Nicky, Training, and Anemia.

Not everything that glitters is gold. What looks great on the outside, could be lacking on the inside. 

I am anemic. At my best I feel that I can conquer the world. At my worst, I feel like I'm so tired and low in energy I could cry. Weirdly enough people don’t look at athletes and think deficiency, or lack thereof, but like I mentioned earlier not everything that glitters is gold. 

I’ve been anemic for the past 3 years. Weirdly, when I first started tackling the low energy thing, it wasn’t a big issue. We (My team and I) were in Colorado Springs at the Olympic and Paralympic training site getting testing done. We do everything from bone density, to fitness, to flexibility, and of course practice. There's a part of testing that I HATE THE MOST, which is blood testing, and of course that's where the news sprung up about my energy issue stemming from low iron. I didn’t think much of it because in my mind, when it's time for practice or to compete, all of my cylinders are firing at 100%. News was spread to staff, and I was put on a supplement to help me get to a level that was acceptable. That's when the roller coaster started. 

Raise your hand if iron supplements are just a NO for your  stomach. *insert hand raising emoji*. Words cannot describe the feeling I have for iron pills. I do know that I was taking more than one, which definitely can cause some gut issues, but in my case it was more than that. I cramped terribly, and although I could be hungry, I wouldn’t eat because of the pain. I would wake up bloated, and feel sick. We did mess around trying to split up when I took them, and how I took them, which eventually did help, but still nothing really sat right with my tummy. 

Year two came around, and my iron was still low. I was still on supplements, and some days (my mother as my witness) I could literally sleep ALL DAY. Insane right? I legit could not and still at times do not understand. My will to play volleyball and progress and perfect my craft was and still is enough for me to get up and get the job done, but you could pretty much find me working for my bed for the rest of the day. Same routine. Same Supps. Same frustration. 

Now, it’s year 3. I am confident in saying that I am looking at this situation differently. I changed the way I fuel my body (lifestyle change), I changed my outlook on being the best which includes more than just training and playing, and I’m taking full responsibility for what I can control...part of that is thanks to my mom. 

This past January, pre covid, we were set to go in and do our testing per usual. My mother INSISTED that I get an iron transfusion. Ok, so off the bat I’m gonna be honest and say when she said this I was like huh? My aunts, including my mother, all have a history of having very low iron. So much so, they would get shots every couple of months when they were teens. She told me that this existed, and that I needed to really look after my health and insist on one if my iron levels were dangerously low. So, naturally, I did what I was told. I spoke about it with our nutritionist, our staff member who deals directly with us and our results at the center, and the doctor who was set to take care of me. I was told that if it were still low, and the doctor agreed, they would move ahead with it. And guess what? It was dangerously low. So low I got an entire speech from the doctor at my appointment that supplements would not be enough to raise my levels with how low it was. So low that I was two points shy of when he recommends a blood transfusion. So low that this should have been done a year ago when my results came back. Welp, mommy was right. I’m glad she pushed me in the direction to get it done. The next day, I was in a cold room with other patients needing treatment intravenously, scared, and excited that I was on the road to recovery, better yet, road to more ENERGY! 

Picture taken from @organicallynicolet instagram.

Sadly because of Covid, the plans for two more transfusions have been put on hold, but I’m still taking charge of my health. I eat more dark leafy greens every day, for two meals a day. I include it in my shakes, and in my breakfast. I eat more fish and meat, and when possible cook it on a cast iron skillet. I still take my supplements, but what has helped significantly while I’m in limbo waiting for the go ahead, is this liquid iron supplement by the name of SSS Tonic. HOLY GRAIL. Scrolling through instagram, looking at hair tips for natural hair, a girl by the name of @organicallynicolet. She had mentioned how low iron also has an effect on hair, and that was the sentiment that stood out to me. It has iron and b12, and after about a week of taking it, I could notice a significant difference. No, I wasn’t doing backflips throughout the living room, but I could complete tasks that required a greater energy output one after the other without feeling burnt out. And guess what? My mom took this when she was young too! Lol. I will say that because of drug testing, although it doesn’t show up in our forbidden list, it doesn't show up in approved either so I do switch back and forth between my iron pills. 

At the end of the day I’m just trying to get my body to where it needs to be, and that includes my iron. When you look at other people, including fitness people or athletes, don’t wish that you were there or that you had their body. Yea it might look nice, but not everything that glitters is gold. My biggest thing that I’ve learned and that I’m still learning is to focus on me. I want to be healthy from the inside out, and when I’m taking care of my body, the rest will come. Being your best you doesn’t only include looking nice and being fit, it also includes taking care of your health and your body. You only get one. 

xo.