Blood results help - low ferritin

[BarbieGirl999]

Posting for traffic.
Desperately feeling rough. Recent blood results show ferritin is 16 but GP notes say 'no further action is needed.'

I would prefer the GP to prescribe and then to re-check levels with another blood test. have a prepayment cert for prescriptions as well.

I've left a message on their medications area asking if need iron due to the ferritin result. they usually reply to this pretty quickly but it is a bank holiday so we'll see, Meantime I have ordered the Better You oral spray from Amazon

Oh bless you! I'm lucky I no longer have stairs to deal with! My knees are bad enough with other ailments! I do sometimes feel ready for the knackers yard though! The Dr has given me transexamic acid to help try and curb heavy bleeding during that wonderful time of the month!

I know how you feel. I turned 50 the other week and along with all my peri symptoms, I’m slowly crumbling to pieces! My daughter takes TA, it really helps her. Hope you get some relief with it too.

I have seen one on Amazon called something like Super you, if you search for iron spray could find it. I will ask my GP about this

My ferritin is 8 and in taking 18mg in multivitamins, and extea 2x200mg ferrous sulphate. Trying spatone now instead of one ferrous sulphate.

I take morning dose after 14 hrs fast ,lunch multivits will be with aome sort of food but evening one again 3 hours after last meal with water and fresh lemon juice.

I would defo take supplements regardless if they say no action needed, NHS really expects person to be at the rock bottom before they prescribe anything.

The NHS doesn't really do preventative medicine do they? I had to psuh for these tests to start with as so run down.

I have had some of my bowel removed in an operation so unsure if I even absorb the iron very well.

Today a tablet of 'gentle iron' made me feel grim, have got the iron spray through from amazon so will try that.

It says 5mg in 4 sprays so that doesn't sound much but maybe it is easier absorbed.

I read somewhere that they're absorbed well overnight which is probably true for me as I drink a lot of tea during the day which isn't good for iron. So I stop tea an hour before and take with a vitamin C tablet as I go to bed.

Totally irrational I know, but one tablet broke open recently and I was a bit grossed out to see that it looked like iron filings. Which is obvious but it looks more palatable with its little red coating.

AnnaMagnani which tablets, fumurate or sulphate and what amount?

I have 200g sulphate

In the past I stopped, as you said, as it upset my stomach (and bowels ☹️).

Hi I'm not sure without going back to my notes what number my Iron level was, but it was low, not anaemic but low, I had been feeling bad prior to those results, and no wonder why. My GP called with the results and prescribed tablets which I've been on for a good few months, and due to have a repeat test soon.

It would be good to know 😊

Didn't sleep well last night as I have a bad cold. But then I've slept from 8am-2pm. Poor DH has just had to crack on with the kids.

The tiredness is awful; I feel your pain OP. I’ve been exhausted for months, GP finally
tested my ferritin last month and it was 5!

I’m now on tablets but yet to see any effect (it’s only been about a month and it can take 2-3 months before you start to feel
better)

I've been on one daily 200mg iron tabletfor over a year and got my levels up from 7 to 16. Beginning to wonder about an infusion but I've read some unpleasant stories about them too.

I think I might to try upping them to 2 or 3 a day and see if that makes a difference in the next few months.

You can buy 200mgs over the counter OP, please start on them as soon as possible and go back to your GP and ask to see a different doctor!

clettercletterthatsbetter and lifter which tablets?

I had similar symptoms to you a few years ago, and bloods only showed low ferritin, everything else was ok. Cue several GP visits later and one decided to test for coeliac disease and it came back positive, turns out I wasn't absorbing nutrients properly. Didn't have the classic gastro symptoms either. Just something to consider if things don't improve. But over the counter ferrous sulfate is the best for getting your iron up. Good luck.

I've just had similar results. Low but normal hb (126) but ferritin of 14. Been marked as normal. Grateful to PP who posted nice guidance - I have an appointment next week by phone so hopefully I can use that to convince them I'm iron deficient!

Agree 100% with whichever poster it was who said to take a high-ish dose iron tablet every other day.

I had ferritin that struggled to get above 15-20 for years, despite being prescribed ferrous fumarate 200mg x3 per day. That many tablets really wrecked my stomach (less so than ferrous sulphate) and so I decided to drop to just once per day (i.e. a third of my prescribed dose.) That was when my levels finally started to improve. And then I switched to only 1 every other day and the rate of increase (tested every 3 months) didn't reduce at all.

There's only so much iron that you can absorb and taking stupidly high doses just means (in my case) that everything passes through you too fast for there to be any benefit.

However, saying that, I'd tried Spatone and it did nothing. I think one of my tablets contained something like 10x the absorbable iron contained in the recommended daily dose of Spatone - however many sachets that was. The "less is more" argument clearly only goes so far 😆

Thanks for replying. So after waking up at 2pm yesterday, I slept last night from 11-8 and I still feel tired. Have a headache too. It's Easter Sunday and I've not got any treats for my kids either. I feel so shit

It's also funny how you can suddenly stop tolerating something. I took ferrous sulphate for 10 years then woke up one morning with sharp cramps and pain so had to stop taking it. I'm finding ferrous gluconate ok so far.

Iron deficiency can be quite serious beyond the obvious. I'd booked in for hip surgery and when the consultant saw my iron levels, said he thought it was too dangerous to proceed (not entirely sure why but I think makes the risk of needing a blood transfusion higher).

Luckily my haemoglobin proved acceptable (and they can also give iron transfusions) but it can have consequences beyond feeling tired.

Thanks for replying. So after waking up at 2pm yesterday, I slept last night from 11-8 and I still feel tired. Have a headache too. It's Easter Sunday and I've not got any treats for my kids either. I feel so shit

Sorry to hear that. (My sister swears by magnesium for making her feel less tired and sleeping better). I think a lot of people have been caught short this Easter as eggs sold out quite quickly in our local supermarkets.

Hope you start to feel better as the day goes on.

Please please please go and get an iron transfusion. I had ferritin of 6 and that was two years after being only 16. Like many people I can only tolerate ferrous fumerate for about 3 weeks and then I get horrendous gastric pains. Although it does boost my iron a bit.

I now realise that I've been functionally anaemic for most of my reproductive life. I had no idea. When I saw a doctor pre iron IV she told me that supplements are ok but because of my heavy periods I would never be able to build it to decent iron stores and that the 'normal' levels they talk about - ie ferritin above 30, is actually nonsense and it should be between FIFTY TO ONE HUNDRED. When I think about the fact I was at 6, and basically couldn't function mentally, physically and emotionally. My anxiety and depression and energy were bad. I felt like I was dying. I kept getting infections and not able to get better. Once I had the infusion, it took about a week and suddenly I felt like myself again and each week a bit better. Honestly it is is life changing - all my hair had fallen out and breaking off months before. It won't grow until you have ferritin of at least 50... no wonder!!

I need to go and get bloods redone in a few weeks but honestly do not struggle on with OTC supps - this is how women and young girls who think they may have MH anxiety disorders are being failed by doctors.

Also the minute I had the IV I slept like a baby

@cornflakegeneration you're welcome! So pleased I could help.

I'm chuffed my hair is growing back in and falling less. Going to keep up with my ferrous fumerate for a little while longer and see if I can get my levels up further.

I’m on ferrous fumarate, think its 200mg, one tablet twice a day, prescribed by the GP.

Thanks clettercletterthatsbetter
Any side effects?