Ferritin low

[JellycatElfie]

I have posted about this while I was pregnant. My ferritin was (I think) 8 and I was prescribed various forms of iron tablets and liquids which were making me sick/upset stomachs - not mild but really severe and I went back and forth to the obstetric consultant who I asked about iron infusions. She refused point blank and said low ferritin wasn’t an issue because my hb was in the range of 95 to 105 and low ferritin on its own didn’t make you feel ill. I had repeat bloods done last week to see if things have settled. The gp receptionist informed me the dr has written me a prescription for iron tablets. I asked what my ferritin was now and it was 4.8 so it’s almost halved. I’ve booked a drs appt for tomorrow because I just can’t take the iron tablets again. The side effects were so bad that I was literally in agony with stomach cramps and vomiting. I’ve been taking spatone but that obviously hasn’t done the trick! So my questions are -
Does low ferritin make you feel poorly even if your hb isn’t too low?
Am I within my rights to ask about iron infusions? Who do ask - the gp? Will I need referring to a particular department in the hospital? Any advice would be appreciated.

My hb is 106

I have a ferritin level of 3 and my GP is never unduly worried when I mention it!! My overall iron level is low also.
I feel tired and weak a lot of the time.
My hair has thinned out so much and I’m really pale.
My muscles ache a lot and my joints are also sore too.
Overall I feel like I’m running on empty and never fully refreshed after 9 hours sleep.
I also feel breathless walking up stairs etc.
My GP has recommended ‘Active Iron’ as it’s really gentle on the stomach & stronger than Spatone. I’m hoping i will see a difference in my levels soon.

What iron tablets have you tried? I can't tolerate ferrous sulphate but get on very well with ferrous gluconate.

There is an illness called iron deficiency anaemia. You need to know you iron level too.

Some doctors are of the mind that you can only be anemic if you have low hgb but that's not true you can be symptomatic with low iron too.

If your iron level go below 6 then they have to offer you an infusion. This is iron and not ferritin though.

Hi OP

You should also speak to your GP about causes for your ferritin being so persistently low. Are you vegetarian, vegan or is your diet otherwise restricted? Do you have very heavy periods? Even a fairly low dose supplement like Spatone should be sufficient to keep you topped up if there's nothing else going on.

Have you had your B12 and folate levels tested? I have low B12 and am sure I've read that being deficient in either B12 or folate can mask anaemia in your full blood count results...

My hb is 106. It was 94 in pregnancy. I gave birth 10 weeks ago, had fairly heavy blood loss and bleeding after 2 weeks. Then my periods started and I’ve had 2 post partum periods which have been heavy for the first 2 days. I’m also vegetarian and with two children my diet has been shocking, not going to lie. I also haven’t taken the spatone for at least 6 weeks I will start again tonight (I felt much better than I did during pregnancy so assumed all was ok) I’ve always ran on the low hb side but I’m not sure my ferritin has been this low before?

Congratulations on your baby JellycatElfie

It might just be the after-effects of pregnancy and birth as it's all very recent. Hopefully your periods will settle down too.

How about trying to eat things like breakfast cereal and dried fruit? They're quite high in iron, and easy to grab on the go. It's good to have vitamin C at the same time to help you absorb the iron - so cereal and a glass of orange juice is ideal.

Coffee and tea even decaffeinated block the absorption of iron by as much as 95%. So you should not have tea/coffee one hour (some say 2 hours) before or after your iron rich food.

Some supplements such as curcumin are iron chelator, which means they remove iron from cell. Some food also are iron chelator such as cranberries or soy. Are you taking any supplements, even natural ?

I only drink water and orange juice but thank you for the tip anyway! I’m not taking anything at all. I took the pregnancy vitamins on and off for about 2 weeks post birth and spatone when I remembered. To be honest I expected this because my diet has been really bad - some days I only eat crisps and rubbish. Nothing nutritious. I’m embarrassed to say that but it’s the truth. Husband has been nagging me and has said he’s going to buy me a load of salad ingredients tomorrow so I can start making myself fresh salad for lunch.

I have heard that it's possible to avoid the stomach issues by very very gradually building up the amount of supplement taken .

To be honest I expected this because my diet has been really bad - some days I only eat crisps and rubbish. Nothing nutritious. I’m embarrassed to say that but it’s the truth.

so what about changing that, not only for your iron levels but for everything, especially since you have a baby now and you wouldn't the same bad habits for her/him. If you are breastfeeding, a baby will develop your same food preferences. And if you are not breastfeeding, babies learn by observation .

Stop buying crisps and other junk, and decide to have the best possible diet with plenty of colours. Of course, after a sleepless night everyone is allowed to eat whatever lift their spirits, but junk is addictive. It was engineered to make you craving crips, biscuit and so on. However, nice veggies, cooked and prepared with skills can become as addictive. Don't make big food companies rich as the expenses of your health.

Correcting low levels of iron with diet is very hard, so you will need to take supplements. Once levels are back to normal, you can maintain with diet but it requires planning.

At some point, I bought the iron fish luckyironfish.com and then would use the water for herbal teas. I however fell into the other category with iron overloading, so you need to possibly find the iron in food and be careful with supplements once you don't need them.

Floradix is an iron supplement that's famously very effective & easy on the stomach. I used that & took every opportunity I could to eat iron-rich food (alongside vitamin c) - dried fruit, liver, red meat, mussels, molasses, greens. You'll need to really stick at it.