Clawed

Several years ago I was feeling tired; I had all the symptoms of Geritol's "Tired Blood." Went to the doc. He tested, etc. sent me for more tests and sent me home. Days later his receptionist called and said he wanted me to get an MRI! They had already made the appointment and I was to get right over there. WTF? No other details at all! So I hustle over to the big magnet and asked the girl there what were we filming today? She said my skull. WTF? So what are you looking for? Can't say, doc will tell me in the fulness of time. So , yeah, I'm going to calmly wait several days for the quack to fit me into his golf schedule. Called him, beat my way through several layers of his janisaries, finally got him, asked him WTF?...loudly. He says brain cancer. WTF? Seems when I said I was tired the first thing through his mind was cancer of the pituitary gland, at the base of the brain, which may cause low testosterone. Not to worry, he says, they can operate through the nose, snatch that little booger right out of there, no problem.

Now, I am but a humble zoologist, retired, but I know that there are other causes of tiredness, low HbG, even low testosterone, than brain (pituitary) cancer. Old age comes to mind. I insisted we look at all the horses first before we get into the zebras. He had me rub jelly on my belly for a while and confirmed the dreaded low T. Wife hated the side effects. I went out and bought a bike, then another one, moved to Florida, got new doc, quit anointing the belly. All is right with the world (more or less.)

Geritol, along with Lidia Pinkham's and Cardui tonics date back to another century. Their active ingredients were mostly alcohol and opium. You didn't rub them on your belly.

MickeyMaguire

Glad you dumped the snake-oil medicine man. Hope you live a century and ride a few while you're at it.

NealH

+1. Eat a normal diet, a good hamburger on occasion, and you're blood will stay in good shape. Snake oil and hip diets are a waste of money, and health.

sfrank

My mistake about the Centrum. I thought it did have extra iron in it.

big john

You forgot "Oops, I Crapped My Pants".

JohnDThompson 

No, the original target audience for epo was people undergoing chemo and/or radiation treatment for cancer and those in end stage kidney disease whose kidneys no longer produce erythropoietin.

And yes, too much iron in adult men can lead to serious iron toxicity.