Am I just getting old or is something wrong with me?

[Waitinginmycar]

Is this just the aging process, is this how it happens?
I am in my mid forties and have always enjoyed good health and have been in reasonable/good shape but I realise my health has really deteriorated over the past few years.

Over the past years this has happened:

• teeth have gone bad, I floss every day and obv brush twice with fluoride toothpaste but I suddenly have so many cavities! Two of my teeth chipped out of nowhere, pieces fell out!
• I have really bad dizzy spells out of nowhere, just whilst sitting down or doing nothing. I sometimes wonder if this could get worse, at the moment it only lasts around ten seconds but what if it gets even worse for example while I am driving? I fainted once about two years ago but never since.
• constantly wiped out. Walking up the stairs has me embarrassingly winded

• BMI lower end of normal
• Private GP thought my iron was very low and said iron stores were totally depleted, I never got around to getting the treatment as the iron infusion was £900. Checked again with NHS gp after 18 months and they said it was low but normal
• Hormones normal, not near menopause yet.

I saw the NHS gp one year ago and they said this is just the ageing process, this how it feels to get older. Is it? Is it feeling dead tired all the time and seeing your body gradually deteriorate? Feeling slightly panicked!

It's not normal to be tired all the time. I'm 48 and have (almost!) As much energy as a decade ago

It sounds like the low iron needs treating.

You may be perimenopausal- hormone tests only give a snapshot. Have your periods changed at all?

Did the gp say anything about the dizzy spells?

Do you do any exercise (difficult when your energy is low, of course )? I think that's key to maintaining health and energy.

I think the NHS threshold for low iron is very low, you may well need a decent amount to get your energy back up

I'm 44 and don't get dizzy spells and don't expect that to be a normal part of ageing. I am tired usually but I think that's because I have young kids who keep me on the go, all the bloody time! It sounds like you are being fobbed off to me, so I would push for more from the doctor

Halfway through reading this I though “iron”

Almost all my friends who are very slim and/or hitting meno are anaemic, it is quite common and can really wipe you out

Teeth: do you consume enough dairy/calcium/vitamin D?

erm no not really normal - yes as we age things go a bit wrong - I'm 51 - my BP is higher and is my cholesterol but not overly so. My teeth are fine - I used to get dizzy but I have B12 deficiency so now that's treated I don't . Feeling wiped out - no not much now I am on B12 injections, thyroxin and HRT

I'd get a new GP

No it’s not normal. And blood tests can’t diagnose whether your peri menopausal or not. Nice guidelines state if you have menopausal symptoms you should be offered HRT regardless of blood tests as they can fluctuate so much (blood tests are just offered to exclude other things). Look at the Newson Health clinic website for information about menopause and HRT. It may not be that but worth reading up on.

It’s not normal. Don’t let your GP fob you off. You deserve better. When you say your BMI is lower end of normal is that because it’s naturally that low or have you been trying to lose weight? If you aren’t trying to lose it and used to have a higher BMI and you’ve dropped weight over the last few years without trying then you definitely need checking out properly for things that might be causing malabsorption such as coeliac disease and other possible autoimmune conditions. I think your being fobbed off.

All your symptoms match low iron. I struggle with this and get those dizzy spells, breathing difficulties when my iron is low.
I take a supplement called Complete Woman from Boots and it really helps. Doctors never got to the bottom of why my iron goes low. Have been tested with scope test for coeliac but normal.
Get your iron levels up and you won't know yourself.

I've had low iron and felt 90 years old when it was untreated.

I'm ten years younger than you. You need to make raising your iron a priority.

For me after trial and error, it was a mix of tranexamic acid and ferrous gluconate taken well away from food and with vitamin c that made the biggest difference. Also upping red meat, liver, lentils, greens, tinned fish etc and vit c rich foods. That being said my GP says it could be a year before my ferritin and haemoglobin get to optimal levels. At ferritin of 11, I couldn't walk up the stairs anymore. I felt like I was dying. I was saving up 1k to have a private infusion until I read horror stories of it making some people worse. Instead, I'm on 6 Ferrous Gluconate a day, GP says for a minimum of 6 months.

Within 6 weeks of tranexamic acid and ferrous gluconate I was feeling 100 times
better.

Has your blood sugar been checked?

I was going to say iron or b12. Check out medicheck tests at home . See what they say

Could also be vit d deficiency, im 37 and my teeth are awful since having my kids, had horrible anxiety and other symptoms, had a health check when we were abroad for work and it was Vit D. When my iron levels have been low in the past I take Spatone liquid sachets, they got my levels up really quick and no constipation like tablets can give you.

I'm early 40s and felt like this. My vit d was very low, despite me being fair.
I take a high strength supplement but if i
I forget to take it on time I feel exhausted breathless, need a nap in the afternoon or can't function, aching joints.
Worth a try?

I'm the same age and I don't think that sounds normal. Yes, I don't have the energy I had at 21, but I'm not tired and my teeth aren't falling apart.

Definitely address the iron and take another look at your hormones. Also are you eating enough? Are you smoking?

@Rebootheplanet

It’s not normal. Don’t let your GP fob you off. You deserve better. When you say your BMI is lower end of normal is that because it’s naturally that low or have you been trying to lose weight? If you aren’t trying to lose it and used to have a higher BMI and you’ve dropped weight over the last few years without trying then you definitely need checking out properly for things that might be causing malabsorption such as coeliac disease and other possible autoimmune conditions. I think your being fobbed off.

Weight has always been the same give or take a few kilos, I'm not dieting. If at all I can feel a few extra lockdown kilos...

I used to find floradix very helpful but I never actually had my iron tested so it might have been a placebo effect🤔

Have you been tested for celiac? Some of your symptoms could point towards this, especially sudden tooth decay.

I was thinking iron when reading your post. I was the same - awful dizzy spells and couldn’t do anything. Periods were all over the place, with heavy clotting. The only thing I changed was adding an iron tablet (I was already on vitamin C) into my diet and within a very short time, I was back to my usual self.
I take 200mg ferrous sulphate which I know doesn’t agree with everyone, but it works for me, and is pretty cheap. Although I accidentally ordered what I though was 4 boxes of 28 tablets, and ended up with 16 boxes so even cheaper

@Gullible2021
That is so interesting, I need to google - I was feeling so bad about not making that iron infusion a financial priority, especially as I have a couple of friends who swear by them... they say it acts faster than taking it orally, which is what appealed to me

Apparently supplements take a good few months to take effect?

@SheepyToaster

Has your blood sugar been checked?

No. This reminds me, the private GP I saw suggested I start checking it at some point as my mother developed type 2 diabetes when she was around 70, and apparently it is a very slow process of being pre diabetic for several years before you develop diabetes. Could this explain why I'm feeling so rotten...

I'm your age and the only time I felt like that was about 10 years ago when I was very short of Vit D.

I would make sure your iron and Vit D levels are good as a starter.

@TheYearOfSmallThings not a smoker. I honestly don't eat very well at the moment, I cook healthy things for my family and I try to eat with them but I'm struggling to eat meat these days so it's mostly veg, but not a carefully planned and balanced vegetarian diet, just eating whatever side dishes we are having. Not great considering the iron issue, I know...

I have been put on iron tablets due to low ferritin, the iron store, which has always been low. I felt much better within a few weeks. I take them with orange juice to help absorption.

As well as the tablets I have diluted orange juice with all meals, and eat things that are high in iron and that help my body to digest the iron.

3 months later my iron levels are at the best they have ever been so it’s working!

I’m going to just say that iron infusions can make you feel unwell, but if you’re at all concerned, just ask them to do the slowest infusion possible.

I had one where I felt as if I had flu for 2 days, but the next 3 were fine.

It takes 4-6 weeks for all the iron to be made into new red blood cells, but you start to feel better gradually before then. It’s not like they’re all suddenly made on day 28 iyswim.

Supplements can work almost as fast if you take the right kind, and a decent enough dosage.

My GP recommended 100mg a day, of ferrous polymaltose, but there are several sorts that won’t give you the usual iron issues.

Given that you’re having teeth problems too, I’d say you have a real problem with absorbing vitamins/deficiencies, and that you should pester for a blood test including vit B12, vit D, full iron panel (including ferritin), calcium, and as others have said, probably thyroid and others too.

The NHS bar is extremely low, and it’s simply not appropriate for everyone.

Crack on with taking an iron supplement, and some vitamin D3, if you have the blood tests, the ferritin will show your stored levels of iron, so won’t be unnaturally high from taking the supplement, your Hb might be though.

Good luck. If this works, it’s a pretty easy win.