Anyone know about anaemia?

[crazyhead]

Just found out my ferritin is 4.1 and iron level 101 (I've lost bit of paper from doc so I think it said iron level). How anaemic is this? It said I do have anaemia.

I have ultrasound to check out heavy period cause tomorrow. Am feeling stupid because I've been feeling very brain fogged but I thought it was grief - my mum died last year - but that's not great for ferritin I don't think? Any context much appreciated

[EllenRipley]

Your ferritin itself is extremely low and that's enough to make you feel pretty unwell. I can't tell from your circulating iron how low that is (the healthy range im familiar with is12-14, unless 101 is equivalent to 10.1, you'd need someone more qualified with test ranges to tell you!). Basically once your ferritin reaches zero you're at the very anaemic stage as your circulating iron has nothing to draw on. So you need a good iron supplement, and fast! You'll notice a big improvement once your iron stores replenish... Optimal figure for women is 70. Heavy periods are enough to deplete you, and they might even improve with iron supplementation. I'm sorry for your loss, I'm sure grief won't be helping how you're feeling, but I do hope you feel better X

[AveEldon]

4.1 is very low
101 also not great
they might offer you an iron infusion while they investigate possible causes

[PikachuSayBoo]

Dd has a ferritin of 7 and feels very poorly. She also has low Vit d so im not sure which of her symptoms are Anaemia and which are due to the low Vit d.

She's been taking tsblets for about 7 weeks now and to be honest isn't feeling any better yet. So be prepared it might take a while.

[chattygranny]

It may be different in pregnancy but my DD had similar readings to yours recently, even lower actually. (She's 20 weeks pregnant). After 2 weeks of rest and three iron tablets a day she is beginning to feel better. I hope yours can also be resolved with iron tablets.

[GoldFishFingerz]

Can be linked to celiac as gluten can inhibit absorption. Look at nhs website

[crazyhead]

Thank you for context! I did think ferritin looks poor. In last two years periods have become brutally heavy even despite breastfeeding. They tested for thyroid but no mention of those results not being normal. I feel a bit of a fool as I found out incidentally about this and can see in retrospect I've been struggling. For instance husband has been bringing me tea in bed in morning as I've really struggled to get up, exercise has slipped, brain gone crazy, endless illness I couldn't shake last winter.

I have two young kids, have been renovating house, managing team through work restructure and dealing with grief this year. Nothing unusual but it has given me a shock how I've been pushing health to the back of my mind.

[IsletsOfLangerhans]

Sounds like you are going through the same as me! My haemoglobin levels were 7 last week (can't remember what ferritin was as I was in shock when gp rang!) Like you, I've been having heavy periods and not been keeping track of my health. I got a prescription for iron tablets and have been eating as much iron rich food as possible since finding out, but apparently it will take 2-3 months to get back to normal. I also have a ultrasound booked for checking out uterus etc. I'm very cross with myself for letting myself get into this position, but juggling kids and being self employed has taken the forefront over last few years. Hope you feel better soon, it's really shit feeling so tired and crap all the time :(

[crazyhead]

I hope you get well soon Islet. I suspect it is a common scenario but you do feel foolish don't you? But sometimes you almost expect to feel tired and disorientated.

[midcenturymodern]

My ferritin is 4 too. I am waiting for my ultrasound appointment to come through. I found out by accident (Blood donation) and the dr said 'but don't you feel awful?' and I was thinking 'doesn't everyone?'. Apparently they don't!
I've been on fumarate for 12 weeks but I honestly don't feel any better and everytime I get my period I'm back to square 1.

[crazyhead]

I think I'm going to try the mirena coil for that reason midcenturymodern. I didn't realise how heavy my periods were till the docs told me.

I've had iron for two weeks now and I do think my memory is improving I was starting to feel as though I must have dementia or something. I still only found out by accident though

[Purplebluebird]

I used to have anaemia with levels of around 1 when I had anorexia + heavy periods at the same time. It was not very pleasant! The tablets really helped though, as did starting the pill (helped the periods a lot) and eventually eating food as well. I would pass out in the shower, and if I stood up too fast from sitting or lying down. I hope they can help you, it's really horrible :(

[lazydog]

Definitely do something to address the heavy periods. I was taking 3x ferrous fumarate tablets per day, but until I stopped having really heavy periods, the tablets only really stopped my levels from dropping further, but weren't actually enough to raise my stores at any decent rate.

Now I'm back to having my period each month again and it's actually nowhere near as bad as it was. I hadn't realised there was a known association between severe anaemia and heavy periods. I mean, I knew that heavy periods cause anaemia, but I had no idea that anaemia caused already heavy periods to worsen!!

[midcenturymodern]

I had no idea that anaemia caused already heavy periods to worsen!!

Me neither. How can that be a reasonable body response?

I did go on the combined pill for a bit but I came off because I'm over 40 with a family history of breast cancer. I'm considering mirena but I want to wait until I've have my ultrasound. Does anyone know if mirena is more likely to stop your periods than the progesterone only pill?

[Purplebluebird]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it is midcentury. At least that is my experience + what 2 different GPs have told me :)

[crazyhead]

Mirena (so the gynae tells me) is a common treatment for heavy periods but doesn't work for everyone. Can take a few months to work. Am now considering whether I push for iron infusion too, in case I struggle to bring up levels in the meantime

[IsletsOfLangerhans]

How are you feeling crazyhead? I've been taking the tablets for a week now and really going for it with iron-rich foods. I do feel a slight improvement energywise. Still getting the pounding heart and breathlessness - just not as frequent. Dreading my period next week though....

[crazyhead]

I think I'm feeling better IsletsofLangerhans. I've been on the tabs for three weeks now. I'm going to get another blood test in a month to six weeks, I reckon. I was given transexamic (sp?) acid for my period, and I had it this week and it MASSIVELY reduced the bleed - is that worth asking your GP about? You take it for four days max during your period and it really cuts the bleeding. It might not be a long term solution but for a few months, it could really help. So depressing bleeding heavily while you are trying to get your iron up.

[IsletsOfLangerhans]

That's good to hear. I've felt a lot better the last 3-4 days too. My period has kicked in today so fingers crossed it won't set me back too much. I'll ask gp about the trans acid but we've also discussed the mirena coil as an option. All depends on my scan results - having it done next week, so should know if fibroids or something else is causing the excessive bleeding.

[IsletsOfLangerhans]

I've always known I've had heavy periods, but have been using my moon cup to measure actual loss this time (yuk, but necessary). I've so far lost 75 mls in 36 hours, so think I can definitely be classed as excessive and can also see why I've ended up in this situation! I will pass on info to gp when I go next week - think I need to get something done about it ASAP!