Iron, Steroids and still not better...

I did see some benefits, but I was still on a ton of pharmaceuticals, which now included a Mercaptopurine.  This cancer fighting pill was supposed to suppress the immune system and I had to get blood drawn regularly as to keep an eye on my white blood cell count since it could be negatively affected.  Over the past few years I had lost a ton of blood and had become very anemic.  My hemoglobin count was down to a 7, which was far from the average 13 count.  I started seeing a hematologist, who insisted on red cell boosting shots coupled with iron infusions to help bring me back to life.  I was beyond fatigued at this point and the iron would help with my lack of energy.  Talk about eye opening…I sat for several Fridays in a row at an oncologist’s office taking iron intravenously alongside a slew of cancer patients with their chemo drips.  I was the odd ball there…a twenty-something with a different colored serum in my IV bag.  Lastly, I was constantly nauseous.  I imagine it was from all of the drugs, but I would even wake up in the middle of the night to dry heave.  Anti-nausea medicine never helped and I couldn’t fathom adding another pill or two to my repertoire.  Work was beyond difficult.  I spent the majority of the day in the ladies room.  I had an amazing boss at the time that thankfully understood and didn’t fire me through all of this.  I should have taken a leave of absence but was so deadest on moving up the corporate ladder that I forged ahead.  Looking back, my career was the high point of my life and I didn’t want to ruin that too so I pushed myself and barely took any sick time.  Oh and I almost forgot…the fissures.  If you have never heard of these, then you should consider that hemorrhoids are a walk in the park compared to such.  Fissures are small tears in the anus which I am sure were created by my constant bathroom use.  And the fix…you guessed it…steroids, in the form of a suppository.  Fun times!