Iron deficient for at least the last 8 years and I didn't even know!

[CoffeandPancakes]

Hi,

So in reality it's probably a few years on top of that, as I had been feeling crap for a while before I had blood tests, which came back to show I was anaemic and my ferritin levels were 7. I was told anything above 10 takes you out of the anaemic zone, so was put on ferrous fumarate and my levels went up to 14 quite quickly.

Job done, I thought. I carried on taking the tablets and my gp said I wasn't anaemic anymore, but because my anaemia was almost certainly brought on by my very heavy periods, it was something I'd need to carry on with, so I take a low dose to just keep myself topped up without the nasty side effects.

Anyway, my last results were 24, which I thought were good, but was then told by my new gp that they should be above 50, which was the first I had heard! After doing my own research, apparently that reading still makes me iron deficient, so no bloody wonder I still feel crap a lot of the time, as that's the highest I've been in almost a decade! Maybe more who knows?!

I'm genuinely quite cross that nobody has told me this before, as a lot of the symptoms, like low mood, trouble sleeping, palpitations, feeling faint, hair loss, I have.

Actually the hair loss is quite significant. I used to have really thick hair, but over the past 5 or so years, I'd say I've lost at least a third of it

I don't want to take a higher dose of supplements, but I would have really ramped up the iron in my diet alongside and it could have saved me years of feeling awful.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Have they checked your thyroid, b12 and ruled out coeliac?

@CovidCorvid, they definitely checked me for coeliac and checked my thyroid. Not sure about b12, but I would be surprised if they didn't, as they seemed to be testing me for everything!

I had this, same symptoms. I took vitamin tablets, increased my red meat consumption plus spinach etc and have a great new dp who thankfully is a carnivore!

@moochingtothepub, can I ask what were your levels and what are they now?

Just giving this a bump.

It's very common.
There are some lifestyle adjustments you can make easily to help.
Drink decaff tea (or at least avoid caffeine before and after meals)
Take liquid iron once a day with juice (it's about £2 in home bargains).
Eat dried fruit, nuts and seeds, pulses, egg, fish, greens, meat.
Avoid too much dairy.

Take orange juice with the iron tablets, as Vitamins C enhances absorption. Avoid dairy products for a couple of hours when taking iron tablets as this inhibits absorption.

I struggled with anaemia and had similarly low ferritin levels. I felt bone tired. Not sure what levels are now, but I believe I’m fine.

Doctors have very little training in nutrition and getting the balance right is more about us keeping well rather than medication as such.

The bottom of the acceptable range in blood tests is far too low for many of us. I do think, up to a point, it is up to us to do our own research about healthy levels although blood tests are necessary to give us a base line.

There are lots of reasons why we are deficient in many minerals and vitamins - only partly diet. Even fresh food often doesn't have the nutrients it used to as soil is depleted through intensive farming.

If you get a copy of your blood results from your GP and do a bit of research on all your figures, you can work out how to improve your health through diet and or supplements.

The reason I did my own research is because I have a malabsorption problem and the GP kept telling me levels were fine. My own research showed I was so close to the bottom of the range in many nutrients and adding them in supplement form has changed my life.

Iron, vitamin D and the b vitamins being the main culprits.

This is interesting, I hope you're feeling better OP. I might raise this as I'm just signing up with a new GP at the moment. I know my iron levels have been low in the past (hair loss, tiredness, faintness) but not SO low they required medical intervention.
That said every time I donate blood they seem to have to do the second test because my first one wasn't quite right! Do you know if we can just ask GPs to give us blood tests?

This could be me talking. I now take iron tablets and Vitamin B complex daily. The difference is amazing. You can get these online or in health shops if your GP is anything like mine -permanently unavailable.

@DipSwimSwoosh, I have actually cut down to two coffees a day and I have them both in the morning, as yes, I had read that caffeine interferes with iron absorption. I have my supplement before I go to bed and will try to get my iron through lunch and dinner, rather than breakfast.

@Applehill, I had heard this about orange juice/vit c, but then my latest gp said that a course she had been on recently said that actually it could well be the opposite and vit c could actually hinder iron absorption so I really don't know what to believe tbh.

@NannyGythaOgg, glad to hear you're feeling better. The thing is, if I had asked the question, I would have been told I was medically classed as iron deficient, so that basic knowledge is there, I think the issue is that this isn't then aligned with other symptoms. I had to ask the questions myself - "So at this level, could that explain the hair loss?" "Yes" "Could it also explain my dizziness and low mood?" "Yes". I have told several gps about these issues and not one picked up on it.

I've had ferritin levels of 4 in the past and nowadays it rests around 7. I got iron supplements from the doctor at the time, but nothing since it went back up to 7 and has stayed there for the last couple of years. However apart from that first time, I was not anaemic in terms of haemaglobin counts, it was just my iron stores that were low. I used to give blood twice a year which I have now stopped doing.

However, it doesn't seem to affect me massively, I run a lot, sleep well and am not tired all the time which I think is why the doctor was not concerned about it. I do however, take a multi-vitamin/mineral tablet and try and eat red meat at least a couple of times a week - the issue for me seems to be with storing iron so as long as I eat healthily, it seems to work ok for me. Similarly to the poster above, I think you need to do your own research about supplements as my doctor gave me iron tablets when I was below the minimum (not in the Uk, here the bottom level is 5!) but was not interested once I was above that.

I am also hoping that my levels will rise when I hit menopause - I still have regular periods at age 50 but hopefully these will stop soon!

@crosshatching, yes, I'm sure you can. Especially given that your levels have been on the low side in the past and you've had the associated symptoms.

@Derrymum123, I take another supplement for my hair loss, which I think contains vit b. How much are you taking? It's great you responded so well.

@graywall, 4?! I'm so surprised that you felt ok with that level!

It was a bit of a stressful and busy time in my life so looking back I realize I was tired but it wasn't debilitating. When I read about how low it was, it does slightly worry me.

What I find nowadays is that whilst day to day I'm not tired, if I have a really late night or sleep badly then it takes me a couple of days to recover. I always thought it was just getting older but maybe it's connected.

This thread has actually reminded me to get mine checked again as I was found to have low levels last year. The problem is I can't tolerate any of the tablets or liquids the gp has prescribed as they give me explosive diarrhea. I just gave up trying in the end. I eat lots of iron rich foods in my diet but perhaps I am not absorbing it somehow.

I was anaemic for about 9 months after having my first baby and didn't realise until I was telling a friend how tired I was despite my baby sleeping through and she suggested an iron supplement which made a big difference. I lost a lot of blood in the delivery but not quite enough for a transfusion, but after I stopped feeling faint a couple of weeks later I assumed I was ok.

@graywall, I really hope you can get that number up. Perhaps, as already recommended on here, you need to look at other vitamins that can boost the absorption .

@ButNotTonight20, what dosage were you on? I was prescribed 3 x 210mg a day initially, but that didn't agree with my stomach at all, so after a couple of weeks, I started lowering it and I now take just 1 tablet every 3rd day, which my gp at the time said was enough to keep it in my system. My latest gp also said that daily iron supplements are basically ineffective - something to do with the liver (?) Can't remember exactly, but she seemed happy when I told her I took it every 3 days and not every day.

Anyway, my point was, maybe a lower dose would suit you.

That's interesting about the 3 days thing. I remember listening to a health programme on Radio 4 a couple of years ago where they were talking about a study which said that the best way to take iron tablets was to mix it up i.e never religiously every day but maybe every other day or a couple of times a week and this was far more effective for your body absorbing it. I think it was a study from a Swiss university but what your GP is saying is pretty similar.

@graywall, well after doing a lot of research and reading other womens experiences of taking high doses of iron supplements and not seeing much of an effect in the numbers and symptoms, I'm really starting to wonder whether they need to change the advice and given the side effects can be so horrible, it seems very much like a lose lose situation 😕