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.

Callar. That's awful for your daughter. You'd think they would give the infusion a try to see if it helps.

Is it very expensive within NHS , does anyone know ?

I hope she gets the help she needs.

And you too!

I had an infusion last year. Felt like a new women! I'd definitely push for one if I was you.

I've got similar low levels, mine were 10. Also nearly gave up on the tablets due to them making me feel so sick. It did wear off though. I haven't had my levels re-checked yet.

Does anyone know what can cause stored iron levels to drop like this? I have a coil in so no periods to blame.

I would like to go vegetarian so need to learn how to manage this.

I would like to go vegetarian so need to learn how to manage this.

I've been on and off veggie for years. No matter how hard I try, I can't keep my ferritin levels up when I'm veggie without supplementing massively, which then wrecks my stomach. I don't like eating meat, but I've pretty much had to accept that I will have to.

Is it very expensive within NHS , does anyone know ?

I'm not sure, but the paediatrician refused on the grounds of never prescribing them, they are risky, have potential side effects and can throw all your other levels out of whack. I would consider the Iron Clinic for DD after Corvid, but the paed has convinced her that it isn't her ferritin levels that are making her ill and although he has upped her iron tablets massively, the GP then refused to prescribe the bigger dose.

the usual suspects are

• shit diet (seriously shit though)
• blood loss somewhere (heavy periods, bleeding in the gut)
• mal absorbtion (like coeliacs dissase)
• pregnancy

I was taught that low iron is a symptom and what causes it needs to be found and treated in addition to raising the iron level with medication.

Sorry .. I'm commenting just to follow as I. Ant see the 'watch'button on my phone.

@CallarMorvern that's what I'm fearing. Can you keep your levels up without tablets when you eat meat? The doctor gave me quite short shrift and said need to eat 2-3 portions of red meat a week as standard, and if the kids aren't doing that then they ought to take supplements too.

I've never eaten much red meat, was a bit taken aback!

I’ve just stumbled across this thread. I’ve been anaemic on and off for years due to heavy periods. I asked last week if I could have my levels checked as I feel so tired and weak. Came back HB 99 Ferritin 5. I already have awful IBS (clear endoscope and colonoscopy last year) and am sitting here plucking g up the courage to take the ferrous fumerate the gp has prescribed!
I have started taking Spatone again (although gp says it’s not much better than water).
I joined an anemia support group on Facebook and many there recommend ferrous glycinate,
I can’t afford iron infusions, I looked at the weekend £700!
I am absolutely dreading taking the iron meds.

@ReeseWitherknife
give them a try. not everyone has bad side effects and as above in thread there are some things you can do if you get bad ones.
I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks pink I have purchased some alternative iron so will have a back up if the prescription ones aren’t suitable.
Can I ask everyone what were your symptoms with low ferritin levels?

@ReeseWitherknife for me, levels are 10, even after a full night's sleep my face feels really haggard! Is that a thing?! I rang the doctor because I'd get the kids off to school, fire up my laptop to work then just start to cry.

Thanks indesisivelurcher I am the same, feel pretty exhausted. I am also very anxious and have tinnitus which I’ve read can be a symptom. Oh and I am always cold expect for the middle of the summer!

Here are my symptoms. I get that some of these are pretty generic to other conditions but they all align with what I've read for low ferritin and IDA

Hair loss/ awful condition hair
Heart beat thumping most of the time .
Bad nails
Brain sludge/ bad concentration
Poor memory
Bad sleep
Cold almost all the time except in heat waves
Loads of migraines and headaches
Dizziness
Feeling awful :waking up feeling as tired as bedtime, feeling out of breath climbing stairs, can’t do much more than one thing at weekend with kids or I really struggle to get through next week

Chronic constipation
Dehydration hard to keep on top of 3L only just stops me waking up parched.

No idea if the last two are related but they are very annoying!

At my lowest my ferritin was 2.5 (hospital told me normal was 30-150), doctor was shocked i was still walking around to be honest. I had to take 400mg a day (ten years later i still take 200mg). My blood iron levels were fine i just didn't store it for some reason.

I found it made my stomach funny for a few weeks but my body got used to it.

Reccomend taking only after food (I know you're supposed to take on an empty stomach but it just made me feel so ill) and with some orange juice to help absorbtion

Ask your doctor for a different formulation to see if that makes a difference. I swapped and the second type was better on my stomach.
Over the counter ones just don't have enough iron. Like spatone.
Definitely insist on finding out the reason, especially if you don't have heavy periods. Iron supplements are like the plaster but you need to find the cause.
I found out I was coeliac. Have felt much better since.

My low ferritin was found to be due to Coeliac disease too. I didn't have other classic symptoms of it. Ask GP to do the blood test for it. (Some GP's seem reluctant, as my son found when he asked for one. His test came back positive, to that GP's surprise)

5 is way too low. The U.K. reference range is pretty low (min 12) but the lab noted on my most recent tests that they recommend women have ferritin of 30 and above to be a “well woman”.

I find mine needs to be above 50 to feel fully well, and I’m rarely anaemic in a Hb sense, just low iron.

Mine has dipped recently following pelvic surgery and my ill effects are back - a twitching eye lid and nocturnal foot cramps. No GP will recognise these symptoms but years of good quality magnesium supplements did nowt whereas iron supplements totally resolved them in a month or two.

I take Ferrograd (slow release ferrous sulphate) at bed time to minimise ill effects. Again the U.K. guidelines advise against enteric coated iron but where I’m from (Australia) it’s the norm, and it certainly works for me & has for over 20 years.

bigarsebelinda crikey, looking at your list I have virtually all of those symptoms, my hair has been so fine the last few years that I have resorted to wearing a hair topper! I also suffer with constipation but put that down to my IBS!
I rang my gp yesterday and asked if there is a different type of iron I could take as I was concerned about it making IBS worse but she said no, preserve for a week and stop if make stomach bad!

I also get really annoying restless leg syndrome which resolves as ferritin goes up.
But do investigate cause! Might even be internal bleeding.

Oh I suffer from restless legs too, is that related? And headaches. Ugh. I wonder what's caused this. I need to read up.

indecisivelurcher

I'm OK for so long, then it drops again. But it never drops as far as when I'm veggie. But I don't eat beef or lamb at all, I try to eat duck which has the same iron levels as steak.
My lowest point was doing veganuary and I was so careful with my macros. No cause has ever been found.

Facebook and many there recommend ferrous glycinate,

That's interesting I have some ferrous biglycinate. But 20mg was the strongest I could buy and the capsules are huge.