Low ferritin and haemoglobin - iron supplement confusion

[mouseymouse123]

I've recently found out that I have low haemoglobin & ferratin levels (within range but right at the bottom end, ferratin worse than haemoglobin). This actually fits with symptoms I have been experiencing (fatigue, hair loss, weak nails, mouth sores). I would like to address the issue but I'm a bit confused about supplements. I already take a daily multivitamin which includes 100% daily iron requirements. So should I still take more? If so, which type? Any help would be appreciated ☺️

Never take iron daily. You can only absorb a certain amount every 48hrs.

Go to chemist and buy ferrous sulphate 200mg. Take one every 48hrs on an empty stomach with a vitamin C tablet.

And get a mirena fitted.

Both of these things got my Ferritin from 16 to 118 in 6 months.

The amount in a multi vitamin is negligible compared to what you need.

Thanks for your reply @Gardeningsideeffects

The amount in a multi vitamin is negligible compared to what you need.

So I should ignore the %NRV on the multivitamin, and just dose myself up with extra?

What's the function of the mirena? (I assume you mean coil?)

@mouseymouse123 yes, the Mirena stops the bleeding, so you stop depleting your ferritin stores.

The multi vitamin is not sufficient to replenish your ferritin.

I'm not medical. But I did have painfully low ferritin and got lots of advice on here and these are the things that worked.

Good luck! 😊

16 to 118-that's impressive! I was on and off them for months last year and my ferritin went from 16 to wait for it...22. I am a vegetarian and get quite heavy periods though. So I'll be on them for months again. Just as well I don't get bad side effects. You must feel so much better now!

@Firefly1987 the Mirena was the game changer.

Also I am in peri so added HRT and testosterone so feel wonderful again!!

Preventing the iron loss is key as pp said - so if your periods are heavy then yes, mirena/pill.

If you don't get on with iron salts like sulphate/fumerate (many people get constipated as the iron is not particularly absorbable) then don't give up. There are better ones, such as bisglycinate, and maltose. These are more bioavailable so you absorb more of them and therefore they have less of an effect on your gut.

Whatever type of iron you take, it's vital to take it away from dairy and caffeine and WITH vitamin C. People often take it first thing with orange juice, and then wait half an hour before breakfast.

Orange juice doesn’t have enough vitamin C in it, it needs to be taken with a vitamin C tablet

I'm a big fan of iron bisglycinate. It didn't cause any bowel symptoms (had horrible issues with ferrous sulphate/gluconate/fumerate) and moved my ferritin from 15 to 120 and my energy levels from zero to normal. I used to take it every second day and with a vit C supplement. I drink gallons of tea and that inhibits iron absorption, so I cut down my black tea intake and that clearly helped too.

I'm pleased to say that post menopause, I maintain much better iron levels and only supplement once a week.

Interesting! I will look into this! I'm not currently taking iron but probably will need to again in future 🙄

Will your GP not prescribe a course of iron tablets? The amount you get in a multivitamin is not enough. Take the table on an empty stomach with vit C, no tea or coffee 2 hours before or after.

Yeh, I didn’t know either until I was told by a specialist while being prescribed Ferric Maltol x

Check that your multivitamin doesn't also contain calcium as this stops your body absorbing the iron.
I am struggling with low ferritin and fatigue. Whilst taking a multivitamin and a regular iron supplements with added vitamin C, total iron of 28mg so twice the daily amount my ferritin dropped from 80 to 30 in 4 months - and I'm not menstruating as I'm breastfeeding.

My GP prescribed iron tablets, I started taking these with orange juice 2h before breakfast or drinking anything and in 2 months my iron didn't rise but also didn't drop further. My transferrin is also low however and this is the protein your liver produces to tell your body to absorb more iron.

Can you link to the tablets you use? I have stomach problems on the usual tablets.

Mirena's done nothing for me, I've also tried tranexamic acid, and that absolutely helped massively (although now my periods are a bit wierd, perhaps the mirena kicking in).

That out of the way, I supplemented with 40mg of iron bisglycinate (3 times the 100% amount) every other day (with vitamin C) for 6 months before the mirena/tranexamic acid, and whilst I felt a lot better, it only got my ferritin/iron levels up to bare minimum.

My doctor didn't read the lab report saying that this was very low, and I should supplement (or rather she read it, and didn't connect that I had already been supplementing heavily to get to this point) and suggested I started taking prenatal vits as they have a regulated (14mg!) amount in them. So that wasn't very useful. I'd also switched brands, and noticed I was feeling tired again, so I think there is great variability in the brands.

I've switched back to my old brand, and now take 200mg every other day, plus (dramatically) the reduced period blood loss and I'm feeling better again. I have had the most success with ignennus (?! it's a white bottle with a green label) 20mg Iron Bisglycinate with vitamin C. The other brand I got was a dark packet, and just didn't seem to be as good. I will find out what success I've had when I get back to the doctor in a month for next blood tests.

I'm not sure I can send a link. I buy Iron Bisglycinate at my local health food shop. I've just done a google search and it looks like there are plenty of options for online purchases.

Thank you for all the responses ❤️ I will go and buy some Bisglycinate...i think my main issue will be finding a 4 hour slot when I have no food or tea in my stomach! 😅