Please help concerns with Alpha thalassemia trait

Hello,

I have been going through so much since I have been told I possibly have alpha thalassemia trait, my hemoglobin has been pretty low at 8.9 from last blood work, but what confuses me is I'm telling my Dr that sometimes I feel foggy headed- and from that symptom it makes me panic because I am not sure what it is, the Dr tells me it's an anxiety attack, and has nothing to do with the anemia, sometimes my heart races as well, in which I am being told this is all anxiety, I do feel like after my symptoms come i do make myself have a panic attack, but I'm not sure where the symptoms are starting from. Any how I have been given a prescription for anti depressants, I am looking for advice from others with the same condition as me- should I take the anti depressant medication?

My gut reaction would be not to take the anti-depressants, although I am not medically qualified and you need to seek several opinions.

In my teens I had considerable problems with 'depression' and was given Prozac and other drugs which didn't make me feel much better but sort-of controlled the symptoms.

Those were the bad old days before I was practising yoga and finding other strategies to energise my breath.

I can relate to the symptoms you have described as lately I have been dizzy, foggy headed and in some cases (walking in high mountains on a steep path) having panic attacks. However, I no longer believe that I suffer from depression and think that a lot of these symptoms are related to the thalassemia trait.

Personally I wouldn't go near anti-depressants again, but it depends whether you are finding life unworkable without them. I would highly recommend trying yoga instead.

Gemini,

Before going the drug route, are you taking  folate, and if so, what dose? And, has your vitamin D been tested? Low D exacerbates all the other problems of thal minor. Has your Hb been low throughout your life? Folate can help raise Hb in alpha thals if the dose is high enough.

As far as your symptoms, Hb <9 will certainly make you light headed and make your heart work harder. I know if it happened to me it would cause anxiety. Ask your doctor to try living with Hb of 9 and see how he does. I gained a great respect for the problems of thals after blood loss during surgery left me at Hb 8. Believe me, no non thal would consider it acceptable.