Iron and ferritin

[VelvetDog]

My hb is currently 100 and ferritin 5. I've been anaemic in the past but unfortunately I don't tolerate iron tablets at all. I'm eating all the red meat I can, leafy greens etc and taking feroglobin tablets which I can tolerate. I was wondering about getting some spatone in too, I've not tried it before so it might be worth a punt. I'm having surgery in about 6 weeks and want to try and get it up as much as I can. They won't give an infusion until my hb gets to 70. I don't feel great but I'm so used to feeling rubbish that I think I'm just used to it!

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions that I could could try?

Have you tried ferrous Fumarate for ferritin ?

Yes, unfortunately it came back up and also managed to put entire colon into protest, it was like my digestive tract was paralysed! I just seem to have such an extreme reaction to anything they prescribe. I'm quite hardy and can tolerate pain and discomfort but iron appears to be my nemesis.

I’m surprised they aren’t offering an infusion if you have surgery coming up.
My gp let me limp along with HB of 9 and ferritin of 2 for over 2 years.
Last year I had an endometrial ablation booked, on the day of the procedure I happened to mention to the gynaecologist that I had these low iron levels and he wouldn’t let me go through with it, said if I lost blood during the procedure it could be an issue.
So he referred me for an iron infusion and I had the op a month later.
It may be worth talking to your consultant, see if they can get you in for an urgent infusion.

I totally understand the issue with iron supplements. I can’t tolerate them either, I have digestive issues and they make me feel so bad. Spatone is the only thing which I can take but it’s pretty useless at those levels unfortunately.

Have you tried transdermal patches for iron?
You just stick them on each day.
I am always very low in B12 + Folate & I use patches daily that I buy from Amazon.
They have been life changing for me as I can't tolerate any supplements taken orally.

Spatone is useless for me. It can just about maintain my iron levels if they are good but if i am anaemic they dont bring them back up

Floradix is much better

Floradix

Thank you, these suggestions are great and I'm loading up my Amazon basket. I'd never even thought of patches!

I saw my consultant yesterday and he told me that they wouldn't let me unless my hb was 70, despite the fact that I'll bleed during surgery. He's told me he won't let me bleed much 😂 I really do want to be in the best position possible before going under the knife so willing to try anything.

You could do with a bit of mine OP- I've got ferretin at 154!

Betteryou do an iron oral spray, I struggle with iron tablets and seem to tolerate this.

Show off! Happy to take some off your hands though.

How bad do you think it would be just to try all of these things? I can't imagine I'm going to overdose or anything am I? I don't think I know what it's like to feel well anymore (got other things going on too, hence the surgery) so the thought of any improvement is so enticing.