low ferritin? feeling awful

[bigarsebelinda]

I've had bloods done recently and my ferritin was low 5. And HB 113.

Gp who I have a good and trusting relationship said I was only slightly mildly anaemia. Gave me some iron supplements which after only one day I am finding hard to tolerate. Feel v sick.

Quite frankly always feel shite, have really bad hair loss, chronic migraine, I'm already really constipated, dehydrated (despite drink sound 2l each day). I struggle to do much. Trip to supermarket takes me out for the rest of the day.

Would you be concerned about ferritin this low ?

I'm not convinced the iron tabs are going to help or quick enough without making things worse.

That ferritin is very low OP. I’ve recently had an iron infusion for similar ferritin but my Hb is slightly lower than yours. I had to really fight for the infusion and I’ve been told that my symptoms may not actually improve, as I’m only ‘borderline anaemic’.

For the people on this thread who have had iron infusions, did you feel quite rough after? I’m about 5 days post infusion and feeling so tired and breathless (more so than before the infusion). Hoping this is just a side effect rather than the GP being right, and my borderline anaemia not being the cause of me feeling so awful.

Thank you for you posts.

Seren- thanks for sharing your experience with iron infusion too. Glad it feels worth while.

Yoda- coeliac diagnosis must have been a shock though good to have a reason for the issues. Also great the iron infusion was successful. Did you do it at a private clinic? The one I saw was 400 with consultation bit too. 😮

5 is through the floor. I highly recommend a private iron infusion. I had one and it was life changing.

I use the liquid ferroglobin iron supplement.
Does anyone know if this is good enough to help?

Sandcastle. Please report back in a couple of weeks to see if you've improved. The side effects sound pretty shite!

I found some bloods taken in May and I was 13 then. So I've dropped from 13 to 5 in 4months.

Seems quick. Not flagged as it was in normal range then 🙄

@bigarsebelinda will definitely report back. I’m finding it impossible to find much information online about people’s experiences following infusion - apart from one lovely website where posters seem to all have nearly died afterwards

I’ve got my fingers crossed it just takes a little while for the body to adjust. I can still function, just feels like turbo charged anaemia right now.

[quote Sandcastles55]@bigarsebelinda will definitely report back. I’m finding it impossible to find much information online about people’s experiences following infusion - apart from one lovely website where posters seem to all have nearly died afterwards

I’ve got my fingers crossed it just takes a little while for the body to adjust. I can still function, just feels like turbo charged anaemia right now.[/quote]

😮 they all nearly died?! Was that with the anaphylactic response?

Fingers crossed you perk up soon 🤞

@bigarsebelinda no sorry I was exaggerating there! A lot of them just seemed to suffer debilitating side effects for weeks or months on end. But I figure iron infusions wouldn’t be a thing if that was so common! Will update

😁

@ihatethecold

I use the liquid ferroglobin iron supplement. Does anyone know if this is good enough to help?

That contains 14mg of iron, so it will work best to maintain high levels as it doesn’t contain enough iron to raise a deficiency alone.

Thanks.
What product does contain high enough levels to make a difference ?

I jad a ferritin of 7 and thought I was going to die I felt so unwell!

My hb was 112 and GP was fairly unruffled but I honestly just dragged myself through each day.

I take iron tabs every other day and tolerate them so much better that way. I haven't had my bloods rechecked but can tell from how I feel that I've got my levels back up.

@ihatethecold 100-200mg of elemental iron per day is the dosage to treat a deficiency. You can buy higher strength supplements over the counter (the same ones that are offered on prescription). Unfortunately these are harsher on the stomach.

@bigarsebelinda sorry for slow response !! Yep was done at a private clinic, the Iron Clinic to be precise, and it was getting on for £500 with the consultation. I was at my wits end by that point though so asked for money for my birthday and used that to help fund it. Was very worth it, as I felt so much better for months afterward, and able to do my job/string a sentence together/watch something on the tv till it ended, rather than falling asleep after five mins.

Was expecting to feel ropey afterwards as I'd read a lot about side affects, but thankfully I was ok. Most people seem to feel the same or worse for about two weeks, then much better. Well worth investigating if you can afford to, although I appreciate the cost of going private is rather prohibitive x

Thanks Yoda! It was the iron clinic I was looking at. I might give them a call.

It's a lot of money but might be worth the investment.

Good to know it made you feel so much better. I've been thinking about how hard I find it to do much because it's exhausting. Even 10% better would be amazing right now.

I've had a shit day with the supplements. Only managed one of the three per day today and I've had really stomach cramps, nausea like morning sickness and now it's all churning. Not sure I can tolerate it much more.

Im on iron from my gp and B12 too. 3 B12 tablets a day for 3 months. They go hand in hand!

Echo the report that quick mentions; I raised my iron more quickly through a focussed iron rich diet than I had with x3 iron tablets daily, which I think was causing huge stomach issues.

Basically stopped dairy, had some spatone I think and lots of rare steaks. (About twice a week.) I stopped gluten too - not sure that made a difference.

(The stomach issues were being triggered by the iron but didn't settle when I stopped and were basically ibs. I was loosing a lot of weight; the Gp suggested trying a loose FODMAP diet. I had some hard cheese late at night though.)

Just a thought; with constipation, have you had a thyroid test? Though a better ferritin result may help improve a slightly low thyroid level.

So glad I found this thread. I’m on ferrous fumarate 3x per day, does anyone know how long I should space the dosages out? Would it matter if I took all 3 at the same time?

@lhmua12

So glad I found this thread. I’m on ferrous fumarate 3x per day, does anyone know how long I should space the dosages out? Would it matter if I took all 3 at the same time?

Definitely don't take them all at once.

They are better absorbed on empty stomach but having done that yesterday I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe with meals but watch what the meals are as some foods affect absorbency.

Have you already started taking them ?

Last year my ferritin dropped to 11, my Hb was normal though. I felt dreadful. I was short of breath on minimal exertion. I was pale. Shattered all the time. Migraines twice a week.
I was started on iron tablets. I took mine in the evening - you’re not supposed to take them within 2 hours of drinking tea because it effects the absorption and I love a brew. I couldn’t take them on a full stomach because they made me sick but I had them about an hour after my evening meal. I gradually found the side effects wore off and within about 2 weeks I started feeling loads better. My GP did consider sending me for a Gastroscopy and Colonscopy but I’ve had normal ones in recent years and I have endometriosis so we agreed I’d take the tablets and see if it make a significant difference. It rose and has stayed up. However with yours being so low I would be pushing for an explanation. Better to rule things out (like coeliac) then to be treating what is basically the symptom (low iron) without identifying the cause.

Was also going to recommend The Iron Clinic. It'll take you forever to reach a decent ferritin level on tablets. A ferritin of 5 is dreadfully low, and needs to be at least 80 for optimum hair growth, so the hair loss will improve once you get it up. As other have said, important to find out the underlying cause of it being so low though. Best of luck.

My daughter and I struggle with ferritin levels. I've been on iron tablets for years - ferrous Gluconate is the best for my stomach. If my ferritin drops below 18, I feel awful. GPs are sometimes really odd about prescribing, ours says anything above 11 is fine, I'm on my knees at that stage. DD has been as low as 4, she is constantly exhausted and faints, I pushed for an iron transfusion for her, was told there was no chance and the paed said her symptoms are unlikely to be caused by low ferritin. She takes 600mg of Ferrous Gluconate a day and is currently at 10. I worry that one day the GP will refuse to prescribe, but 20mg is the highest dose that can be bought over the counter.

@NooneElseIsSingingMySong

Last year my ferritin dropped to 11, my Hb was normal though. I felt dreadful. I was short of breath on minimal exertion. I was pale. Shattered all the time. Migraines twice a week. I was started on iron tablets. I took mine in the evening - you’re not supposed to take them within 2 hours of drinking tea because it effects the absorption and I love a brew. I couldn’t take them on a full stomach because they made me sick but I had them about an hour after my evening meal. I gradually found the side effects wore off and within about 2 weeks I started feeling loads better. My GP did consider sending me for a Gastroscopy and Colonscopy but I’ve had normal ones in recent years and I have endometriosis so we agreed I’d take the tablets and see if it make a significant difference. It rose and has stayed up. However with yours being so low I would be pushing for an explanation. Better to rule things out (like coeliac) then to be treating what is basically the symptom (low iron) without identifying the cause.

Thanks noone

Tips on how to take them is really helpful. I've been in so much pain today and so nauseated I struggled to work.

I m interested in whether your migraines have improved since taking the iron?
I had around 2/3 of the month of September with migraine. I need a break from that !

@NuzzleandScratch

Was also going to recommend The Iron Clinic. It'll take you forever to reach a decent ferritin level on tablets. A ferritin of 5 is dreadfully low, and needs to be at least 80 for optimum hair growth, so the hair loss will improve once you get it up. As other have said, important to find out the underlying cause of it being so low though. Best of luck.

Thanks. I think I'm coming to the conclusion that it will take soo long to get the levels up high enough that I can't afford to wait really.