Low ferritin but not anaemic

[hippospot]

Ferritin is 12.2.

I had seen a consultant relating to terrible PMS. The other condition I suffer from is restless legs. He didn't advise any supplements because I'm "not anaemic". But I'm thinking my diet is probably low in iron so I'll try Spatone for a month, and eat more iron-rich foods. Any idea if this would help?

I've been pretty exhausted in recent months, exercise has felt very difficult and I've gained weight. My RLS have been bad. I just thought this was hormones/age. Now I feel like if I supplement iron it could help.

Any experience of this?

I have heavy periods every three weeks (probably due to approaching menopause) which may help explain the low ferritin?

I'm 42.

my ferritin was 22 a couple of years ago. I was beyond exhausted. tired, sleepy, short breath, brain fog etc

My GP put me on iron tablets and it took 3-4 months to get me ferritin up to 70 but I felt like a different person.

also, spatone contains very little iron and with such a low ferritin level, won't help much. I'd look into ferrous sulphate instead.

bit shocked that the doc didn't recommend supplements with such a low ferritin level

Thanks gingerh4ir, I'm also quite shocked.

I thought I'd try Spatone and eating more iron-rich foods because of the usual side effect of iron tablets (constipation).

Thanks for replying.

GP said if I struggle with ferrous sulphate I could try ferrous fulmarate (sp?) instead. it is supposed to be easier to tolerate. but I have no side effects on ferrous sulphate at all.

I had a ferritin of 4 but was not clinically anaemic , I tried all different iron preparations/ pills but none agreed with me . I had a mirena fitted to deal with the periods and that alone meant my ferritin recovered to normal levels .

I was told to take ferrous sulphate when I was too low to give blood and referred to GP, but not actually anaemic. These days, I mostly only take it on my period, and it's usually okay when I give blood, which has been my main measure.

I'm pregnant and experiencing the same kind of things and my doctor has prescribed me iron but he's still concerned that I'm so limp and exhausted; even though I'm 32w pregnant I shouldn't be this buggered.

What I've done is start to take vitamin C supplements along with the iron; apparently vitamin C is needed for effective absorption of iron so doing what I can to feel less buggered.

Maybe get down to Boots and pick up some slow release Vit C and Zinc on the 3 for 2?

Thanks everyone.

I've ordered the Spatone that has Vit C included, for better absorption.

This whole thing is so infuriating because I have a really good diet if I say so myself (though it's true I don't eat a lot of red meat - ironically for health reasons!)

I've discovered quinoa is really high in iron so I'm going to try and eat that three times a week.

With a ferritin at that level you have Non Iron Deficiency Anaemia abd it needs fixing. If your ferritin is actually below the lab range, you have ammunition to argue for referral for an iron infusion, which should bring your levels up within about 48 hours.

It could take years to raise your levels by taking ferrous sulphate or ferrous fumarate tablets and Spatone is unlikely to be effective.

patient.info/doctor/non-anaemic-iron-deficiency

I would also try and determine why your periods are so heavy because this may be a factor too. For instance, fibroids can cause heavy bleeding to arise. Have you ever had a referral to a gynaecologist?.

I had the same - had a Mirena coil fitted to help with the periods, and take Floradix liquid iron every day. It's natural and easy to absorb, and no horrid constipation. You need to treat the source of the problem though to get your levels back up to normal. It took a good 6 months at least.

I had low ferritin. I went to the docs because I'd never known tiredness like it. I had iron tablets even though I wasn't anemic. With hindsight I think the tiredness was my first MS flare up. But had no idea at the timeZ