Can anyone please help? Low iron

[Caramel78]

For the past couple of years I’ve been feeling so unwell (dizzy, extreme fatigue, pale skin, muscle twitches, muscle cramps, dry skin, headaches, hair falling out, flaking nails etc).

Had some blood tests in June 19 which showed my ferritin was down at a level of 12 (anything below 12 is classed as anemic). I was told to take iron tablets and get tested again a few months later.
My next results came back at 14.
Again I was told to carry on with the iron tablets as it can be a slow process of raising the levels to optimum levels.

It has been 6 months of taking these tablets and my results are now at 25. It’s gradually improving but I’ve heard I need levels of at least 100 to feel well again.

I currently take an ActiveIron 14mg tablet once per day and I also take a spatone sachet now and again too. I’m assuming this is nowhere near enough to get levels up more quickly and I should try something like ferrous sulphate or fumerate (I have ibs already so I’m really worried about taking them as I know the side effects can be awful on your stomach and digestion).
Have any of you got any experience of these and (apart from the awful side effects) did they actually make your iron levels improve faster and make you feel better eventually?

Should also add that I’ve had everything else checked such as thyroid, magnesium, folate, b12, vit d, full blood count, liver function, hba1c etc and they are all within a healthy range).

It takes forever to get an appointment with my GP but I will be seeing her again in 16 days time.

Thanks

Not helpful but when I was expecting DS2 I had very low iron, passed out at the surgery, and was given a course of iron injections in my bum.Very painful, huge bruises but after about 3 I felt fantastically well.

There are 2 different b12 tests, serum and active. Serum b12 is the one GPs normally do, reference range is very roughly 200-900 and a result of 122 would definitely explain symptoms.

The range your GP gave is the one for active B12 in which case yours is a good result. It's not routinely tested on the NHS though, so it could be worth checking which test your GP ordered, and that she quoted the correct range

@EagleVisionSquirrelWork I’ve been very direct with my GP recently about how fed up I am that more isn’t being done to help me. I’ll try the much stronger tablets for a few months and if there’s still not much improvement then I’ll insist on a referral to haematology. I’ll also double check the b12 stuff

When giving blood recently the nurse told me that high stress levels and / or lack of sleep have a very marked effect on your iron levels

The haematologist said that the fact that I had decent B12 but awful iron showed that I'd been eating lots of red meat as told to, but that I wasn't absorbing ther iron.

She said the most common cause for that was coeliac, so I reduced my gluten to almost nothing, turns out both my kids are the same.

She may have bothered with the less common b12 test because she was checking for PA...

Some iron preparations come in a modified release form. This should reduce side effects so I would recommend going to your gp explaining the gastric issue and ask for a prescription for a modified release preparation

I’ve been taking the ferrous fumarate 210mg twice per day for almost a week now. I take them with orange juice during meal times and don’t have dairy or caffeine. I was fine for the first few days other than bloating. I’m now getting really bad pains (feels like the worst trapped gas pains ever) and I’m so bloated and quite constipated too. Please tell me these symptoms ease up a bit once the body gets used to it :-(

Hi I’m having problems with iron levels and wondered if you resolved yours. Mine not gone up after five weeks of iron tablets.

Just wondering how you are doing now? I am low on iron but also have IBS so not keen on the tablets...

I was in the same boat last year, blood tests showed my iron levels were very low & I was prescribed ferrous sulphate. Turns out I had blood in my bowel & had a colonoscopy to rule anything sinister out.
Your Dr's have obviously done some extensive blood work, but have you given a stool sample? Just something to consider...
My Dr's have fluffed up recent blood tests & didn't check for iron levels, so I've go to go back in again 🙄

Have you been tested for coeliac disease? If you’re gluten intolerant or sensitive and you’re still eating gluten it can have an impact on your bodies ability to absorb nutrients from food. I’m not sure how that affects supplements though. Do you take vitamin D? Low levels make me feel terrible and apparently covid depletes vit D.