mean that if they made after school detention more enjoyable there would be fewer cases of anemia?)

So I guess that if you're an immigrant who burns candles and drinks a lot of tea; you have a "very high risk" for getting anemia.

Any ideas?


  1. Some foods that will help boost your blood iron content are spinach, cooked beans. potatoes, egg noodles, broccoli, wheat germ, most roasted nuts, dried apricots, and tofu. Sometimes your body is not assimilating the iron from your foods. Coffee is one thing that causes this. Try drinking a little orange juice before your high protein meals and see if that helps.

    1. I want to try eating more of these iron rich foods.
      The doctor did mention drinking orange juice with the iron tablets.
      Thanks Emma.

  2. Foods that can help boost iron are: liver and horse meat. Yes, I know, perhaps you will cringe at this but I have been told that they really do help. Please take care of yourself.

    1. I do like liver and I haven't had it for years. Maybe my body needs it.
      I'm not sure where to get horse meat but I would give it a try.

  3. You might laugh at this but it is true: use iron skillets when you cook. You will get some of the iron and that will help with your anemia. Wish you could come with me to my Dad's house and have some of his onion cornbread. He cooks it in an iron skillet that is jet black with age and it makes the best crust. AND you will get some of that great iron!
    Take care of yourself.

    1. Onion cornbread sounds delicious!
      I love a nice crust on corn muffins.
      Wish I was there Kay.

  4. Oh! And my Dad doesn't wash the skillets, he just wipes it out with a paper towel, so there is always a thin layer of grease left in the pan. You might think that is strange, but that is how it is done. And my Dad will be 88 in April! :-)

    1. I'm sure it's safe. The heat must kill off any germs left in the pan.
      It makes sense that some of the iron will end up in the food.
      This is much better than the iron tablet side effects.

  5. Yes, iron pills often have that unfortunate side-effect. Three a day seems like an awfully high dose. When I had a period of anemia, I only had to take one pill a day and that was enough to correct the situation without the side-effects. Good luck with your operation!

    1. Thank you Debra. After my operation I think I'll try one tablet every other day or so.
      Hopefully, I'll avoid some of the side effects.

  6. Anemia is the condition of having less than the normal number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. I'm consulting web health network for treatment of anemia and I hope you also can be benefited with there help.

  7. Very informative blog. I was searching for something like this. your blog helped me a lot. Thank you so much for sharing. Sierrasil Vancouver

  8. Some candles contain lead, and burning them causes the lead to be released and inhaled by us. Lead competes with the iron-binding sites on our red blood cells and causes the anemia. I thought it was interesting too when I first read it so I looked it up.

  9. let me help...
    ~candle burning : believed that inhaling the Benzene that is produced by burning candles can depress the bone marrow (part of bone that makes your red blood cells)

    ~depression : POOR DIET. Thus Iron Deficiency anemia

    ~excess tea/coffee (both inhibit absorption of iron. hence iron tablets should be taken with lemon juice and not tea/coffee/milk.

    ~widower : again, poor diet as a single person usually doesnt cook enough food for self; presuming that couple was happy and cooking great food before ;-)

    ~Poor Detention - well thats a spelling mistake. its poor dentition. no teeth means person eats softer, and usually non iron rich food.

    Hope that helps.....

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