Iron deficient anemia

[Taransay]

my DH , 63 yrs old , has just found out he has a low hemoglobin of 118. This was discovered at blood doning…no symptoms. A subsequent iron test has shown low iron. Now testing for blood in poo and wee.
my mind is on overdrive….is cancer the only cause??

No - why would it be cancer?! I'd bet it's just iron deficiency, fully treatable with iron supplements/IV.

Try not to worry.

There could be lots of causes, stomach ulcers, taking lots of ibuprofen. Antacids also inhibit iron absorption.

Does he eat an iron rich diet generally? There might not be a “cause” other than he just doesn’t actually consume enough iron.

Iron deficiency is very common.

It could just be dietary. Have red meat, leafy green veg - and vit C to help its absorption. If he takes tablets or liquid supplement, he should avoid tea at the same time (it can inhibit how well it's absorbed.)

My DH is a bit younger, but similar scenario in that he tried to give blood and couldn't due to low iron. He subsequently had blood tests and several months of iron tablets. His GP did eventually get him to do a FIIT test after the next lot of bloods came back low. All was fine.
With my DH, it's almost certainly down to his coffee habit.

To try to settle you, I had similar when I was 18. All was ok and sorted with extra iron.

It is unusual for a male this age to be iron deficient, an investigation to exclude blood loss is necessary.

Thank you for such quick replies
I started looking on…line…I know !!!! The main causes of iron deficiency seems to be internal bleeding which is when I freaked out!
he has no symptoms whatsoever and would have been no wiser if he hadn’t gone blood doning.
He did have Covid about 6 weeks ago and I wondered if the two are connected.

Iron deficiency in men is relatively uncommon so it needs taking seriously. If he’s a regular blood donor though it may just turn out that that is the cause, but the other things need excluding first.

I think he iron level was 9 lower if that means anything

He last gave blood about 12 weeks ago.

How much coffee was he drinking .

Also last FIIT test was April.

thanks for all your replies

The levels for giving blood are higher than the GP would get worried about, because giving blood does deplete your stores. I've been refused donation various times over the years (though I'm a woman, and we have different boundary levels from men for donating blood.)

It's worth checking, but I don't think it's time to panic yet.

He was refused donation last year but not low enough to go to the GP. When he gave blood in August it was one over the limit. He has given over 100 pints which is quite an achievement.

The iron level that is low will have been 'ferritin' and 9 is very low. He will probably be offered an infusion.

Most people who don't regularly eat good quality meat probably aren't getting enough iron in their diet these days for a variety of reasons IMO. I'm strictly vegan so definitely don't and I have to supplement.

Over the counter / prescription iron tablets are pretty brutal on the stomach and often don't absorb, they give constipation and chronic pain so people don't want them and anyway they're not helping. I take 'Mega Food Blood Builder' which are excellent at getting iron up as well as Floradex Liquid and Spa Tone sachets daily (they won't get an iron deficiency corrected but they really help).

The body can't uptake iron on it's own so it needs to be taken with at the very least Vit C. Also never taken near calcium but the GPs never explain any of this so people take painful iron tablets and they don't help.

Thanks for this. His iron was 9 below what it should be….noT 9 …sorry.

he has started tablets and has a vit c to take with each tablet. Hopefully he will tolerate them.

i will look at the supplements you mention.

Oh... sorry for the misunderstanding but that's even worse as the minimum cut off figures are ludicrously low already so to be 9 below that would be quite serious I think.

I hope he'll tolerate the tablets and definitely always take them with Vit C. If he gets bad pain or strange dark green black stools, try not to worry too much, it's just the iron.

Nine. Below what it should be is not terrible, and he would not be offered an infusion.. you are only offered an infusion if your iron is consistently low over a long period it is not just offered on the first instance of finding iron deficiency. He will be told to keep taking iron tablets probably three times a day 350 mg of ferrous, fumarate or sulphate to be taken on an empty stomach in the morning along with vitamin C - I take my iron with a vitamin C supplement in water on an empty stomach. Iron tablets can’t be absorbed if there is food in the tummy or if you have drank tea or coffee or consumed dairy within the last hour .
The supplement started giving me diarrhoea so I had to change to a liquid formulation, but I was told by the gp that this is very expensive for the NHS so unless I was getting really terrible symptoms I should stick to the tablets ( liquid tasted awful anyway and has less iron in it )
his iron stores will go up if it’s lifestyle related and keeps to his supplements If he has noticed black stools , he could have a stomach ulcer but this is easily treatable so don’t worry too much
also remember many cancers, especially bowel cancer- have other noticeable symptoms other than iron deficiency -if the deficiency is all he has noticed that it would be quite unlikely he has bowel cancer

That's not true if the minimum cut off point for ferritin of a man his age is, say, 14, and he's 9 below that, then 5 is terribly low and would be causing horrific symptoms - which can be risk to life due to fainting, dizziness, weakness, chest issues. Also according to many, the cut off levels are absolute nonsense in the UK, far far lower than in other countries. As an individual one is 'too low' when becoming symptomatic which could be anywhere below about 40 and not because of a number.

I was offered an infusion immediately that it was identified that my ferritin was so low and I felt immediately better. Since then I've needed more as it turned out my body wasn't absorbing supplements -but- for me, going gluten free and also changing the types of supplements was a game changer.

I agree with all your points about how to take iron, especially on an empty stomach with no food either side, especially not milky drinks because of the calcium. I wish doctors and pharmacists would explain this!

Thanks everyone.
he has started on tablets twice a day..with vit c.
we are waiting for the FIIT results.

he is absolutely fine , no symptoms , very active , walks a lot etc.

hopefully it is just a life style related

I'm 30 and had iron deficiency. Doesn't mean cancer

Tests have come back clear…phew .
repeat blood tests in a few weeks

I know this is an old thread but going through exact same thing with my DH, almost identical. His ferritin level is 9, is a regular blood donor (last gave in November) & never had an issue with them. Had a FIIT test last year & no issues. Waiting to speak with GP. Did your DH improve on supplementation & was the low iron due to lifestyle, diet?