Sunday, October 25, 2009

Anaemia, exhaustion or... caffeine withdrawal?

I tried to go to the gym today.  I say tried because it was a poor excuse for a workout.  I managed about 5 minutes on the treadmill and 5 minutes on the cross trainer, when I should be doing 10 minutes and 20 minutes respectively.  It was quite pathetic.  Even the weights felt harder than usual.  I stomped home feeling fat and useless. 

I know I’m always tired, but I’ve been feeling extra tired for about a week – since I gave blood.  So could the tiredness be because they took too much?  It’s always difficult for me to give blood for some reason, then never get more than half a pint and then have to put the blood pressure cuff on extra high to get more blood.  So maybe I don’t have enough blood?  Or am I anaemic?  The test at the blood bank said my iron was normal. 

Of course I could still be under the influence of the new medication.  I saw the doctor (now on my 6th doctor, and the only one I liked was the locum, the others are all rubbish) on Friday and they said with such a large dose it can take 6-8 weeks before the side effects wear off and I notice any difference.  So I could still be wiped out from that. 

On the way home from the gym I got a headache.  A familiar headache.  Uhoh.  I realised that I didn’t have any caffeine today.  So, with my caffeine headache I stomped home and wondered, could lack of caffeine leave me feeling so tired and useless that I couldn’t even do 50% of my usual workout?  I’ve had a week off the gym and running, but that’s not enough to make me that unfit, surely?

Or, I do have enough blood, but I don’t eat enough protein to replace the lost blood, because you need protein to grow new blood don’t you?  (Showing my ignorance here – I never listened in biology class.)  Well, just in case I came home and had some extra protein in the form of a tin of beans in my ’Nigella Express‘ minestrone (yum yum) and then half a bowl of Special K with milk (because milk has protein); the cat ate the other half when I recklessly abandoned my bowl. 

All possible causes, all equally annoying.  I texted Houseboy and he said not to beat myself up and that as long as I managed 6 minutes on each tomorrow then it would be ok.  I guess he’s right.  I am still living with ridiculously high expectations of myself.  Boo hiss!

Watching Ray Mears and wondering if he’s married… is that wrong?

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