To ask if this is an emergency?

[Soitis83]

Posting here mainly for traffic.

The last week or so I've felt terrible. Finally took an iron tablet and felt so much better.
Problem is that better didn't last very long so I took another one..then another and then another. All together 80mg, one packet is mixed with other things and one is just 20mg.
I've convinced myself I'm going to die. Please someone reassure me I'm going to be okay

You’ve now had multiple people tell you how low a dose you have taken.

You can’t look after your children if the ambulance take you in anyway. Either cancel the ambulance, get your children looked after and get yourself a taxi to hospital. Or accept you’ve made a mistake with telling 111 the dosage and cancel the ambulance and stay at home.

You might want to get yourself some lactulose though as iron tablets cause contipation.

You don't have to believe it but that's exactly what happened. I told them the exact amount at the exact times I took them and that was what she said. She said she has to speak to her colleague, came back to the phone and said "I have dispatched an ambulance for you. If your symptoms get worse before they arrive please call back or 999"

Low iron levels during pregnancy is pretty common and tends to return to normal once you’ve had the baby. You’d be best going to your gp for a check up and they can test your iron levels and then give you a prescription. As others have said, I also used to take 250mg of iron tablets so I reckon you’ll be fine, other than perhaps a sore stomach.

111 are acting in a precautionary manner as I imagine they think you’ve overdosed.

I think the tablets gave you a placebo effect into thinking you were feeling more energised and feeling better. Once this is all over with then I’d phone the gp to discuss how you’re feeling.

Taking an iron tablet doesn’t make you feel instantly better.
It takes a long time to build up in your system.
My mind is blown that they are sending an ambulance. You need to cancel it.
You have taken 80mg of an iron supplement, when I was pregnant my dosage was in the hundreds and hundreds.
The state of the NHS, people dying in corridors and they have sent an ambulance for 80mg of iron 🤯🤯🤯

I'm prescribed 200mg 3x a day by the doctor you may get constipated and a tummy ache and some black poo but that's just the iron. Call 111 if your panicking but it's not a huge dose x

Not at all. I genuinely didn't believe that's where it would end up. I googled for a number that dealt with toxicity or something but it said to call 111. I was just calling for advice. I was surprised when she said she was dispatching an ambulance but panicked thinking it must be serious

111 do get it spectacularly wrong sometimes. My
Baby had a cough and they sent an ambulance. It was all a bit ridiculous but at the time it was so stressful. You don't call the ambulance OP so it's not on you....if it turns up, it turns up.

The amount of iron you took is not a problem. I find it hard to believe they would send an ambulance for that. Perhaps whatever else you said is the reason they are sending an ambulance. What are the symptoms you described? That amount of iron is not dangerous and plenty of people take more. Even if you are not iron deficient, as a one off, that would be fine.

*didn't

If I were you, I'd be phoning back and cancelling the ambulance. There's people out there with genuine medical emergencies who are awaiting on an ambulance which has been now been held up due to the sake of four over the counter iron tablets.

I've had health anxiety before but this is absolutey ridiculous. I'm struggling to find any sympathy whatsoever.

Have you at least cancelled the ambulance?

Please get MH support for your severe health anxiety OP. This could only happen in a country with socialized healthcare, there’s no way you’d have done this in the U.S. where I live if you actually had to pay for the use of resources. I feel sorry for anyone who won’t get an ambulance now when they need one because of this.

🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you. I was waiting for Monday morning to give them a call asking for a blood test to check my iron and then hopefully be prescribed some iron tablets. I cannot understand why or where it's comes from but the last couple of weeks my health anxiety has just gone crazy.

I also bet they sent the ambulance because she said heart palpitations and has called 111 in the first place panicking over an ‘overdose’

Yeah I did a while ago, sorry I should've said

It's frustrating to read that 111 would actually send an ambulance for this nonsense.

I'm sorry but something doesn't add up here!
I think (possibly) this is, as OPs have said is more about anxiety & panicking.
Iron tablets aren't the reason you immediately feel better after taking one. They don't act like painkillers (& even they take a short time to have any effect). Are you scared of being on your own with the kids?
Try some deep breathing to help reduce the panic. Is there a friend/relative you can call immediately for a bit of support?
Paramedics (if they arrive) will check if everything is ok. You should be okay if there's nothing else you've taken?
I really hope you're feeling better soon 💐

Not at all. When she was going through the list of symptoms she said heart palpitations and my exact reply was "yes but I've had them for a week so it's not related". Everything else she asked like vomitting or blood in my stool, pain ect I said no to

They just wouldn’t send an ambulance based on those words they would ask what and how much

this makes zero sense

plus where are your children going to go when the ambulance takes you to hospital?

But you still said YES. Thereby hitting their criteria for sending out help.

How postpartum are you?! Is this severe postpartum anxiety? Anxiety over being alone with your children? If you have health anxiety why on earth did you keep taking the pills? Answer these questions and people may be able to advise you.

This country keeps going down the drain.

You're very sweet, thank you.
I have this fear all of a sudden that I'm going to die and leave my children alone. It's so sudden and my health anxiety is overwhelming. I have never felt like this before so have no idea what's triggered it!
No I've taken nothing else, just the iron tablets.

If you’ve told them you’re having heart palpitations then that’s going to ring alarm bells with 111 rather than the over the counter iron. Perhaps your iron or ferritin is very low, that does cause heart palpitations so best to get your GP to do a blood test….or the paramedics might decide you need to be assessed tonight once they’ve checked you over now I guess.

Let's hope there's no one having a heart attack, stroke, artirial bleed, anyphalctic shock or any other actual emergency at this moment. Apologies for spelling!!