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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to request an earlier GP appointment- low ferritin

86 replies

HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:00

Recently had blood tests and though haemoglobin fine MCH, MCHC and ferritin were out of range (below). Ferritin is 12. Had a message from GP for telephone appointment on 22nd May.

Thing is I feel like utter shite. I'm carer to a young child with complex needs and really struggling.

AIBU to request an appointment sooner?

OP posts:
Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 17:46

I think I'll do another online form in the morning asking for a prescription to be sent to the pharmacy while I'm waiting for my appointment. I could cry at having to feel like this for weeks 😭

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Reportingfromwherever · 29/04/2026 17:42

HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 17:41

So ive been to my local pharmacy and they've refused to sell it to me. They asked why I wanted it so I explained and they said as the GP wants to speak to me they weren't happy to sell it Sad

Just go to another pharmacy. I buy it all the time and I’m never asked about it. If I was, I’d just say the doctor told me to take it.

Reportingfromwherever · 29/04/2026 17:42

My ferritin level was the same and I was prescribed ferrous sulphate. When I went to get the prescription the pharmacist told me to buy it over the counter as it is exactly the same strength, just cheaper. You don’t need to wait for the appointment to do that.

Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 17:41

So ive been to my local pharmacy and they've refused to sell it to me. They asked why I wanted it so I explained and they said as the GP wants to speak to me they weren't happy to sell it Sad

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Jopo12 · 29/04/2026 17:29

HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:28

I'm not sure that you can buy iron supplements in the strength that the GP would prescribe? I guess it might be worth seeing a pharmacist. I'm getting regular heart palpitations of over 150bpm at rest, have a constant headache and just generally feel exhausted 😩

Show quote history

You can, it's called ferrous fumarate and you can buy in Amazon.
But they might upset your stomach, and cause constipation or diarrhoea.

You can also try iron bisglycinate which I'm taking now and it's easier on the stomach. Make sure you buy lab certified supplements

TheBlueKoala · 29/04/2026 17:28

@HariboFrenzy Buy ferrous bisglycinate; they will tell you in pharmacies (you can look it up online as well) that it's the "best"; tummy friendly and the one that the body absorbs the most easily.

DeathByKPI · 29/04/2026 17:26

HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:57

@DeathByKPI yes low haemoglobin is (or can be) very serious. I hope your daughter is doing better now

She isn’t really but thanks a lot for your thoughts. I think you need them to investigate your SVT more thoroughly. If you are just getting it sporadically, it is likely not to be the anaemia and probably your heart playing up again?

WittyStork · 29/04/2026 17:21

I have this issue routinely after any kind of bleed so I’ve just started going to the pharmacy instead of letting it get dangerous while waiting for GP.

So iron and ferritin is not the same thing but one does inform the other.
You should look at ferrous sulfate or ferrous fumarate. In essence, fumarate is stronger and easier on the gut but sulfate milder.

Do some research on it but the pharmacist can give you a course. If not asking your GP for a prescription of this directly shouldn’t be refused.

Low ferritin feels awful and you shouldn’t have to wait that long for an appointment. I hope you feel better soon.

Otins · 29/04/2026 17:15

My GP prescribed iron for iron deficiency anaemia (ferritin of 22) (Ferrous fumarate 210mg) is available OTC and is cheaper than a prescription .

As others have mentioned, avoid caffeine for 2 hours before/after and take with vitamin C.

There is some research which advises taking it every other day, as it can cause an increase in hepcidin for 24 hours - which reduces absorbtion. Taking it every other day allows the hepcidin to decrease on the 'day off' I wasn't advised this initially, but read this during my own research, so asked my Dr and a different one got back to me and they said "Oh yes, take it every other day"

Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 17:07

@Spottyvases that hr isn't all the time. It happens on average 2-3 times a day, usually for a very short time. The GP knows about the palpitations as I referenced them on the online form - the response was to check ferritin levels. As a pp said they're obviously not particularly concerned if they think it can wait 3 weeks 🤷‍♀️

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Spottyvases · 29/04/2026 17:03

HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:28

I'm not sure that you can buy iron supplements in the strength that the GP would prescribe? I guess it might be worth seeing a pharmacist. I'm getting regular heart palpitations of over 150bpm at rest, have a constant headache and just generally feel exhausted 😩

Show quote history

That sounds urgent ie heart rate of 150/min and also as you feel v unwell.

I would phone surgery again and emphasize those points.

Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:59

@Xmasallergies they're usually quite short - a few minutes? When I got diagnosed it was because I ended up going to A&E when it hadn't stopped after an hour.

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Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:57

@DeathByKPI yes low haemoglobin is (or can be) very serious. I hope your daughter is doing better now

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Xmasallergies · 29/04/2026 16:56

How long is your heart rate that high? Would get that checked out, they put me on beta blockers for SVT so could be a separate issue. Worth checking just in case. I had a 7 day ecg which caught lots of them I didn’t really feel.

lunar1 · 29/04/2026 16:55

Truthfully if you are symptomatic, get a sooner appointment, I was short of breath just walking to the kitchen. I’d just lie to the receptionist next time and say something I knew would trigger an appointment.

DeathByKPI · 29/04/2026 16:55

I think it must be because of your haemoglobin being okay. My adult daughter’s haemoglobin was eight and her ferritin was six, so she got an iron transfusion within a couple of days each time.

Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:53

@lunar1 glad to hear fibroid surgery has helped! Hopefully you'll be much better going forward. I bet you felt amazing after the transfusion kicked in!

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lunar1 · 29/04/2026 16:51

I was seriously ill, but I think you lose perspective of how bad it’s got. Fibroid surgery has worked wonders, I’ve got two more iron infusions booked in this year and hopefully that will be it sorted. I’ve tried all the oral supplements and them make me vomit.

VividDeer · 29/04/2026 16:48

Go to the pharmacy, you can buy what they prescribe

Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:47

lunar1 · 29/04/2026 16:44

I had to go via A&E as the gp receptionist In all her mighty wisdom decided anaemia didn’t require a same day appointment, she gave me a phone appointment in three weeks.

my hb was 77 and ferritin 3, great that they are allowed to triage! It would have been more understandable if it wasn’t in my notes that I’d had an emergency transfusion two months before!

Goodness, you must have felt dreadful! Goo job you didn't wait 3 weeks to see the GP! I hope you're feeling better now and got to the bottom of why you were so low

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lunar1 · 29/04/2026 16:44

I had to go via A&E as the gp receptionist In all her mighty wisdom decided anaemia didn’t require a same day appointment, she gave me a phone appointment in three weeks.

my hb was 77 and ferritin 3, great that they are allowed to triage! It would have been more understandable if it wasn’t in my notes that I’d had an emergency transfusion two months before!

ThatPearlCat · 29/04/2026 16:44

Take 200mg iron from pharmacy. You can buy them over the counter.
You need the 200mg ones though, normal supplements are 14mg and NOT enough.
My ferritin was 14 and I felt so crap, once they kick it's wonderful.
They can give you a bad stomach so if one brand is giving you a bad time you can try another.
The over the counter stuff is the same as you get on prescription as the first time I had it they gave me a prescription for it. They cost about £2 for 28 tablets.

VanGoSunflowers · 29/04/2026 16:38

HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:34

@SixSavvySwans @TeaPot496 @VanGoSunflowers oh thank you, I'll see what I can get then! I was just feeling a bit sorry for.myself that I'm not even going to see the GP for 3 weeks and then the supplements take a few weeks to make a difference dont they? I'll definitely get started while I'm waiting!

Take them after your main meal in the evening with a glass of orange juice or a vitamin C supplement. No coffee or tea an hour before or after as it affects absorption. I started feeling better after about 2 weeks but my ferritin wasn’t as low as yours. When you do go back to the GP, make sure you tell them you’ve been taking them.
Many other iron supplements marketed as ‘high strength’ that you can buy from Amazon etc still aren’t strong enough.

Original poster
HariboFrenzy · 29/04/2026 16:38

Greybeardy · 29/04/2026 16:35

you can be 'proper' iron in a pharmacy. However, a iron deficiency probably isn't going to be the thing that's causing an HR of 150 at rest so if you haven't had an ECG during an episode of that then you need to.

I was diagnosed with SVT a few years ago and told I'd probably 'grow out of it' - which I had seemed to have done. That's why km assuming it's to do with low iron as its only been in the past couple of months

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