hi, i'm eighteen years old.
my doctor told me once that i might have had anemia because the blood in my eyes was very pink.
i think i just hadn't had any meat in a few days.
when i went back for another check up, she checked again and said everything looked fine and i didn't have to go for testing.

this was a few years ago and i haven't had any problems since.

now, the past few days i've been really really tired. when i say tired, i mean i've been sleeping all day. i've also been getting winded walking to class, and my heart has been pounding in my chest. i also missed my period. i was worried that i'm pregnant, but tonight i had two nosebleeds and i've never had a nosebleed since i was a little kid.

it just occured to me that i think these might be side effects of anemia. it makes sense, because i'm at college now and rarely eat anything with iron.. because well, i don't trust the meat or fish in my cafeteria. i stick to mainly pasta, chicken, salad, sandwiches.. etc. nothing with sufficient amounts of iron in it. i'll usually drink water or iced tea, occasionally milk if i'm having cereal.

what are the side effects of iron deficiency anemia, and do you think i should get myself checked out?

I had lots of dr who made statements without any evidence. Your dr's statement on how he suspects you have anemia is a little strange.

Poor eating, stress and/or an underlying disease can certainly bring on fatigue and other symptoms.

Have the dr run a cbc and a chem 24.

For anemia have him run at the least a serum ferritin and transferrin

also, serum b12 and folate.

Have him check your thyroid - TSH, free t4, free t3

Since you missed your period, ask for reproductive endocrinology tests

There is no diagnosis without these tests, no matter what the dr says. Don't go in for the "take some iron pills". TEchnically, a dr is not supposed to treat anemia, if indeed it is, until he has diagnosed the cause for the anemia. If it is dietary related, you can easily in most cases bring up your iron or b12 with supplements as directed by dr.

The first thing I would do... buy an EPT... nosebleeds don't rule out pregnancy... ;)

Best of luck to you!