Ferritin 4, Iron 9.4

[minifingerz]

Peed off to find out that my ferritin levels are so low again. I'm knackered. All the GP is suggesting is iron tablets, which really give me a stomach upset (all of them - ferrous gluconate, ferrous sulphate, ferrous fumerate)

Has anyone managed to get their ferritin and iron up without iron tablets? Please share!

[coffeemaker5]

that is awfully low esp the ferritin. I only aber got them up with 3x daily Ferrous sulphate (no side effects).

If it is that low, is an iron transfusion an option?

[SheldonsSpot]

Ask about iron injections.

[crazyhead]

See my thread above - ferritin 4 iron count 101 which is similar. Iron injections plus spatone? But I wouldn't attempt food alone as those stores clearly need work

[minifingerz]

Thanks all

I asked about iron infusions and was told 'we don't do that'.

Ok

[giantcar]

You need ferrograd slow release. That will not give you an upset tummy. I can't tolerate any other iron but can tolerate this happily.

[EreniTheFrog]

Impossible my arse. In which case, yes, I obviously imagined it along with you. Anaemia feels dreadful .

I'm afraid though that I never managed to get my hb or ferritin up without the tablets. But cutting out tea and coffee (sob) and limiting wheat and dairy (sniff) did help, as did lots of pulses, dried fruit and green veg (vegetarian).

[lazydog]

Watch out with the slow release iron tablets. Yes, they'll reduce side effects, but that's simply because you get so little of the iron they contain because they've passed through the first part of the small intestine (the only part that absorbs iron) before the majority of it is released. The BNF advises against their use.

Same as DaughterDrowningInJunk here. Biggest overall improvement was by taking hormonal contraception to stop my periods. I'd run 3 packs of the 21 day combined pill together and then allow a week's break, before repeating. Made a huge difference. I was still taking my ferrous fumarate tablets, but until I stopped having really heavy periods (every 23-25 days, and lasting 7 or 8 days!) the tablets only stopped my levels from dropping further, but weren't enough to raise my stores.

[Backingvocals]

Agreeing with pps. Struggled to get ferritin into double figures for years and then had the mirena. That plus supplements fixed it. Supplements alone could not.

[PinkSwimGoggles]

iron deficiency is a symptom.
you need to find out where it comes from.
and then you need to treat both the deficiency by supplementing and also treating whatever is the cause.

[Imstickingwiththisone]

OP my hb was 80 and I really hated the Ferris sulphate tablets so started taking Spatone as has been mentioned here. After 4 weeks it only went up to 90 so my GP spoke with pharmacist who said that top dose isnt strong enough for treating anaemia (the packaging alone is very ambiguous so my GP was unable to draw this conclusion alone). I was happy to try something else as Spatone isn't prescribed near me so it was expensive and I hated the taste.

Gp prescribed me with Sytron which is liquid Sodium Federetate and my HB went up to 104 after 2 weeks and will hopefully continue to improve.

I hated the tablets as I suffer with chronic constipation which was exacerbated by early pregnancy, and the tablets just made it even worse it was horrible. Sytron actually makes you looser (sorry tmi!) which for me is great. I now poo like a normal person and have more energy because if the iron!

[lborgia]

I've just been for an iron infusion (weirdest smug boast ever), but I'm not in the UK.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that doctors training is impacted by money. Ie, anything deemed non essential is not paid for in the UK, anywhere where there is heavy involvement of insurance companies/billing, different clinical conclusion. So I was told similar in uk. Here in Oz, i saw a haematologist, who said a ferritin of 6 counts shows "non-anaemi iron deficiency" and sent me downstairs for an infusion. Feeling tons better 6 weeks later.

She also said that i shouldn't bother taking supplements given my gastro history of gluten free, dairy free, lack of vit absorption (malabsorption?), so that may be an issue for you too. Have exhausted all period stopping options so expect an infusion once/twice per year until meno.

No idea if that helps our annoys.

From the RCPA:

"Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, with anaemia only one part of the clinical spectrum.
It is now recognised that deficiency without overt anaemia is common, and can adversely affect growth, cognitive performance and behaviour in children and
adolescents. It can also reduce immunity to infections, and decrease work capacity and performance in all age groups. "


Also,


patient.info/doctor/non-anaemic-iron-deficiency