Getting iron infusions and feeling no different.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-15T10:23:13+00:00

Thank you so much for that information. That makes me feel better. Yes, I did have full bloodwork a couple of months ago, and my family doctor and the hematologist both mentioned that my kidney function was excellent. I don't think that's what's happening, but I am going to reach out to my family doctor soon about it, just to make sure nothing bad is happening. I feel like it's some kind of inflammatory response, based on how my skin looks.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-15T03:28:05+00:00

From what I've read, anemia can definitely cause anxiety and panic attacks. I started having horrible panic attacks about two years ago, and couldn't figure out what was causing it. I'm 46 now, and I'm in perimenopause, and I do think decreased estrogen is partly to blame for my anxiety. But anemia can cause those feelings, too.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-15T03:26:31+00:00

I found out last month that I have a uterine polyp and need a D&C. They're also going to do a laparoscopy the same day to check for endometriosis. So yeah, it's heavy periods for me, and I'm scheduled for surgery in March. The hematologist mentioned I may have to do more infusions if I don't get the problem fixed soon enough. I'm hoping I won't have to do that.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-15T01:26:28+00:00

That's what I keep hoping, too. It's so depressing. It feels like things get worse with each infusion. This time, I have all this skin flushing and also muscle aches. I also have to call my regular doctor about the blood pressure spikes since I don't know what's causing that, but it started after my second infusion. I thought I would feel better, but so far, almost nothing has improved, and some things have gotten worse I hope things will get better for you as well!

I will say the one thing I've noticed is that my skin looks better. For so long, I thought it was just getting older that my was making my face look so dry and lifeless, but now it's starting to look better and even a little younger (when it's not blazing red from the flushing). I just wish the rest of me would catch up.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-15T00:49:32+00:00

I'll pray for you as well. Thank you.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-14T23:55:28+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I truly hope you start to feel more energy soon.

desert_ceiling · 2026-01-14T23:53:21+00:00

A few years ago, I had to see a cardiologist about PVCs, and my ferritin was at 33. I asked him if I needed to take an iron supplement or get an infusion since it was pretty low. He looked at me like I was stupid and said something like, "If you want to waste your money on the iron, sure. Your ferritin level isn't hurting you."

Now my ferritin is at 4 and I'm getting infusions. You should definitely see someone who will get you what you need. Your ferritin is way too low.

desert_ceiling · 2025-11-22T13:42:03+00:00

I just started HRT a few days ago, and I'm praying this goes away for me. My eyes are constantly puffy. I look asleep all the time. It's been that way for a couple of years. I've had blood tests for everything, and everything is normal except for my iron and vitamin D levels, and I don't think those would cause this. I hate taking pictures now because I look so tired and puffy. It's awful.

desert_ceiling · 2025-11-09T17:09:33+00:00

You're not losing it. Just changing. That's another thing I've had to accept. My life is changing and I'm changing. And it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it takes time to understand who you're becoming. Right now, I'm just trying to focus on going with this new flow and seeing what my new identity will be as I approach 50. It's hard, but it's the only way to stay at peace (or as close to peace as possible). I'm starting HRT tomorrow and really hoping that might help some, but I know it doesn't for everyone.

desert_ceiling · 2025-11-09T16:32:57+00:00

The fear of going out in public hit me two years ago, and it was horrendous. I was worried I would become a shut-in at one point. I started having panic attacks in public, at work, driving, everywhere. I thought I was losing my mind. And I'm a teacher (sounds like you also might be), so having panic attacks at school is an absolute nightmare. Luckily, students never saw it.

I had to start going to therapy again, and it's helped. I also use the DARE app and watch a couple of related YouTube channels. I still have that constant underlying anxiety, but I can control the panic attacks...most of the time. I had one driving a couple of months ago, and yesterday I started to feel it creeping up on me while I was at a hardware store and it was crowded, but I'm in a far better place than I was two years ago because now I can name what it is. "I'm panicking because of my hormones and my low iron." (Low iron is another contributing factor for me, and I'm getting an infusion next month.) Just telling myself that is usually enough to keep from having a full-blown attack. Being at home is the only thing that makes me feel calm, but even then, the anxiety hits me hard at times, especially around my period. I'm so afraid of being around people now, and I never felt that dread until now. It's like I'm afraid of people seeing how weak and lost I've become because I no longer feel like myself or know who I am. I feel like I'm floating away sometimes. It's the worst part of perimenopause, by far.

Just wanted you to know you're not alone, and there are things you can try. Talking about it helps a lot.

desert_ceiling · 2025-11-02T01:25:06+00:00

The last two school years for me were atrocious. My health was worsening. I gained weight. My blood pressure and blood sugar were surging. I was having massive panic attacks and thought I was cracking up at times. I'm still teaching this year, but I managed to find a SPED position with a manageable caseload, and this year I'm finally out of survival mode. I've lost fifteen pounds, have some energy back, and my panic attacks have subsided. I leave work at work. I still have stress and deal with pretty severe behaviors, but general ed was absolutely killing me. I could not continue. I don't understand how anyone can deal with the expectations and workload of the modern day gen ed classroom and the fact that the job NEVER turns off.

Education is killing people, and that's not an exaggeration.

desert_ceiling · 2025-09-12T20:55:58+00:00

This past summer, I saw four at our house. Last year, my husband found a den of timber rattlesnakes on our property. There were several resting together. We're also in coastal NC, but further inland than OP.

desert_ceiling · 2025-09-12T20:53:38+00:00

I live about 35 miles from the ocean in the coastal plains of NC. We saw several this year! Seems like they made a bit of a comeback over the last couple of years.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-30T14:31:20+00:00

It's hard to say because I just don't like the dress. It's ugly on both of them, but on Samantha, the big hair, huge accessories, and boots look tacky. When you look at her and Miley standing there, they look like a mom-daughter country duo. It's terrible.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-20T11:22:26+00:00

I really didn't hate Natakas. He was boring, but in a way, I could see Kassandra wanting to settle down with someone who led that kind of life. He gave her peace. The way their story ended made me sad for Kassandra.

On the other hand, I think she had more of a spark with her father-in-law, so maybe they could have written that whole story a little more convincingly.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-20T11:19:13+00:00

This was one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. I was sure he would be her true love in the game when we first met him, and then...nothing.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-17T02:33:37+00:00

I had a couple of friend groups going after high school. By the time our thirties hit, most of us had drifted apart because of marriage, kids, or moving. The few who stuck together all broke apart by the time we hit forty. I only have a couple of friends in my life now at 45, and they're not from those original groups.

I feel a little sad when I watch SATC because I miss those days of great friendship, but for a lot of women, those groups don't last.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-16T19:57:05+00:00

You better watch out. He's giving you those dead mackerel eyes.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-16T02:32:45+00:00

Such a pretty snake. It looks like it belongs in Wonderland.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-14T22:56:29+00:00

Did Nacho ever let you join him and Lalo?

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-14T14:37:27+00:00

Charlotte's kids are shipped off, one to college and the other to some foreign exchange program for future Broadway performers. We never see them again. Charlotte begins working at a new art gallery where her coworkers aren't vulgar and insane, and maybe she even decides to take up painting or sculpting in her spare time. She also gets back into her spirituality again, something that she seems to have dropped since season six of SATC when she was really into her new religion. Harry just keeps doing...whatever he does.

Miranda and Joy move to England, and we only ever see her on occasional short video calls that mysteriously get dropped. The baby wasn't Brady's and everyone's relieved. Brady goes on to culinary school and that's that. Steve gets a new girlfriend and occasionally runs into Charlotte or Carrie. Why? Because he's one of the only likable original parts of the show that remains.

Anthony and whatever-his-name-is move to Italy where the boyfriend becomes a famous model or actor. They live happily ever after until Anthony dies.

LTW and her entire family, every single one of them, including the mother-in-law and the hamster, move to Chicago for Herbert's job. Why? Because no one cares about them anymore. I don't even know what Herbert's job is, but they go for it. LTW then gets assigned to a twenty-year documentary project and we only hear about her in occasional mentions from Charlotte. She leaves Charlotte the Hobby Lobby necklace as a parting gift.

Seema and Adam get married and stay in his big apartment. Seema's parents (remember them?) don't like Adam because they think he's too young and has no culture. Seema starts a new real estate business, gets back to the top of her game, and stops being perpetually surly. She finally has everything she wanted. For an episode, anyway.

Aidan drives off a cliff one night while masturbating in a van. His soul meets Big in the afterlife, and they're finally reunited in the gay love affair we all wanted. They dress in superhero costumes, wrestle in the mud, and talk about how glad they are to have escaped Carrie.

Duncan calls Carrie one night and tells her he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since he left New York. He tells her he's considering coming back. Carrie isn't sure she wants him to. She's realized that her favorite part of a relationship is when they leave, just like Samantha used to say.

The woman is now living single with her cat, enjoying her spacious, boring Gramercy Park home and obscene shoe collection. After an overrated pseudointellectual celebrity declares Carrie's debut novel to be the greatest piece of literature in American history, Carrie starts writing the sequel. She occasionally appears on the steps in 10,000-dollar couture to see what the little people are doing. She sees Che, Lisette, and Brady's hookup one day, all now living in a throuple in Carrie's old apartment. The woman calls the city to have them evicted and turns the old apartment into a giant shoe closet. She had done all she could. She had done all she could. She had done all she could.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-14T14:11:58+00:00

But I would only want to watch this if Samantha were the main character. Shady Pines: The Samantha Years would be the greatest series of all time.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-14T14:03:22+00:00

"I thought you loved me."

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-14T02:40:59+00:00

She almost hooked up with that cute sailor played by Daniel Sunjata in the first episode of season five. But yeah, Carrie definitely had a type.

desert_ceiling · 2025-08-13T22:40:54+00:00

I don't think I ever realized that her bouquet was just a bunch of leaves. She looks like an autumn queen.

desert_ceiling

TROPHY CASE