Iron tablets - how many mg?

[Zimunya]

DD's ferritin level is 36, which her doctor says is not outwith NHS "normal" levels. But she has all the symptoms of anaemia:
tiredness and lack of energy
shortness of breath
noticeable heartbeats (heart palpitations)
paler than usual skin
headaches

She already takes 14 mg iron tablets per day, and was taking that when she had the blood test which showed the ferritin levels of 36. I want to increase her iron tablets, but how much is too much? Can anyone let me know where I can find this info?

I think I’m just going to pay to get my blood tested every 4 to 6 months or so, there’s no way my beleaguered gp would authorise that atm, but I find it so helpful to just look after myself.

I did notice, and need to get back to it, that when I steeled myself to eat liver and bacon every week, that I perked right up - I think there are lots of other absorbable elements and micronutrients in offal that a lot of us have lost as their popularity has disappeared (unless you are all making steak and kidney pie and stuffed heart on the regular!)

Ha, I was anemic as a child in the 70s and my parents made me eat liver every week - put me off for life! I am now vegetarian although we occasionally eat meat as a family as DH and DS enjoy it. My low ferretin is probably partly diet related so I need to find good plant based sources of iron and supplement a bit more I think. (Maybe I could manage black pudding once in a blue moon!)

My ferritin was 16 and my folic acid was also very low : both can cause headaches and fatigue. My gp phoned me and told me to buy supplements. I've been taking 20mg 'gentle iron max strength' supplements from Boots and also folic acid tablets. It's been over a month and I feel so much better. I have energy and I'm not falling asleep by 9pm.

If your daughter is 16, you could get her on the nhs app and then you would be able to see the breakdown of her blood test including a clever little chart that'll show you if it's within the normal range.

My 16yo daughter also has problems with this and was prescribed 200mg ferrous sulphate per day. But this seemed to irritate her stomach, so I'm giving her 100mg iron bisglycinate per day instead (the bisglycinate is apparently twice as absorbable as the ferrous sulphate). The one I'm using is from Vega Vitamins, which does 50mg capsules. Time will tell whether it's doing the trick.

One thing I would highly recommend is putting your DD on the pill and running the packets together so that she misses a lot of periods. We did this with my DD and she's had about 3 periods in a year instead of 12. Very difficult to get iron levels up if you're bleeding heavily every month. Plus heavy periods are just miserable anyway.

The levels should be between 30-400 which is Huge
So at 36, yes shes classed as ‘normal’ but it is low

I hate the NHS for this ‘within range, all fine, no treatment’ bullshit

With her levels being that low, i can imagine a 210mg dose will be fine but ideally you want this on a prescription and checked with doctor atleast yearly
Is there anyway you can push to see another doctor?

How old is she? If she has other medical conditions or is taking other medications you shouldnt start taking iron without a doctors approval (ideally) or talk to a pharmacist at a minimum

Yes, you are right. It's clear she needs more iron, but I don't want to randomly decide how much and end up poisoning her! It would be good to do it under medical supervision, but difficult to do that in these circumstances. I loved your comment "I hate the NHS for this ‘within range, all fine, no treatment’ bullshit." That's exactly how I feel. I'm more than happy to pay for the iron tablets - I just want to know she's taking the right dosage, and have some guidance on when to stop. You'd think it wouldn't be too much to ask from the NHS, but apparently it is :(

@Tonkall - thank you. Good advice re running the pills together. She is on the pill, primarily to deal with heavy periods and incredible pain, so this is a ood start. Thank you.