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Iron level below 10 what to expect?

17 replies

swapsicles · 10/12/2025 19:23

So kind of suspected I had low iron, had it previously and was prescribed iron tablets quite a few years ago but not really had a follow up so that and the fact they weren't great on my stomach I stopped taking them.
I'm awaiting a telephone appt regarding my results - serum ferritin is 8 and apart from feeling a bit tired that's the only symptom.
Any idea what the likely outcome would be?
Given that it is normal for me to have low iron and other blood tests were all ok inc B12.
Just wondering if it'd just be tablets again?

OP posts:
Gloriia · 10/12/2025 20:40

You'll just be prescribed ferrous fumarate again. As you've been deficient before it'll probably be an ongoing issue and you may well end up on supplements for life.
Just keep on top of it by having levels checked annually.

Cleanthatup · 10/12/2025 21:05

Expect the bare minimum… women’s health isn’t taken seriously here. I’ve had low iron my entire life, can’t take the tablets as they are very sore on me. Just keep getting fobbed off!

Went private 4 years ago & my iron levels where so depleted my doctor said the last time he had seen someone that low, they were on the operating table bleeding out!!

He gave me iron infusions every 8 months & the differ it made was life changing. Unfortunately I can’t afford private health any more. But if you can, that’s the road I would go down.

Flako · 10/12/2025 21:08

Tablets, mine was lower I felt like death, so like @Cleanthatup i ended up getting private infusions,

Losingtheplot2016 · 10/12/2025 21:10

My 15 yr old had this level last year. She was prescribed iron and given the pill to stop her periods. She wasn’t anaemic as her red blood cells were apparently fine??? !
She was extremely tired all the time. Napping after school.

i was pretty disappointed with the response. We are currently in the same situation and her levels are going down but she doesn’t want take the pill. She’s having repeat blood tests tomorrow. Given the response above I may press to use our private health care

arcticpandas · 10/12/2025 21:11

Mines always btw 7-15. I take iron supplements irregularly because they constipate.

Littlemissweepy · 10/12/2025 21:13

Probably prescribed iron tablets again. I think they can do injections aswell if the levels
need to be brought up quicker than tablets can achieve.

When I was really bad in early 20s I got a blood transfusion first, then iron tablets after. I still take the supplements now 20
years later, though the lighter ones that are gentler on stomach and don’t turn my 💩 black.

Greybeardy · 10/12/2025 21:29

there's quite a lot of us batting around with low iron stores and not much in the way of symptoms...it isn't always as bad as you read in the many threads on here. Trial of oral replacement is usually first line & usually works. If it doesn't then IV may be an option. If there's a pressing need to fix things quickly then IV may be better (eg. if you're waiting for a big operation/having angina/just had a baby etc). Anything else that needs doing depends a bit on how certain you are about what's causing it. For example if you're a veggie with heavy periods and not getting masses of symptoms then it often doesn't need to much doing apart from topping up the iron +/- slowing down the periods. If, for example, you don't have periods, are losing weight, bleeding from unusual places, very anaemic then that definitely warrants more thought. If the last time you took oral iron was years ago, it may have been a different regime to what's usually used now so side effects may be less of a problem (the old school 200mg 3x a day was rough on the guts... these days once a day or even less frequently is more commonly used with the same results in terms of iron absorption but fewer GI side effects so a lot of people get on better with it).

swapsicles · 10/12/2025 21:30

Thank you, I had a quick look at private infusions but unfortunately well out of affordability and I get nothing via work.
Will have to do some research on the different tablets if given the choice, I remember the black 💩 and stomach aches from before!

OP posts:
mummytrex · 10/12/2025 21:31

Mine is 6. GP and hosp entirely uninterested as il only " mildly anaemic" (haemaglobin 114). Had to go private.

PurpleCyclamen · 10/12/2025 21:33

Iron tablets, possibly ones you buy yourself (multivitamins with iron). Make sure you are checked for Coeliac disease - it’s a common cause of low iron.

IBorAlevels · 10/12/2025 21:36

TBH you'd be better off with NHS if you had erectile dysfunction - Sildenifil (viagra) is freely given.

Iron or B12 injections to stop hair loss, low libido, exhaustion, stress on organs, brain fog, shortness of breath, palpitations, pica, tinnitus, mouth sores, glossitis, dysphagia and restless leg syndrome - not a hope in hell. It's a women's issue.

SErunner · 10/12/2025 21:38

What’s the issue with taking iron supplements? They work, that’s why they’re prescribed. Modify your diet to manage the constipation. You don’t need to be on them long term, a boost for a month every now and again will be enough to keep your stores bolstered. It would be a waste of money and is really unnecessary to send everyone with low ferritin for an iron infusion.

Chazbots · 10/12/2025 21:39

I think I either started or contributed to a thread about iron a while back and it was suggested that the iron pills taken every other day (not the 3x per day GP said) work equally as well or better.

I'm mostly veggie these days but supplement with black pudding!

WellyBellyBoo · 10/12/2025 21:45

I have had great success with iron tablets. Three months and I felt like a new person. I hadn't realised how tired I was as I think it had got low slowly over time. Didn't have any significant digestive issues. I appreciate that some do need infusions but wanted to share that tablets can be amazing too.

cardboard33 · 10/12/2025 22:10

I started to take iron tablets (ferrous feratin) when I was pregnant and when I complained, the midwife told me to take them with orange juice (or other high in vitamin C drink) and a high fibre breakfast food to help my body absorb it. This advice made a world of difference, and aside from having dark poo, I took them for 5+ years including through chemo and only stopped taking them daily when my levels became high enough to be a concern. Have you tried making simple modifications to how you take them? I am now on some other lifelong meds for hypothyrodism and it took about a year of trial and error to get the timing right for taking them, but I am clearly just not going to stop taking them when they make me better, particularly if I then wonder why I am having the same health issues.

Jibbee · 10/12/2025 22:16

My DD is experiencing this

Whattododa · 10/12/2025 22:22

Iron rich diet, even for a few weeks can make a big difference and much easier on the body as the animal /veg/2whatever has already done the hard work for you.

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