Iron level of 109

[TheOrigRights]

I tried to donate blood yesterday, but as they found my iron level was 109 g/L I was unable to and have been told to wait a year before trying again.

The leaflet they gave me advised me to see my GP.
I've been unable to donate in the past due to low iron, but only had to wait 3 months before trying again so the level must not have been so low.

I am in good health, and I understand the donor service's lower level to donate is higher than the clinical def of low iron; I think my normal is just to be on the border.

During pregnancy it was quite low but as I was determined to give birth in the MLU I really worked on boosting it - and succeeded (but in the end the MLU was full and DS2 was so quick and straight forward it all ended up OK).

I am disinclined to do a GP online thingy as I think I can boost my levels by diet and a bottle of Floradix, but is there something I'm missing that a GP can do that I can't?

I am 50 and in perimenopause. Periods are a bit more vicious but nothing too dramatic.

109 is fairly low for someone not pregnant. You could definitely try to boost via diet for a few months and then have a blood test to check that your levels have come back up. I would just check in with GP before doing this though as I guess they might want to run some more tests to see if there could be anything affecting your absorption of iron.

You need a Full Blood Count and possibly other tests to check why your hb is low (normal hb for a woman is over 115 g/L). There are other causes for anaemia apart from iron deficiency due to heavy periods and they need to be ruled out. If your Ferritin is low you'll need something stronger than Floridix.
Your GP would probably leave a blood test form for you to collect without you needing an appointment, you could send a note or ask the receptionist to give GP a message.

Thanks both.
I happened to have a phone consultation with my GP for another matter so mentioned the low iron.

Floradix has 7.5mg/10ml. A standard 'dose' is 20ml a day, and he suggested chugging double that and see how I get on.

I found iron tablets upset my stomach when I took them during pregnancy so I'd like to avoid them.

I was quite surprised it was so low as I've been having regular blood tests for another reason over a period of 18 months or so and it was never flagged.

Ask for the results of the blood tests you've been having, and then ask for a full blood count.

My haematology is about 90 and my ferritin is just under 6 and only now are they doing something about it.

Have you had any symptoms of being anaemic? It might be your heavier periods have just tipped you over the edge of "just about ok" to "low".

Definitely get your ferritin levels checked too. My HB is 9.9 but my ferritin levels are less than 5.

I have taken various iron tablets in the past and all of them upset my stomach or made me constipated. I’m currently taking floradix and it’s been absolutely fine.

Surely the doc would have suggested getting my ferritin levels checked if he was concerned?

My periods are not that heavy. Heavier than they used to be, but entirely manageable. Apart from being tired I don't have other symptoms that would be attributed to anaemia, and I think the tiredness is entirely due to lack of sleep.

I would ask the doctor for your latest ferritin levels or for bloods to be taken to include ferritin.

Hb is the amount of iron in your blood and ferritin represents the amount of iron stored away in the ‘stock room’ as it were. If you have low hb, you probably also have low ferritin. Otherwise your body would be getting some iron out of its stock room and putting it in your blood.

GPs will look at your result against the normal clinical range but you can be just within the normal clinical range and still feel like shit. If you’re within the clinical range, the GP won’t be overly concerned but there will still action you can personally take to increase your iron levels to sit more centrally in that range, and feel loads better for it.

Boosting your iron through diet can take 6-12 months. I’ve been on a combination of ferrous fumarate and floradix for 6 months and I’ve managed to get my ferritin from 25 to 50. I feel LOADS better for it. My GP wasn’t at all concerned by my blood results but agreed that taking iron supplements could only help me. The difference it’s made to my quality of life is amazing though.

Surely the doc would have suggested getting my ferritin levels checked if he was concerned?

You'd think, but probably not. It's taken a very very long time for a GP to finally refer me on, only to be told by a consultant "you must feel terrible; we'll do X Y and Z. But we'll give you an iron infusion first".