Should I go for second opinion re iron

[mizu]

Will try and keep this simple. Been feeling rubbish for quite a while. Had blood test which said my iron level is 6.

I take Spatone (2) every morning with orange juice.

Can't take tablets as i have a teribly sensitive stomach to lots of things including iron. So my iron is low.

Doc i spoke to on the phone when i rang for my results said the spatone is just skimming the surface of the problem and i needed injections or an infusion (which I have had before when i was pregnant). Go to different doc today - the one who suggested the blood tests - and she said no (something about it being difficult to organise at the hospital and that it is quite dangerous)and that i should try a different medicine and gradually build it up, it may work or may not, it may hurt my stomach it may not.

She was not willing at all to consider the injections or infusion as she said 6 wasn't that low. I told her that I had been off work for two days and that i basically was feeling really really knackered all the time. So should I go back to the other doc or try the medicine. i just really want something to work NOW.
Is there anything else i can do - red meat, guiness?

Have they established thaat the cause of anaemia is iron-deficiency? There are other causes and no amount of iron supplements will help. Btw, the other causes are treatable and not scary!

you have my sympathies. I always used to have low iron, and when pg it got worse and i felt awful

in my last pregnancy however ,I was absolutely fine, and when i had my bloods done my levels were fabulous.

THe only thing that had changed was that I had cut dairy out of my diet.
Dairy inhibits iron absorption, as I am sure you know, so I came to the conclusion that perhaps my general intake of dairy had been enough that I really wasn't absorbing enough of the iron in my food (or in the spatone when i took that)

combined with an increase in things like green leafy veg and stuff which I had to make up for the lack of calcium from the dairy I think it made a HUGE difference and it' definitely something worth thinking about IMO

if you eat a lot of dairy it could be worth at least cutting down and seeing if that helps

and of course nicky is absolutely right. they need to check out any other possible causes of anaemia too!

Are you just seeing the GP?
I'd be asking for a referral to a haematologist

What iron tablets have you tried? There are alternatives to ferrous sulphate that you may find more tolerable

Have they also checked your ferritin levels?

I've been prescribed sodium feredetate oral solution ( and also tranexamic acid tablets for very heavy periods).
I guess i am low on iron cos my periods are v heavy. Have got an appointment at the hospital in June to talk about it. I've heard that they can take away the lining of the womb and that makes periods much better.
I will try and cut out dairy, don't ever drink milk anyway but do eat cheese prob every day.
Basically she said that my blood cell count was ok at the moment but that cos my iron was 6 it would start going down soon(?)

What are other causes of anaemia?

well it could be your heavy periods
and they could be caused by something else - your upcoming hosp appt should investigate if there is an underlying cause

i have very erratic iron levels
it has been established (by Drs) that it is nothing to do with my intake of iron... (taking 200 X RDA a day would not help!)
but the fact that (just sometimes) my body will not absorb iron...

so therefor when my iron levels are low i just grin and bear it as taking medication will NOT improve it....

this has been going on for 15 years.... at last test my iron levels were so low that i have been a hospital inpatient i would have been given a blood transfusion

it doesnt normally affect me (ie i dont normally get tired etc) but sometimes i am quite tired all the time and then i know my iron levels are really low!

Other causes of anaemia could be vit B deficiencies, low stomach acid (which would prevent absorption), low Zn, low Cu, too much wheat. You could throw a handfull of fresh parsley over your non-wheat meals to supplemnt that way.
Too much wheat can cause malabsorption of nutrients in a similar way to dairy.

Some meds can prevent absorption too, eg antacids and the pill can also cause imbalance.

Thanks for replies, i am going to increase my iron intake in food, try the medicine and continue the spatone and see what happens.
My gyne app at the hosp has been cancelled but i have now been referred to the menstruation disorder clinic which sounds much more up my street

I'd recommend seeing a nutritional therapist or nutritionist. They would look at your whole diet and see if it is balanced and advise you on areas you could adjust to help with your iron absorption. You might be able to see one through the NHS, but most likely would just have to look one up in the yellow pages.