To ask if this is an emergency?

You're not a burden for needing assistance with your health - mental health is as real as physical health. If you had a broken leg in a cast and needed help for an hour or two you'd consider that reasonable I'm sure. Consider it the same with your mental health, just because it's not visible doesn't mean it's not there. The behaviour and thoughts you've described on this thread are very concerning and having a face to face chat with someone you know and trust could really help you make sense of it all and feel more "with it".

These symptoms you've mentioned could be anything from stress to a virus. Is there a reason you think they're being caused by low iron or do you perhaps think your health anxiety has made you latch on to the idea as it's a known entity from when you were pregnant? Have the symptoms suddenly gotten much worse for you to act on them on a Saturday evening?

I'd suggest having your friend over for a while tonight and giving the GPs a call on Monday to have a good chat about how you're feeling in every aspect. Take care.

Really???

Pregnancy iron tablets are over 200 mg and you can even get 300 mg ones so 80mg is absolutely fine.

They would no way send an ambulance for 80mg of iron.

And the feeling better after taking one would be psychosomatic. It takes a while to build up a store.

Perhaps the 111 person mistook the situation???

You might end up with a bit of constipation.

Your iron tablet(s) was not the reason you felt instantly better.

If you read the iron protocol it suggests you take your weight in kg and multiply by 5 to get the maximum amount of iron you take in a day, every day. I don't know how much you weigh but for me, I'd have to take 260mg a day. You haven't taken much more than that.

You'll be absolutely fine. Try not to worry.

My iron tablets are 325 mg and over the counter

Does your baby sleep well? I have PPA and I didn’t realise how badly the lack of sleep was affecting me until my youngest started sleeping better. Hope you feel better soon. I would definitely contact your gp on Monday and tell them how your feeling x

I understand where you’re coming from, but if everyone responded positively that an ambulance had been called, there’s a realistic prospect that the OP will read those responses and think that everyone agrees that she’s seriously at risk. How is that going to do anything but send a person with very clearly severe health anxiety into complete panic mode?

I don’t think anyone has responded with the intention of being nasty, but in surprise that one would be sent.

I’ve just gone down a bit of a rabbit hole on this and read a paper published by the niH suggesting they have only been able to locate 2 recorded cases of death from overdose of iron, both in India and the women took 200mg/ kg and 400mg/ kg respectively.

Not disgusting behaviour at all... people are just fed up with our resources being wasted by non-emergencies and people being dumb.

Mental health emergency involving deliberate overdose is every bit as serious as physical. She needs help quickly before she takes further tablets. It's not just the number of pills that's concerning
Iron overdose can definitely be fatal.

I truly do not mean to sound harsh here but OP I suspect the ambulance was being dispatched because you'd called 111 in such acute distress.. because you'd willingly taken a barely therapeutic dose of iron. You decided they were making you feel better.. until you decided they would be fatal.
I hope you can understand how concerning that all sounds - ambulance most likely MH related as callhandler troubled by your decision making especially if you've disclosed you're at home alone with children. Do you feel safe? I think it might be best to have your friend pop round and sit with you for a while.

Oh no! So sorry to read you feel like this. Stress is such a cruel invasion for anyone. I've been there!
Has something (or more than one thing) happened to make you feel like this (a week or so ago)?
Even having a chat to a good friend will help you - as sometimes everything can get overwheming just because. Can you ring anyone now? 🤞

I've had a similar type of anxiety when my children were young too OP. Rational thinking definitely goes out the window.

You're not alone, there are heaps of people out there feeling the same way as you. Finding someone to talk to about it will help. What is your support network like?

No, that's only true for water soluble vitamins.

The people on this thread are disgusting. Op obviously is in a stressful situation and I just think if you have nothing helpful to say don’t bother saying anything. OP has disclosed having health anxiety so whether you think an ambulance is ott or not please keep your opinions to yourself instead of stressing out an already anxious and potentially unwell person.

They didn't, that's not how iron tablets work.

It’s 111 they send an ambulance for a sneeze but not a stroke.

I used to take the Spatone natural iron water supplement which was 5ml sachets. They said one a day for a dose, or two if you are pregnant. I once took 6 in one go and felt nothing (admittedly my ferritin levels were very low - an 11, I think, so i was desperate to feel better.

I know this probably bears no relevance really, as the dose in the Spatone was proportionally lower, but I'm sure as PP have said, you could have an iron infusion and be ok at much higher doses.