Iron levels not going up anyone know?

[kissmelittleass]

My Haemoglobin last October was 11.7 so my doctor decided as my levels hadn't changed with the last few years to put me on Galfer 305mg one a day . I repeated the blood test one month after taking the tablets in the November and the results were the same 11.7.
Three months later in February this year the blood test was repeated and again the levels were 11.7!!
I repeated the blood test again last week and also asked for my ferritin to be tested I've just rang for results and I'm told my ferritin is very good at 96 but my Haemoglobin is 11.6 so it has slightly gone down.
The nurse said I don't need to see the doctor and to remain on the galfer tablets 305 mg one a day or every second day.
She couldn't answer my question of why the Haemoglobin has slightly gone down and why after being on iron tablets since last October it's not rising.
She just said the baseline she feels is my diet of being vegetarian, the only dairy I eat is live yogurt and milk in my tea occasionally and I rarely eat eggs.
She said about ulcers bleeding as I'm on a list to be seen by a gastroenterologist to be ruled out but I had a gastroscopy nearly two years ago and there were no ulcers. I had mild gastritis but no ulcers seen.
Any ideas?

I also had been taking my iron tablets with a small glass of orange juice at dinner time to help with absorption but hasn't seemed to have worked

Sorry incase it's relevant I'm menopausal not had any bleeding for nearly two years

I had this, no iron tablets would touch my anemia. Turns out it was kidney problems and whilst it WAS anaemia, it wasn’t iron deficiency anaemia. There are loads of types of anaemia, for some reasons lots of HCP only think of the obvious ones! Check your vit B12 too and kidney function. Your levels don’t sound too bad though so don’t be too worried.

Have you had B12/folate checked & a coeliac blood test?

@SandysMam thank you! They will only test my b12 every twelve months, it was done in March and I was told it was normal at 413.
My blood test last week included a fbc and liver and kidneys checked and she told me today they were fine?
I had a coeliac blood test nearly two years ago and it came back as normal but I read afterwards online that it might not of been correct as you are supposed to eat a lot of bread a week before? Something like that? I did mention it to the doctor about repeating the coeliac blood test but she dismissed it!

@SandysMam sorry I meant to ask how you found out it was kidney problems when your iron levels weren't rising if you don't mind sharing that is !

@SandysMam sorry I meant to ask how you found out it was kidney problems when your iron levels weren't rising if you don't mind sharing that is !

@SandysMam sorry I meant to ask how you found out it was kidney problems when your iron levels weren't rising if you don't mind sharing that is !

Mine was a kidney function test during bloods so if you have had yours done, hopefully that has ruled any problems out!

@SandysMam ah ok thanks for reply!

My iron is very low. I'm on huge iron liquid levels -and yet it makes no difference - I just can not store it.
My thyroid has failed and a test for coealic was negative (biopsy).
I was back at the hospital to see the consultant -they have no idea why and what is going on.I hope to have some answers from some test done today -later in the week.

@Bemorechicken sorry to hear your having a hard time, can I ask what tests you had done? What level is your iron at?
It's worrying isn't it looking for answers, I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid two years ago too.

@kissmelittleass do you take any supplements, and specifically curcumin ? Many supplements are iron chelator, meaning they remove iron from the cells. Some herbal teas in Chinese medicine or Ayurvedic medicine are potent chelator.
High doses of tea/coffee also impair iron absorption so you should take your supplements at least 2 hours before or after tea/coffee even decaf

@LeGrandBleu hi! Yes I take vitamin D and vitamin C with zinc in morning with my breakfast and with my dinner I take my Galfer iron tablet 305mg.
I also take one digestive enzyme tablet before breakfast and dinner.
My doctor told me to take my thyroid medication for an under active thyroid in the morning and my iron tablet before dinner leaving a gap of about 8 hours between them as apparently they can intervene?
I only have one cup of decaf tea a day usually about three hours after my iron tablet has been taken. Am I doing anything wrong here?
I always had low iron throughout my life really but since my periods stopped few years ago although I'm basically vegan I thought as there's no blood loss my levels might rise but seen it hasn't!

What types of enzymes are in your digestive enzyme tablet? Pancreatic enzymes have been associated with an impaired iron absorption. Is it something you have been taking for a long time? Have they been prescribed by a doctor?
I am vegan myself and because I also take curcumin, my iron levels were very low. What really brought them up was the Lucky Fish luckyironfish.com
It is a piece of metal that you. boil in water with a couple of drops of lemon, and then use the water to herbal teas or soups.

@LeGrandBleu I take digestive enzymes before breakfast and dinner just one tablet each time, it was not prescribed by a doctor but they didn't comment when I said I take them.
I have suffered with acid reflux for a long time and were recommended by the health store, each digestive enzyme tablet contains the following..
Amylase, Betaine Hydrochloride, Bromelain, Lipase, oil of peppermint and Papain.
Very interesting about the lucky fish iron have never heard of it! I will try anything!
Is it safe to take with thyroid medication? Also the iron tablets and vitamins do you know? Did your doctor suggest it or was it something you sourced yourself? TIA

No, my GP was more than useless. When my bloods came back with anaemia , she told me to buy supplements at the pharmacy , when the following blood showed even more, and I asked what should I do, her answer was " do more" . Instead I went on pubmed and researched iron deficiencies and Lucky fish cam up. I tried, it worked and is very cheap.
In my experience, doctors knows nothing about supplements most of the time.

Are you on medication for your reflux? Or have you been? This could explain your low iron. pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-can-heartburn-end-up-as-anaemia

I am very careful around supplements, because you can seriously damage your health. I would think that digestive enzyme are not indicated for reflux since they can aggravate it.

www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/gut-reaction
-a-limited-role-for-digestive-enzyme-supplements

Keep a food diary and try to identify the cause of your regflux.

Do you know if you have had your folate level checked? It is generally checked in parallel with B12 but low folate can also cause anaemia and the dose you need to effectively replace it is a prescription strength. A few things you can do to increase the absorption of oral iron is to take it on an empty stomach with a glass of orange juice (bit c helps it’s absorption and no tea or dairy for an hour after (tannin and dairy interfere with uptake.) your ferritin is good at 96 and a Hb of 116 is only just out of range. Digestive enzymes that are not prescribed would not usually be recommended in reflux and could potentially interfere with absorption of certain nutrients (obviously can’t comment without knowing the ins and outs of the specific supplement.) enzymes would not be indicated/prescribed for reflux.

Here’s my story in case it helps. I’m mid 40s and still have my period. Which doesn’t help anemia of course. My ferritin was 7 and hg ok but I felt awful. This was going on years and years and doc said it’s fine as my hg was in range.No felt so bad. I found out two things myself. One is that you are better off with 60 mg of iron every second day only. I’ll look for the scientific study if you want. You absorb far more this way. And another thing I discovered after 30 Years of being vegetarian and practically vegan is that I couldn’t get my iron levels up without resorting to very drastic changes and they are that I now take dry capsules of liver and spleen. And at last, after years and years of trying EVERYTHING else my levels are creeping up. I get them from ancestral supplements- look up the reviews on amazon

Are you symptomatic at all e.g tired/breathless/brain fog/muscle aches/pale?
What medications do you take?

Just remember that the 'range' is an average. If you have always run slightly low as you state and are not symptomatic, all bloods come back fine then I really wouldn't worry. Some people do just run slight below 'normal range'. Great your awaiting gastro assessment, specialist will be in the best place to advise you.

@Eloisedublin123 My ferritin is similar to yours 6.5 but normal hg - very interested in that study re taking iron every other day if you could link it? Also, what kind of iron supplements do you take? I'm on Ferrous Fumerate, prescribed by the doctor. Thanks 🙂

I can't thank you all enough for the great info! To the poster who asked I have been on medication PPI for reflux in the past bug haven't taken them for nearly two years now I was on them 3-4 times over the years previously but only for about 6 weeks each time . I don't think that would affect my levels now ?
@SlB09 I have been pale sll my life so that's normal for me, I have often felt breathless but not as much recently, I did have a lot of aches and pains over the last few years but again not too much now.
Yes to the brain fog! I often feel lightheaded and dizzy but my blood pressure is on the low side so could be that.
As for medications I take 50 mg eltroxin for an under active thyroid every morning, I take vitamins D, C and Zinc and of course Galfer iron tablet 305mg before dinner.
No other medications apart from an inhaler occasionally and of course a digestive enzyme twice a day.
@Needmoremummyjuice No my folate was not checked but my B12 was checked back in March and I was told it was good at 413.
Since March I have been taking a small glass of orange juice with the iron tablet before dinner so I was surprised my hb dropped slightly from 11.7 to 11.6 as I really expected it to have gone up.

Can I just say the nurse said in conversation a couple of times you can take the iron tablet every second day but I thought she was getting it wrong as doctor last October told me to take every day! Is there some study saying it works better to take every second day?

www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhae/article/PIIS2352-3026(17)30182-5/fulltext