Low iron

[mkarra]

Hello

My iron is borderline low 28 (normal 30-300) and my symptoms are crashing fatigue leading up to my period and my hair has been falling out for 2 years. I left it for so long before seeking advice from the doctor because I am 48 and I thought maybe these were linked to peri-menopause. Stupid, I know.

I am on iron tablets 210mg once a day for 6 months. I have been taking them for almost 2 months and I haven't noticed any improvement yet. A few times I thought there was less hair in the shower and got my hopes high but it isn't consistent.

Aside from the usual side effects such as constipation I seem to have put on weight since starting the tablets. No other change in my diet, if anything I am more careful about what I eat than before but my appetite seems to have increased. I go to bed hungry and I wake up ravenous. Has anyone experienced this as a side effect from the iron tablets?

I googled it but there doesn't seem to be a link between weight gain and iron tablets, if anything it is likely to speed up the metabolism. My GP thinks it is possible because iron affects the whole body.

I am going to keep monitoring my weight but if I keep piling on weight I am reluctant to continue with the tablets... Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

You could have an iron infusion or try liquid iron and see if that stops the weight gain.

I've seen Dr A/ Dr Karen on SM say that it's better to take iron supplements every other day because the body blocks further absorption for 24hrs so might be worth looking into as may help with the constipation side and see if appetite alters on days off.

I agree with @Toggled . I only started seeing an improvement when I started taking iron every other day, on an empty stomach with orange juice- and I don't eat or drink anything else for at least half an hour.

Thank you for your replies. To begin with I was taking the iron tablet just before breakfast but I read it is best to take it on an empty stomach half an hour before breakfast. I tried that and it didn't seem to upset my stomach so I have been taking it on an empty stomach since.

Yesterday though was awful. At dinner time I felt lots of pressure on my stomach and I was awake through the night because my stomach was empty and very sore. I actually feel worse than before I started the tablets :(

I am going to ask the GP to take them every other day as you said. Does that mean the duration of the treatment doubles?

Also, if I can't take it on an empty stomach, when should I take it? I have Shredded wheat for breakfast and I read that it shouldn't be taken with wholegrains.

Thanks for your help! x

maybe it wasn't the iron causing your original symptoms? Perhaps you were right with the perimenopause idea? The mantra on MN is that you need a ferritin of 70 to survive, but it just isn't true for everyone - lots of us are fine with much lower.

There are different forms of iron which can be worth trying if your current tablets are causing symptoms.
It may take a few weeks for symptoms to settle after changing too.

Avoid dairy for an hour after, and if taking it with a vitamin c dissolvable drink make sure it's not one which also contains zinc.

I had an iron infusion a couple of months ago as I have a history of Anemia and was recently diagnosed with Fibroids. I had heavy bleeding for several weeks, and as a result I became very low in iron. I've had an iron infusion, and my follow-up blood test showed that I'm no longer anemic. However, I'm still shattered all the time. so I don't know..

I take 2 tablets last thing at night every night and have had zero side effects. My ferritin was very very low and within a fortnight I noticed a significant improvement in my energy. Interestingly I have gained about half a stone for no reason and it’s not going away but I’d not connected the two so no idea if there is a link

Thank you. I am looking at Iron Bisglycinate but I am not sure if a high dose is available on prescription.

It'll be peri. As a pp said many people have low or bordeline ferritin that once treated makes no difference to hairless and fatigue.

I would focus on lifestyle so good diet, hydration, physical activity and good sleep then maybe consider hrt if nothing helps.

The hair loss started around the time my period changed from a regular 28 day cycle to all over the place; sometimes twice a month. I don't see my stomach tolerating the high dose tablets from the doctors. I have never felt so ill.

I have a good diet, I walk daily and have a good night's sleep. So if taking the iron tablet every other day doesn't minimise the discomfort I will have to take an over the counter supplement and add some more iron to my diet. Not sure what else I can do.

My friend takes iron from the doctor's, she is on HRT and she still experiences hair loss... I am reluctant to go on the HRT while I am still menstruating but it is an option if everything else fails.

Does anyone know if liquid iron stains the teeth?

I don’t understand how people get an iron transfusion. I’ve got low iron (ferratin 7 and haemoglobin 107) and have been turned down for one with them saying my levels aren’t low enough.

Sympathies to you OP.

Many people go private for them. Price is astronomical in the UK though. I had one a few years ago and it cost about £800 including appointment with haematologist.

I am glad it is working for you with no side effects other than possibly weight gain. Interestingly, I stopped taking the tablets for 2 days to give my stomach a chance to recover before I re-start taking them every other day and I lost 300g on each of these days. Hmmm....

Coincidence. Iron meds aren't like say insulin or cardiac meds that have an immediate effect, it's a slow build up to get to therapeutic levels. Even if they did have an immediate effect it certainly wouldn't have had anything to do with weightloss. If you gorged on twenty cream cakes today it'd be 2 weeks time that you saw any weight gain, not the day after.
Do you always weigh yourself daily?

No I don't weigh myself daily but when I first noticed that my trousers were getting tight, even though I hadn't been eating more and if anything I was walking more, I started weighing myself daily. I actually thought that there was something wrong with the scales because my weight was going up and up everyday and I bought new scales.

It may indeed be a coincidence but it is a strange one. My weight doesn't fluctuate that much to the point that my trousers feel tight. I was 48 kilos at Secondary school all the way till 2 years after I had my son (38). After I stopped breast feeding I put on some weight and had remained the same until I started the iron tablets.