Hello I have had ferritin under 20 for a minimum of 5 years and have been feeling pretty shite. Lots of symptoms, palpitations, air hunger, tiredness, dizziness on standing, etc. I have sporadically been given tablets to take but never for very long and judging by my blood tests over the years my levels have always dropped again.
In summer last year I noticed my hair had become rather dry and brittle looking at the front, and assumed it was my repeated straightening of that section. I stopped and embraced the curl! By October I had noticed thinning at the front on the top and the temples, and realised I had been shedding more (for I don’t know how long).
My doctor ran bloods and my ferritin was at 13.
I’ve been on supplements ever since and my last test I was at 58, in March this year. However the shedding is still going on, worse than ever, though I’m now 3 months post Covid. I assume my levels are now about 70 something, it’s been about 8 months of getting levels up.
My question is this, is this shedding still likely to be from my chronic low ferritin levels? I know Covid doesn’t help. But someone has said because I was deficient so long it’s not likely to be related at all. This has scared me as I thought at least my ferritin can be fixed!
So could the chronic nature of my deficiency have caused this more recently? Or would I have experienced it for all the years I’ve been low?
(Perhaps I’ve been shedding excessively for much longer than I think and it has only been when I’ve lost lots that it’s become noticeable?)
Please help me not panic!