Iron Levels in 15yo DD

[UncomfortableSilence]

DD started her periods 2 years ago, she's 15, they have been very heavy and painful right from the start. By September last year she just felt so awful we went to the GP, she was put on the pill as well as having an ultrasound which took forever as they couldn't really see what they wanted to properly but ended up saying it all looked fine

Pill worked well initially with 2 months of no periods but then she started bleeding and didn't stop for 6 weeks, pill was changed to a different brand but the bleeding continued and she made the decision she didn't want to be on it anymore as although her periods are awful at least she wasn't bleeding every day.

Blood test which she had just before lockdown showed she had anemia and I got a text saying she should take iron for 3 months. These, and I know this is well known, have disagreed with her awfully she was so poorly. Spoke to my own GP today who looked at her blood results and said her haemoglobin level is fine but her iron is 12, he said the range is 35-400. He has done her a gynaecologist referral as he said they may be able to prescribe something else for her in terms of iron, does anyone have any experience of this, she feels so unwell, exhausted, dizzy, nauseous, her moods are awful and don't know if that's linked

Sounds like she could have PCOS as when she bleeds she really bleeds. Affects everyone slightly differently. For some it means no periods, for others non stop bleeding. It could be the bleeding causing the iron deficiency. There are some tips on iron rich diets and pcos if you google those terms.

They are different forms of iron, some are more tolerable than others. Do you know what she was talking?

In the meantime... What form of iron was she prescribed? Usually ferrous sulphate on the NHS, which is the most gruelling on digestive system. Assuming that was the issue? Ferrous fumerate is a little more gentle (can be prescribed by GP) or bought. Iron bisglycinate is meant to be the best tolerated. Or a spray that is absorbed in the mouth so avoids most gut effects: betteryou.com/iron-10-oral-spray

The better absorbed the type of iron, the lower dose you have to take to increase blood levels

Sorry to hear this - I hope your DD gets seen soon.
My DD was anaemic at a similar age. She was getting a bit restrictive with her diet at the time as well as having heavy periods so it was both an intake and loss issue for her.
She also went on the pill which helped bit we still had to tackle the intake issues. She couldn't tolerate the prescription iron supplements either so I decided to try floradix liquid. She didn't much like that either but as it didn't upset her stomach at much she would take it. Simultaneously I made a big effort to introduce more iron rich food to her diet, made sure she was getting vitamin C at the same meal to enhance absorption and we swapped regular tea for green tea as I had read that tannin reduces iron absorption. Dried apricots are a good source of iron and also contain vit C and fibre so I used them in snacks like flapjack to sneak in a bit of extra iron without it being too obvious. Also "hiding" green veg and pulses in soups, curries etc worked better than giving her a big plate of broccoli to tackle.
I hope you get to the bottom of things soon and that your DD starts to feel better.

Ferrous fumerate is available as Feroglobin: www.vitabiotics.com/products/feroglobin-capsules
Iron bisglycinate is available from Solgar: www.solgar.co.uk/all-products/gentle-iron-20mg/

Take with vitamin C and away from dairy and grains (eg toast/cereal).

Hopefully she’ll be able to tolerate one or more of these and gradually increase her iron levels. Also red meat at least once a week.

Oh yes, we used feroglobin at one point too, I had forgotten that. I think DD thought that one had the better flavour actually. We tried spatone too but if I recall rightly it was quite expensive and she didn't like it anyway - she said it was like drinking blood. (Not that she has ever drunk blood to my knowledge )
But it might be a matter of trying a few different types til you find the one that she tolerates best. Its the same with quite a lot of supplements and medications I think. One of my sons is on a couple of long term medications and one particular brand makes him dreadfully nauseous whereas other makes of the same drug don't bother him at all.

Thanks all, would the PCOS not have shown on the scan?

Yes Ferous Fumerate it did not go down well, literally.

I’d try the spray then, @UncomfortableSilence. I find it fine, and I can’t tolerate any oral iron. You can increase the frequency as she is deficient.

I've ordered the spray Sparkling, thank you I've not seen this before.

It’s low-dose, but at least you’re getting some in. I make sure to hold it in my mouth and not swallow immediately, and take away from tea, food etc.

Re PCOS and the scan no, would only have shown if she had a cyst at the time. They are not always there but doesn’t mean doesn’t have the syndrome