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!

Sorry your GP won't test your Vit D levels.
Mine did but ten years ago almost I suppose. They also prescribed a massive Vit D tablet.

I felt really terrible at the time, I'm shocked that they won't do this now. It made a huge difference to my quality of life.

On top of what others have said, could be heading into menopause?

I'm in peri and the hot flush symptoms include dizziness, palpitations/ erratic heartbeat. I don't get the hot so much just feel suddenly really ill, heart pounding, dizzy, feel like must lie down or will pass out. Only happened a few times but going to see the doc.

I've heard it can fuck with your teeth as well.

On the strength thing, I noticed suddenly a bit before it got going so that I noticed that my grip went. Things I could open easily I couldn't. Like I just lost... Something. For no reason. I don't like it. I also said to loads of people around that time that I somehow felt middle aged.

So that might be another thing to look into.

Get cracking with some iron supplements - the liquid iron is more easily absorbable and won’t give you digestive problems. Eat a bit more steak and spinach, make sure you’re getting vitamin C, D and calcium. Get as much safe sunlight as you can, without using sun block. See how you feel in 2-4 weeks.

Of course the private practice wants you to have the iron infusion, they can charge you for it!! It’s not necessary unless you are terribly in the red zone, unwell or about to have a major procedure (operation, give birth). Good luck!

A ferritin level of 11 is pretty much a disaster. For women of child-bearing years my haematologist said it should be over at least 70, more like 100.

[quote Waitinginmycar]@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...[/quote]
This. Log what you eat for 1 day in My Fitness Pal and you will see where nutrition is missing. Fibre, iron, magnesium all make a huge difference.

What exercise do you take?

When I was around 50 I noticed a big drop in muscle strength. I'm much older now and if I stop my normal exercise routine of walking and yoga twice a week my fitness drops rapidly. But doing regular yoga, gardening, walking means I'm pretty fit for my age.
That makes a big difference to how I feel generally.

Sort the iron out. You can take Floradix tablets or liquid which don;t have the side effects of constipation and are generally gentler on the stomach than the stuff NHS prescribe.

Check for milk allergy - that can cause very low iron and if you are not absorbing it, that could explain weaker teeth. Can be triggered after a bad virus.

Teeth falling apart - yes.
Dizzy spells need checking out, particularly as you’re sitting down when they happen.
Out of breath going up the stairs - was low ferritin for me. Completely cured by taking iron.

Ferritin of 10 is not low end of normal ! Get yourself some Ferrous Fumarate, I buy it over the counter at the chemist.

@lborgia

A ferritin level of 11 is pretty much a disaster. For women of child-bearing years my haematologist said it should be over at least 70, more like 100.

I had 8 at one point, latest test was 10 which the GP said was low end of normal and not something they treat you for

@DinosaurDiana

Ferritin of 10 is not low end of normal ! Get yourself some Ferrous Fumarate, I buy it over the counter at the chemist.

You can get that without prescription? That is great, getting some today!

Have tried floradix and spatone, it didn’t make a huge difference

I haven't read full thread but can I suggest you might be heading into peri meno. Davina McCall did an excellent programme on Channel 4 recently, which looked into the impact and unexpected symptoms of this on many women.

@RedOrange21

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

My first thought too. My friend was diagnosed in her 40s after similar symptoms.

Before I found out my ferritin was low (7) I was putting up with breathlessness when wearing a mask, out of breath going up one flight of stairs, palpitations, slight pressure in the chest when going for a walk and tingling hands/arms waking me in the night.
I thought it was peri menopause and ageing, it wasn’t.

You need to go back to your private GP, tell them you don’t want the iron infusion but do want them to prescribe iron tablets. The ones you can buy over the counter are not good enough!! You need them to be prescribed as they are much stronger. (Take with a glass of orange juice so all the iron is absorbed and you’ll have no “tummy” issues.) You’ll feel better within a couple of weeks.

When I had low iron my store was 12 and I was given iron tablets by my GP, within weeks my appetite was back and my energy levels were up. Good luck!

@LizzieSiddal

You need to go back to your private GP, tell them you don’t want the iron infusion but do want them to prescribe iron tablets. The ones you can buy over the counter are not good enough!! You need them to be prescribed as they are much stronger. (Take with a glass of orange juice so all the iron is absorbed and you’ll have no “tummy” issues.) You’ll feel better within a couple of weeks.

When I had low iron my store was 12 and I was given iron tablets by my GP, within weeks my appetite was back and my energy levels were up. Good luck!

The ferrous Fumarate I buy over the counter is exactly the same as what I was prescribed.

Blood tests won't forcibly pick up that you have started the perimenopause because the whole issue with it is that your levels go up and down and you can just have an up day in the test.

Dizzy spells were my first symptom of peri. I had no idea they were related.

Low ferritin, even if within the range will not help. The supplement should definitely do you good.

I have found that the menopause has aged me quite a bit. Lack of sleep, skin getting loose, hair thinning etc... but as I get to the other side and getting some energy back, I'm finding a slight reversal. My mum and her friends have assured me that you get a second life afterwards, so I'm holding on to that.

[quote Waitinginmycar]@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?[/quote]
OP, you need to start taking these asap. Even if they take longer than an infusion to work, presumably you'd be sorted by now if it's been going on a while.

You sound - completely understandably as you'reso knackered! - apathetic, but you really need to snap out of it and get going on iron tabs + vit c. Vit D prob no harm either. Plenty of advice already on what type, dose, combo by PPs

Take iron an an empty stomach at least one hour after tea or coffee, intake mine right before bed.

Pharmacists will ask you if the dr sent you, just say yes.

You cannot eat badly and expect to feel healthy at this age though, you just can’t. There’s no phoning it in after 40. I’m not against vegetarian diets but it needs to be balanced and well thought out of your cutting out meat and fish.

The ferrous Fumarate I buy over the counter is exactly the same as what I was prescribed.

Can you link please, I didn’t realise you could buy it so strong, over the counter.

And actually it was a pharmacist who made me go to my dr and get my bloods done. I’d asked for iron tablets and she told me if I needed iron I should get it prescribed, as it is stringer. This was around 5 years ago though!

Also FYI people if you buy the iron tablets over the counter it’s actually cheaper than the prescription (about half!).

People respond to heme iron (the type of iron in meat) much more than other types of iron supplements. Heme iron is much more bio-available.

You don't need very much heme iron to get a good response. A little bit of heme iron facilitates iron absorption from the veg sources in your diet.

If you were my friend I would suggest you try to eat one animal-iron thing a day, a piece of bacon or an egg, etc. It doesn't sound like you've tried the oral iron supplements much at all.

-Spot the person who had chronic low iron until she stopped being vegetarian ; ps: age mid 50s and as much energy as ever

Low B12?
Fibromyalgia?