Low iron or am I imagining it all?!

[KimberleyS91]

Hi! So I’m due second baby in August (28+3) and for almost two weeks now I’ve been unwell. Started off with a woozy head at times and I felt like my heart rate was up. I then got a cold, lost my voice, felt rubbish. The dizziness got more persistent, and the fatigue became next level. I’ve been racked with guilt because I can’t play with my son, I just want to sleep, I have no energy to even get off the sofa sometimes and I keep napping.

Maternity triage have been telling me I’m anxious, need to drink more and didn’t really want to see me (it felt like) because I have my 28 week appointment on Tuesday, but I did go in today.

Covid and flu was negative.
Urine sample was clear.
Blood pressure and pulse were fine (but I feel like my heart rate is up for me).

They checked my iron levels and said that they were low but within normal range so not low iron. I realised though that back at my booking appointment they had told me my iron levels were actually high - 151. Today they were 115.

My question is, could it be that I’m not “medically” anaemic but my body hasn’t coped with such a significant drop? Shall I do anything about this?

I just want to feel better and to be a half decent mum, I’m absolutely miserable at the moment.

I would speak to your midwife hun, say that you’re symptomatic of anaemia and even though your iron level is ‘normal’ it’s dropped by over 30! I’d also ask them to take a ferritin level too xx

Are you taking prenatal vitamins?

I have been put on iron tablets for a slightly low iron count. But kind of hating then as they make me feel a bit sick at the moment.

I wonder if your body is really run down from being pregnant and looking after a toddler? I know I'm feeling that way at the moment. I heard it would be hard but i never knew it would be this hard.
I do find i feel better outside, like fresh air seems to give me a bit of a boost. Not loads but enough for me to take little one to toddler groups or to the park.

Check with your midwife either way. Maybe they can give you a low dose or iron to see how that effects your energy levels and bloods?

Hiya I'm 28+3 and have exactly the same symptoms. Triage run all the tests on me and they all came back normal too. But I've been off work for 3 weeks now as I sit at my desk and the dizziness makes everything go purple, I cant travel well max 15mins sitting in a car before I need to lie down and I am sooooo tired.

I'm sorry you are feeling this way, I don't have any advice just want you to know you are not alone and can only do what you can do. 12 weeks to go xxx

Increase iron rich foods in your diet like dark leafy greens and red meat. Take alongside things like orange juice as vitamin c helps you absorb iron. Avoid calcium with it as that blocks absorption.

gettimg it from food is much better than taking iron supplements which can cause stomach pain and constipation. Make sure you’re drinking plenty too. My iron levels weee borderline and I changed my diet and the levels shot up in two weeks.

If you have symptoms of anaemia, why not just start an iron supplement? You know your own body. It would solve a whole heap of stress instead of visiting triage.
Iron tablets are prescribed by the trust I am under for levels of 110 or below.

You could have low ferritin levels (your irony stores); they don't usually check that. Just start an iron supplement? Iron bisglycinate is very well absorbed and well tolerated by most people.

Are you vegetarian by any chance. This can contribute to low iron levels

If not then maybe eat a bit more red meat and see how you feel. It doesn't have to be much

I realised though that back at my booking appointment they had told me my iron levels were actually high - 151. Today they were 115.

Is this your haemoglobin or your ferritin levels?

I don’t know the technical terms but I know last time I was pregnant my iron levels were tested and the lowest they reached was borderline. This time they have changed the test and now test for ferritin. It seems to show so many more people up for low iron and I’ve had a low dose of iron the whole way through this time. You could maybe ask if you’ve had the ferritin blood test

Hey. Mine was 115 at 28 week blood test and I was given a prescription for iron. Although borderline (I think below 116 is prescribing level in my hospital) midwife said it would only continue to decrease so better to start on the iron before that happens. I’m 33 weeks now and have bloods tomorrow to check levels but I definitely feel much better!

I swear by spatone to bring my iron levels up. I was anaemic in my last pregnancy and took 2 sachets per day from week 16 when my consultant told me that my iron levels were low. I don't get on with prescription iron, so took spatone instead. On my next blood test about 10 weeks later, my levels were mid-range normal.

Some people say that spatone doesn't help their anaemia, but for me, I felt better after a week or two and the results were clear from blood tests. Before then I was very dizzy and kept fainting.

Hi, I had similar symptoms to yours early in pregnancy - racing heart, really tired, breathless and also felt cold all the time. I had all the symptoms of anemia but tested 113 and was told that level wouldn’t cause symptoms. But like you my level before pregnancy had been higher - 133. At my next blood test my iron level dropped again to 107 and they prescribed iron tablets - at that point I was told I had to take supplements as diet changes wouldn’t be enough to increase iron levels. Trust your instincts - if you have symptoms of anemia and your iron level is low for you, don’t let them fob you off. I think there’s a lot of individual difference in ‘normal’ levels and it sounds like your current iron level is a long way below your normal level.

Thanks so much everyone!

So I have my midwife appointment on Tuesday, I know they haven't tested my ferritin levels (seems like only some trusts do this?) so I'm going to ask them to test these and also B12. Not sure if they will do that, but if not I'll maybe ask my GP. I can't keep feeling like this. In the meantime, I'm going to try bump my iron up naturally with the right foods and hope that it helps.

Thank you everyone who has replied so far - it seems like maybe whilst medically I'm "normal" perhaps such a significant drop is what my body hasn't been able to handle!

These are my haemoglobin levels :)

I visited triage based on the advice they gave me because of the feeling of a rapid heart beat too (they have also referred me to the cardiologist too to just double check everything). I'm not an expert so I wasn't sure if the symptoms I had were anaemia and I didn't want to add anything to the other meds I'm on before I knew for sure :)

Just to add to this midwife advised me to always go to triage if worried. Triage also agreed when I got there and told me to come back if I was still concerned as many times as I needed to. The consultant I saw that discharged me, said we as mum are not medical professionals so if something isn't right they know what they are looking for and what things to test. I had urine, blood test, ecg blood pressure lots of stuff and all came back normal. But even while I was there I had 1 episode that they witnessed where my heart rate when crazy and i went dizzy but they couldn't diagnose anything so said rest and keep monitoring it xxxx one of the things they did say is baby is a little internal oven causing overheating and could also be the position of the baby impacting blood flow for short periods of time causing a sudden drop. 🥰

In that case that IS a big drop. They should check your ferritin, because that's likely dropped too and shouldn't be below 30 in pregnancy. It's no good them saying your haemoglobin is normal when the drop is clearly very large and you have symptoms.