To ask if anyone has ever had low ferritin levels?

[ImaHogg]

I have suffered from anaemia on/off for years due to heavy periods. Over the last 5+ years I have developed uterine polyps which I have removed but they grow back (I’m 48 and probably in peri so my hormones are probably unbalanced), unfortunately these are making my periods heavier which is probably further pushing me into anaemia.
My test came back last September with HB of 9.9 and Ferritin of 5. GP put me on ferrous fumerate but as an IBS sufferer these cause such awful issues that I’ve had to rely on Spatone which isn’t helping much.
Last week my levels came back the same, gp says she doesn’t have anything else to offer other than the ferrous fumerate and to continue to take the Spatone until I get a hysteroscopy appointment with gynae (I’ve been waiting for this since October last year to have polyps removed again and this time insertion of a Mirena coil, but it’s been put off due to Covid!).
Has anyone had low ferritin levels? What were your symptoms and how did you get your levels to normal?
My symptoms are I am cold all the time, tiredness even after a good nights sleep, tired after climbing stairs, intolerance to exercise, anxious ALL the time, sore tongue, tinnitus, vision issues and just completely knackered and weak tbh.
I feel like crap every day but I’ve been anaemic for so long that I’m not even sure what it feels like to feel ‘normal’ so not sure if my symptoms are due to the low ferritin or not!

Yes iron deficiency and folate deficiency go hand in hand, I'm also on high dose folic acid tablets. My thyroid is fine but have coeliacs.

I've had a dreadful experience with my GP too. She doesn't know the difference between ferritin and serum iron and got confused about which was stored iron.
I take ferrochel which is iron bisglycinate , it has among the lowest side effects and I combine it with spatone as that has raised my levels faster than anything else.
The ferrous salts like fumarate and sulphate will give the worst side effects.
Ideally you want a heme iron source, but they are hard to come by in the U.K.
Red meat and liver helps, it needs to be well cooked for the iron to be bioavailable and eat with vitamin C containing food or drinks.

Agree with previous posters that you may have low b12. But please don't take any supplements or multi-vits containing b12 until you've had your levels checked. B12 in the bloodstream may read high but that means nothing if it is not being absorbed by the gut. B12 deficiency needs to be treated with injections not tablets. If GP sees a false high reading, they may rule out b12 as a cause.

Low levels here too, so much so that I had to have 2 blood transfusions and 2 iron infusions about a year and a half ago. I was feeling heavy, weird and breathless but I’ve had an underactive thyroid for many years so at first thought my thyroid was going of whack again.

Weirdly I also had another very strange things. I got addicted to menthol chewing gum! If I couldn’t have gum I would sniff menthol things. I found some research to say that some iron issues go hand in hand with pica (the unusual urge some pregnant women get to eat or drink weird stuff).

B12 deficiency is incredibly common and undiagnosed because the “acceptable” levels in the U.K. are pitiful compared with other countries. I’m on regular b12 injections that make a big difference, the GP nurse does them. I’ve had low ferritin off and on for years, combination of heavy periods and crappy genetic inheritance - my grandmother had chronically low levels and lived off red meat so it’s not the easy fix some people claim.

I’ve been feeling exhausted recently and my ferritin is 6 so I’m on 3 200 ferrous sulphate and it’s slowly starting to help, I’m lucky with no side effects. My thyroid also came back a bit under active but inconclusive so having follow up tests soon.

The only odd symptom I had which made me ask for the recent tests that I hadn’t had before was bouts of freezing cold for no reason plus very cold hands and feet. The GP put that down to the thyroid but it was the quickest thing to go on the iron. Quite confusing but I’m grateful to be feeling a bit less exhausted and desperate.

Sorry you’re suffering OP. Sympathies.

Iron infusion is your best aid at the moment.

@Freetodowhatiwant your username confused me for a minute there!

@MrsSnitchnose

Did they run full bloods on you *@ImaHogg*? I know your heavy periods are probably to blame but mine turned out to be Hepatitis C. I had numb hands and feet, that's what I went to the docs for in the first place. I'm not suggesting you have the same, just adding another possibility into the equation

Just checked the symptoms and I seem to have them all 😲

@user1471539324

Have you been tested for coeliac? I had low ferritin and thyroid symptoms, tired all the time. Tested positive for coeliac despite no gastric issues. You say you have IBS though?

I had a colonoscopy and gastroscope with biopsies at the end of 2019, they included coeliac screening which came back negative.

I was told by a consultant it should be take every other day, not daily and it must be on empty stomach. This has helped me x

@WouldBeGood

Honestly, *@ImaHogg*, if you don’t get help then write to your surgery and complain. This is just unacceptable. They would not leave men suffering like this

I think this all the time. No man would put up feeling so crap all the time yet still having to carry on as normal, pees me off that women’s health so often gets over looked.

Kick some ass @ImaHogg. I write a stern letter ti my surgery for the first time ever last year. They rang me before I was home from handing it in 😂

I may have to get my thyroid and b12 test done privately, I’ve made a gp appointment but it’s not until another 3 weeks and then by the time they faff about getting me a blood test appointment it could be another week or so after the gp appointment!
I’ve made a note of the various iron supplements mentioned but will try the ferrous fumerate every two days or so and see if that is easier on my stomach, if not will try one of the suggestions.
Thanks again, you’ve all been so much more helpful than my gp!

There was a very helpful site on Facebook that said low ferritin is iron deficiency. Low heamaglobin is iron deficiency anaemia.
I asked the GP for a coil as my ferritin was 5 and my poo test came back negative, therefore periods can be the only reason. I was told no, given one pack of ferrous Fumarate and they refused to repeat my blood test to check that the tablets were working.

Op just seen your update about ff every couple of days. If I forget to take mine daily I'm right back to the beginning of my stomach being upset by it. If I take it every day at bedtime my innards adjust in a week. Just to bear in mind.

mine were 22. I felt like death. Extremely tired, exhausted, brain fog, I had to go to be at 6 pm. I was short of breath.

I have severe Endo and very heave periods which are probably causing it. no IBS though. Mine levels came up after taking 3 tables ferrous sulphate daily for 4 months.

It's not a quick process. Spatone is not very strong.

I now take a maintainance dose of iron.

@fightingSmiths interesting that your symptoms were severe at 22. My last count was 20 and was told that was fine and in normal limits

[quote Mumteedum]@fightingSmiths interesting that your symptoms were severe at 22. My last count was 20 and was told that was fine and in normal limits[/quote]
the normal range in the UK is pending on area somewhere between 15 and 300. Technically, I was ok but GP told me it really need to be 60-70 or above. 20 is definitely very low and I was very ill.

You could try Blue Iron - available from Boots/Tesco etc. It’s quite gentle and is easily absorbed.

Thanks @fightingSmiths ..I know the doctor told me previously it needed to be above 50. She then denied saying it when she was trying to get rid of me with my level at 20!

I'm taking iron oral spray but wondering if it is not strong enough

[quote Mumteedum]@fightingSmiths interesting that your symptoms were severe at 22. My last count was 20 and was told that was fine and in normal limits[/quote]
My levels were 20 but I am also deficient in B12 despite having 3monthly injections at the GP. I felt really rough - fainting, cold, brain fog.

My dd has just had hers measured aged 14 (nosebleeds, normal periods) and it is 16. Her GP said: 'it's probably long covid, (despite no positive test but possibly due to her white blood cells 'being a bit low') so just eat a bit more red meat'. I am giving her liquid ferrous fumerate. She is breathless even in the shower and school have been sending her home. It's crap it really is.

You mention Mirena Coil - it stopped my periods, and all of the low iron problems, so keep pushing for that. (now have slightly high levels of iron
Don't be fobbed off with tranexamic acid - or if you take it, be very careful, it caused me to get DVT.
A PP mentioned tea - my understanding is that it's best to avoid caffeine around mealtimes, (no not one hour before or after) as caffeine levels compromise the ability to absorb iron.

Have you been back to your GP with regards to not tolerating the initial prescription? They have several other alternatives, generally start off with the cheapest, but can switch if your body does not tolerate it well. looking back at my records, I had Ferrous sulfate then switched to Ferrous gluconate; i think there's other options, as well as slow release versions that are better tolerated.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay My story is exactly the same and I also now have slightly high iron! Did you find out whether you need to do anything about it?

Have you tried tranexemic acid to make your periods less heavy?