Anaemia, periods, anxiety

[AgentCooper]

I posted this on General Health, but thought it might be better here. Here goes...

I feel at my wits' end. About 2 months ago, I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia and have been taking ferrous sulphate ever since. I had no idea I was anaemic - went to the doc's as I'd had a massive relapse in anxiety (diagnosed with GAD a few years ago, on 100mg sertraline) and was finding the physical symptoms (shaking, extremes of hot and cold, nausea and vomiting) very hard to cope with. I hadn't had a relapse in a long time and honestly thought I was getting better - there was no real trigger, except that I was on a city holiday and was very tired and a bit stressed. I saw three different doctors before one offered a blood test. The others gave me propranolol which I had taken in the past and felt better, but on this occasion it floored me and made me feel sick and dizzy.

Not long after starting on iron, I began to feel better - less anxious, sleeping better, no sickness, appetite returned, less tired and dizzy. Just last week I had a light period - enough to cause tummy pain but not much blood. Since then, I've been feeling anxious, restless, sick, and this morning I woke up at 4:30

The GP thinks the anaemia was set off by a massive, haemorrhaging period I had back in January and I was basically getting weaker. I had really made big steps with my anxiety before that - stopped smoking (or rather swapped for an e cig), feeling more or less fine, dropped my dosage of sertraline from 200 to 100mg. My periods have been light and infrequent since then but this one last week was the first I've had since starting on iron. Could it be what's caused my setback? Any thoughts would be so much appreciated. I'm going on holiday in a few weeks and really thought I was making progress. If you feel rotten after your period, do you start to feel better again?

[Pennypebbles]

Have you had another blood test to see what your iron levels are up to? It could be that you don't have enough stored to deal with even a light bleed.

I'm on 600mg of ferrous sulphate a day at the moment but my serum ferritin is still undetectable, so I've been referred because I can't seem to absorb the iron. I feel completely anxious and depressed, which is not new for me but the GP seems to think at least part of it is down to the lack of iron.

[AgentCooper]

Thanks for replying Penny and sorry to hear you're having a rough time. I haven't had another test yet but I feel like this must be connected to the bleeding. I kind of hope so because I'd rather that than the anxiety rising up again out of nowhere. I was thinking of calling the GP if things continue to worsen.

I really hope things start to get better for you soon

[Pennypebbles]

You need another test to see what your levels are, I think another appointment is the way to go. Hopefully this will just be a blip and you will start to feel better again soon.

for you too, enjoy your holiday.

[AgentCooper]

Hi Penny, thanks for the good wishes. I just phoned the doctor and she said I should just increase the dose right now and see if it helps. I was only taking one a day and she's asked me to go up to two, three times per day.