#I'm still not over the 'oh you're self medicating' comment and it's been like 6 years

[etlu-yume]

I'm going back over articles I had printed earlier this month for a research folder and trying to zoom through them to make notes for an appointment tomorrow.

I am so. fucking. Tired.

"due to iron loss during menstruation, pregnancy and lactation" "females lose iron during their menstrual periods and during pregnancies"

Like theoretically, I get it. I know the logic is sound.

But it's sure as hell not true in this scenario.

I know from experience that despite my so-called "self medicating" periods, that my iron will rise. They do not magically "save me" from my body doing what it's programmed to do.

I mean, consider it.

If you lose ~1mg of iron over the cycle.

And regular people absorb and lose about 1mg a day.

But people with Haemochromatosis reportedly absorb between 2-4mg a day.

So if for example you absorbed 2mg a day, and you lose 1mg over the whole cycle. If your cycle goes for 5 days, that's 5mg. But with that funky-dunky gene mutation, you've absorbed 10mg during the same time. So you're still going to be up by 5mg. (Unless my maths is wrong.)

If you were absorbing 4mg a day - that would make it 20mg absorbed, and 15 left over once you take out the iron loss from bleeding.

Like am I the only one sitting here looking at the numbers going "uhhhh not so sure about the 'periods are magic they save women from iron overload' thing here guys"?