Leanne,
The first thing you should do is get your vitamin D level checked, as deficiency is extremely common and deficiency exacerbates the symptoms of thal minor. Your level should be a minimum of 30, with the understanding that optimal is at least 50. Your doctors will of course say thal minor has no symptoms, which is rather silly considering the thousands of thal minors who have reported similar symptoms here and at other thalassemia forums. Thal minor has real symptoms. There really isn't much doctors can do anyway. It results in an anemia that can't be treated with iron and there is no med that will raise Hb, and low Hb is only part of the problem. You have one beta globin gene that has a defect or deletion and it produces little to no beta globin, which along with alpha globin form hemoglobin, so without an adequate amount of beta globin, you can't produce a normal Hb level. Instead small, pale misshaped red cells are formed along with the good ones produced because you do have one normally working beta gene. The weak RBC's break down more quickly, leaking hemoglobin and cell parts into the blood. In addition, your body produces alpha globin normally, so you have an imbalance between the two globins, leaving excess alpha chains which combine together to form tetramers that like the bad RBC's cause oxidative damage throughout the body. This is the other, often ignored side of thalassemia, but it causes or contributes to many of the problems thals will have. I believe that the best thing a thal minor can do is change their diets and nutrition so that the components of blood cells are comsumed and plenty of antioxidants are also used to counter the damage being done by the constant oxidative processes at work. Please look over the post at
http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriends.com/index.php/topic,4890.msg46774.html#msg46774You will learn much about what you can do to help yourself feel better and be in better health. When you look at food, think nutrition and antioxidants and include antioxidant supplements as part of your regimen. Folic acid and B complex are important components of RBC's. Thals have a higher than normal need for many nutrients and they need to be replenished. Minors who do follow a good supplement program and get at least some mild exercise regularly, do improve. There is nothing that will make you feel completely normal, but you can do much for yourself without the use of meds. This approach does take time, but the alternative is to do nothing. Some other basic tips are pace yourself and catch a nap whenever you can. You're dealing with chronic anemia and you don't have the same oxygen supply as non-thals. You have trouble keeping up because of a real health issue, so don't compare yourself to those who don't have this problem. We hear from so many people who express the same thoughts and it really does help knowing that it's a real thing that limits your physical activity.