Another key is to sleep/rest/take a muscle relaxant prescribed by your doctor. Your mind will help your body and worry is hard to escape, but do it.
I'm still researching soy protein and B12, trying hard I try not to think about a pretty, fluffy sweet-faced cow, but for now, sadly -- moo. Have to keep red blood cells and hematocrit levels up.
Me'n'mo always tended toward the healthy stuff (You'd love my mom if you knew her. She's hilarious and will dance around the house with her hair stuck up like a Troll doll if it'll make you laugh), but she's grown oh-so attached to Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia in the past few months. I give her The Look, but can you freakin' blame her? And because I love her so, I will find some nutritional value in it for her. Let's tell her "calcium" and "antioxidants" from the cherries, okay? Plus, benefit: It's the lowfat variety of Ben and Jerry's, and you can't tell a difference until the myocardial infarction comes one day from the whole milk variety. So Just Say No to that because, hey, I care about ya. But MAN, Ben and Jerry's...you are just TOO GOOD.
Anyway, here's more positive, solid info I have found on nutrition, plus. Note I have yet to ask these people for permission to reprint this, so if anybody would like me to remove any of it, just email me and let me know. But I value your opinions on the information you're giving -- you are helping people with your experience, so I'm passing it along.
And, this particularly brave woman named Shelley is sharing her experience not with ITP but with HIV. She is bringing up a topic I desperately needed to share -- tell your doctor everything that is going on with your body. It changes sometimes from hour-to-hour, but Remember: Do Not Panic/It's Part of It. And, you might be helping someone down the road with this info.
A couple of days ago, with my aplastic anemia/ITP, I thought I had developed petechiae which freaked me out so bad, the doctor wanted me in the office right then. I bit the proverbial bullet and gave it two days with knotted cramps in my hands and feet, and my skin slowly turned into (my apologies in advance) cotto salami (ew-hew-hew, sorry, but be glad I won't post pics -- usually I'm that "oh man, you reallllly need a tan, girl" white shade); however, after the second day (and two Valium ;), I learned it was serum sickness. You do not want this, but it can be corrected with steroids, so go to the doctor. He even called other doctors in to look at me because it's not something they see a lot. I'll tell a kinda funny story on itpwtf.com about it. But anyway, check out the info I found at thebody.com.
Read up on her (unlike mine) complete and concise article here, but I have pulled out her nutritional notes posted below in italics. She's also experiencing some side effects I am not, but it is good to know. Whatever your health, get out there and eat your cleaned leafy veggies, and treat yourself to a little Cherry Garcia afterwards. What the hell. Enjoy!
Eating Right
First, I have learned about some of the foods that contain these vitamins. B-12 (cobalamin) is found in meat, fish, shellfish, poultry and to a lesser degree milk. If you are a vegetarian suffering from anemia you may need to research other food sources of B-12. Folic Acid (folacin) is found in Brewer's Yeast, spinach, asparagus, dark leafy greens, lima beans and even beef liver.
To help coordinate your meds with a healthy diet write out your typical activity schedule, including times you take meds and eat meals. Write out everything you eat in a 24-hr period. This will help you see what you eat and if you are getting enough foods that contain needed vitamins and nutrients. Part of a good diet includes plenty of protein- and nutrient-rich foods.
It's not always easy to eat when suffering fatigue and loss of appetite. Absorption can be compromised when the ability or desire to prepare and eat food is reduced by fatigue, pain or depression. This can then play a negative role in getting the proper balance of needed vitamins.
Solutions
If you have a poor energy level, some solutions are: eat small frequent meals; keep easy-to-prepare or ready-made foods available; prepare and freeze extra foods when energy levels are higher; keep a chair in the kitchen and sit down while preparing meals; increase activity and exercise when possible*. If your appetite is poor: eat nutrient-dense foods and avoid high-fat "nutrient-empty" foods, avoid lying down flat after eating; drink liquids after meals not during.
Many of us know about the B.R.A.T. diet to combat diarrhea; eat soluble fibers like bananas, white rice, apple sauce and toast (B.R.A.T.) and avoid insoluble fibers like corn, nuts, raw fruits and veggies with skins on. Following these tips may help you overcome problems of fatigue that would interfere with your new diet plan.
The bottom-line is that anemia may be caused by numerous factors, most of which are out of our control. Proper nutrition and vitamin supplementation of B-12 and folic acid are within our control. It's nice to have the power to aid our own quest for good health. Talk to your doctors, seek out a registered dietitian familiar with HIV/AIDS and learn all you can on your own. Be your own #1 advocate for good health. You can make a difference. Below are a few sources for more information on Anemia, Fatigue and the role of good Nutrition.
*Me, I broke a sweat today filling up the birdfeeders in the backyard but man, go for it!
also, ps from me: In my case, as may be in yours, I take whopping doses of iron supplements for my anemia which (let's just be honest here, we're friends, right) have the ability to lock you up tighter than Fort Knox. So, your body will love you so much if you find a nice cereal as I did called Kellogg's All-Bran Complete and munch it as a snack. It's good -- no, really. And Fiber One bars. Yum. Oh, and something tells me you can throw a lucky oatmeal cookie in there, too, too. Ya know, ya gotta have a quality cookie, dude! Just leave out the walnuts.
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