Melissa Gorga Says She Gets ‘Very Cloudy’ When Her Anemia Flares Up (Exclusive)

The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star shared that when she’s ready to go to sleep at 8:30 at night, it’s a sign she needs to call her doctor

Melissa Gorga shared an update in her ongoing struggle with anemia, which she says is the “hardest" to manage around the holidays.

“Every day, I can't believe that I'm as anemic as I am,” The Real Housewives of New Jersey star, 45, told PEOPLE exclusively while hosting the annual lighting of Big Santa at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J.

“I take iron every single day. I have to regularly go for my blood work and check everything — especially when I start to feel run down. And this time of year is always the hardest, right? I always say, like, November and December are the busiest months — no matter which way they're my favorite months — but they're also the busiest,” said Gorga, adding that she makes sure to get regular infusions when her iron is too low.

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According to the Mayo Clinic, “Anemia is a problem of not having enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body's tissues. Hemoglobin is a protein found in red cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all other organs in the body. Having anemia can cause tiredness, weakness and shortness of breath.”

Infusions, the Mayo Clinic says, are one way to “increase the levels of iron and hemoglobin in your body.”

Gorga says that, for her, the biggest sign she’s starting to struggle is feeling “cloudy.’

“I'm always on the go, I can feel myself when I'm tired and I know that I just can't keep going. And I'm like, ‘I think I need to call in for some blood work because I feel myself get tired.’ And it's not who I am.”

“I can go from 7 a.m. until two in the morning if I need to," she tells PEOPLE. "And when I can't do that is when I know maybe it's time. I don't really feel fatigued. I just get very, like cloudy. I get very cloudy and I'm just ready to get in the bed at 8:30 at night. And then I call my doctor and sometimes he says, ‘Yep, you’re right on the dot.’ “

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“I’m very careful with it,” she said, adding that after hosting the two-hour holiday event, “I'll make sure I eat steak tonight for dinner.”

The Mayo Clinic recommends “iron-rich foods” like beef and spinach to help prevent anemia from getting worse.

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