Could these blood results really make you feel this bad??

[Bug84]

vitamin d - 41.1 nmol/L
serum ferritin - 18.0 ug/L

Went to the gp last week as have been feeling really truly awful for about 3 weeks. Honestly thinking i must have an autoimmune condition or something horrific.

Horrible fatigue, literally feel it in my bones. Everything is taking much more effort. Sooo tired but finding it hard to sleep. Sore hip. Horrific anxiety (which I’ve had for years but just much worse) and just feeling really really shit. Had bloods done and all looked normal aside from the above two. Could these alone really make you feel so unwell??

Does anyone have any experience or tips to get these up quickly?

How's your diet OP? I think the weight loss/use of Wegovy is key here.

I don’t think it’s that bad… I’ve stuck to the lowest dose and it’s just helped me to not eat silly portions, stuff my face with chocolate every night etc. but it could probably be better in terms of more veggies etc. maybe I’ll try skipping a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference

Thank you all again for all your advice! I’ve made an appointment for next week to follow up and I’m going to ask for thyroid bloods. I’m going to follow your advice about taking the iron every other day. I was wondering about asking for tranexamic acid to make my periods lighter too.

Your ferritin and B12 are both low and that could absolutely explain your symptoms. You need a coeliac test too as that can be a cause of low iron and b12.

Hope you can get sorted and feel better soon.

My Wife had all those symptoms but worse couldn’t get out of a chair unaided. Hers was vitamin D, although her results were a lot lower. Still recovering but better after 4 months on a very high dose of vitamin D.

@Bug84 Those results could certainly be contributing to how you're feeling. A vitamin D level of 41.1 nmol/L is low, and a ferritin of 18 µg/L is at the low end, and many people experience symptoms even before they're technically anaemic.
Fatigue, muscle or bone aches, low mood, increased anxiety and feeling generally run down can all be associated with low vitamin D and low iron stores. That said, it's also important not to assume they're the only cause, especially if your symptoms are severe or don't improve with treatment.
If your GP recommends supplements, try to take them consistently. Iron stores can take a few months to replenish, and vitamin D levels also take time to improve, so unfortunately there's rarely a quick fix.
I recently came across some helpful information from Leafease about fatigue and managing long-term health symptoms, which reinforced how important it is to address deficiencies while also reviewing the bigger picture if symptoms persist.
If you start treatment and still feel this unwell after a reasonable period, I'd definitely go back to your GP for a review rather than assuming it's "just" the blood results.

Hi everyone thought I’d update, feeling low tonight 😔 looking back at this post and it’s been about 7 -8 weeks of feeling like this 😔 still got the fatigue, weird mild fluey feeling, and general sense of doom. Frightened I’m never going to feel better and need to be on top for my kids. Saw a lovely gp on Fri who listened to me and gave me a good once over. She’s ordered more bloods including autoimmune markers, hormonal stuff and a glandular fever test, but the appt isn’t for like 3 weeks. My sinuses and throat have been sooo dry and I’ve got a dry annoying cough now too. Not sure if I’ve picked up a cold on top of everything as one of my kids was sneezing tonight. Trying to stay positive but it’s really getting me down! Taking the iron & vit d but really feel there must be something more going on.

Ps have paused the wegovy for now - feel like it’s definitely worth seeing if it helps (it’s been 10 days and if anything I feel worse so prob not that 😂)

Just FYI oP, my husbands ferritin was 18 and on his second test a month or so later was 13 and he was offered an iron infusion. So they do give them at a certain level!

Are you on PPI’s long-term by any chance? Like omeprazole, esomeprazole? As this stops you absorbing iron…

Low ferritin and vit D can certainly make you feel terrible and affect mood / exacerbate a tendency towards anxiety.
supplement and rebook blood test for 3 months time
You need a proper iron supplement eg ferrous sulphate - take with vitamin C first thing and on alternate days

I recently got told that even though my ferritin was low, as long as it was normal, they wouldn't give me infusion. When I tried to say what I'd read on here, she suggested menstruating women never go above 30 and that was that.
sorry you're feeling to rubbish, miserable. hope you get some answers soon

There is a discrepancy between the NHS lab reference ranges for ferritin and NICE guidelines. NICE state that ferritin below 30 indicated iron deficiency and that 15 or below indicates ‘clinically absent levels’

My dd had ferritin of 14, that came up to 18 with iron supplementation over a six month period. I paid for a private iron infusion and the impact on both physical and mental health was nothing short of miraculous.

The private clinic want ferritin levels over 80 for optimal health

Add had felt dreadful for years, camhs input for massive anxiety, we considered chronic fatigue or POTS as potential issues. It was iron.

I’m a menstruating woman. My ferritin is over 100

Wow @WaitingForMojothats really shocking but amazing you helped her. My anxiety is pretty raging 😅 I wonder if I could look into a private infusion. My periods are really heavy but I’m thinking of trying the coil.
the nurse gave me some tranexamic acid which I took for my recent period and it did help but it seemed a bit longer than it usually is.

My ferritin is 39 per my last blood test. I have a blood disorder and my consultant likes it to be between 20-50. Have you also had your TSAT level checked? This is the level of available ferritin in your body.