I was at a baby shower a few weeks ago, and my friend, Natalie, mentioned that she couldn’t have any of the food because she was starting the prep for an upcoming colonoscopy. Natalie is only 34, so I was surprised she was getting a colonoscopy. My friend, Jessica, was also surprised and asked Natalie why she was getting one more than 10 years before the recommended colorectal screening age.
Natalie said that she had been having some weird symptoms, and that the doctor had suggested a colonoscopy. She went on to say that the primary symptoms in question were low iron levels and irregular menstruation, basically she just wasn’t getting a period. She said that the doctor said that it could be something serious.
Now, I am not sure if any of you know anything about female athletes. But, some of the classic symptoms of overtraining are low iron levels and irregular menstruation. So, without hesitating or thinking, I looked at Natalie and said, “Does your doctor know how much you run?” Natalie not only runs every day, she runs several miles per day. She does a long run of more than 10 miles almost every weekend. She has done at least 4 or 5 marathons in the one year I have known her. She is a near textbook case of the exact type of woman who ends up with low iron levels.
I said so much, which was not problematic. She said that she had never mentioned her running to her doctor and kind of brushed it off in a way that made me think that not only had she not, but also that she probably was not going to. Sharing my opinion with her once was not behaviorally nor spiritually problematic, but what followed was.
Over the next 48 hours, I thought about the fact that she was probably not going to tell her doctor at least 20 more times. In my head, I compared it to an alcoholic wondering why they are having liver problems but not wanting to tell their doctor that they are drinking every day. It was taking up some pretty serious space in my head.
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