Periods causing anaemia

[KindKylie]

I've finally got round to tackling my torrential, agonising periods and irregular bleeding and have seen the gp a couple of times. I've been prescribed tranexamic acid and been referred for a pelvic ultrasound. I also had blood tests taken for anaemia and received a phone call late on Friday saying the results are abnormal (low ferritin, low mcv). I'm guessing i will hear more tomorrow but wondering if anyone has had experience of similar?

I feel overwhelmingly rubbish. I'm always tired and lacklustre, my arms and legs feel haevy/weak and I can't exercise without feeling dizzy and short of breath. I'm cross with myself for letting it get to this stage (I think it's a bit like boiling a frog) but now I'm desperate to feel better. I've been anaemic in the past and tried iron tablets but get horrific stomach pain and black diarrhoea so not sure what the way forward is going to be...

Any experience?

There are other ways of taking iron, in liquid forms, which are usually easier on the stomach, because it's quite common for people to struggle with digesting them. You might still get black poo, but it shouldn't be diarrhoea. Tell your GP that you have had trouble with tablets in the past.

I had smaller iron tablets that weren’t as bad. I did have smelly soft poo but I also felt much better.

I tried the liquid but it is like drinking rusty nails-I couldn’t do it regularly.

I take ferrograd tablets thanks to period induced anaemia. No stomach problems

That should say ferrograd c tablets

Thanks for all these tips, will look them up.

I feel awkward about being reticent to take the tablets when I'm asking them for help! I just feel so rubbish at the moment I can't contemplate adding stomach problems into the mix too! I took Spatone in pregnancy with dried apricots and kept anaemia at bay then but I think I'm in a much worse place now.

Hello, sorry to hear you’ve been feeling so awful. I’ve also experienced the same and still am, with heavy periods and anaemia. My periods are not painful though just heavy and tranexamic hasn’t made much difference. Alhough that’s just my experience, I have heard it’s helped in other cases.
Also on iron tablets but similar to you not liking the side effects and am reluctant to take them. My dr was pushing for me to take them 3x a day as my levels were so low but I can only manage 2x. I’m quite forgetful in taking them though tbh but can really feel the difference when I haven’t taken them. The tiredness is awful, sometimes it’s like wading through thick mud. It’s hard to explain to people too who haven’t experienced it.
You could also take feroglobin alongside your tablets, it’s a liquid iron and gentler on the stomach. I do hope you feel better soon!

Yes, I have. First, ask how low is your ferritin and how anaemic are you? Get the numbers. You could ask if an iron infusion would be possible given your lack of tolerance for iron supplements - some people do get them on NHS.
Usually ferrous sulphate (Ferrograd) is prescribed by the NHS which can be brutal on your digestive system, but you can ask for ferrous fumerate instead which can be gentler. Better still is ferrous bisglycinate which I think you’d have to buy yourself. Take it with vitamin C, and away from dairy and bread/pasta to maximise absorption. Eating red meat/liver/clams every week really can help, but slowly.
I hope they can get your blood loss down. I’ve got a good link of heavy period somewhere, I’ll have a look...

I was hospitalised and a blood transfusion was recommended. Opted for an iron infusion instead (takes weeks/months to work compared to blood transfusion which is almost instant, or so I was told). Got coil fitted, light bleeding for about 6 months almost daily, then a couple of months of spotting, then no periods since.

I would be avoiding exercise for the moment as you may be in danger of collapse.

Also, have orange juice with your iron to aid absorption and avoid tea etc which can reduce absorption.

OP, they’ll know that although some people can take iron tables without problems, lots of people find they get awful side effects. So don’t feel bad about it. The better absorbed an iron supplement is, the less strong dose you need to take, so the less digestive issues you have. That’s why the bisglycinate is better. I think it’s a good idea to take a few different types, so keep going with the spatone, but top it up with another form.

If you are regularly losing a large amount of blood then you are likely to become anaemic - as my GP pointed out to me when I was particularly bad.

Tranexamic acid helped significantly but it took a while to get my iron levels up. I was prescribed both iron and B12 injections until the blood loss was under control which resolved the issue within a few cycles. I also had trouble with iron - tell the GP what you had previously and the symptoms you suffered. Also maximise the iron intake and absorption in your diet as far as possible.

I take ferrous fumarate capsules (they're red and green) and I dont get stomach pain. I do have to have a day off after three or four though due to diarrhoea, but at least I'm getting better slowly.

As well as the medical treatment, you could get in the habit of adding things to your diet that will help you. I used to choose mussels when I went to a restaurant, eat red meat regularly and have vitamin c at the same time, liver pate when I could face it, use molasses in baking, cook with cast iron pans, avoid tea and coffee. I think it all helps accumulatively in the long run.

OP, I was diagnosed with this a couple of years ago. Iron levels pretty low, GP was pretty insistent about starting iron three times a day right away. I didn't even feel that bad and was reluctant because I'd had side effects before.

She suggested ferrous fumerate instead of sulphate and it was much better. Also, I was MUCH stricter about the regime - cut right back on tea and none with an hour or two of tablets, much less coffee too, some juice with every one, spaced properly between meals etc etc. It was hard to find good info about maximising absorption. but I just tried everything. Anyway, something worked - I was feeling much better within 6 weeks or so (even tho I hadn't noticed the symptoms) and only needed to be on the tablets for a couple of months.

I ate loads of red meat too, until levels were back to normal.

Thank you so much for the replies. Sorry others have had the same issues but it's great to hear from experience!

Sparkling I think, and I didn't write it down, that my ferritin is 7. She didn't tell me my hb or mcv but said that the mcv was 'very low' and that this suggested it was a long standing issue. I'm going to ring and hopefully discuss properly tomorrow - Friday took me by surprise and I had to cut the call short as I was at work. I felt quite relieved to hear something isn't right because I've been finding life such hard work lately. I'm not keen on liver or clams but will happily up my red meat intake. Will tell DH it's medicinal and ask him to cook!

Do iron infusions cause the same side effects as iron tablets? Or are the side effects because you swallow them and they sit in your stomach?

I hope I can have the coil and lessen the bleeding Sage - sounds much better! I've got to have the ultrasound first because of the pain I get and because I've had previous gynae problems and an ectopic she said they can't just go ahead and fit one yet. I'm sorry to hear you ended up in hospital, sounds awful.

I don't do anything like proper exercise at the moment - I've gradually opted out of most stuff over the last few months through feeling more and more tired and felt inadequate for it. I am now finding the stairs hard work though.

Really hope I can feel better soonish.

Do iron infusions cause the same side effects as iron tablets? Or are the side effects because you swallow them and they sit in your stomach?

That right, the tablets cause digestive issues as the iron goes through your gut. The infusions don’t cause that, but they can cause some people to feel fluey for a couple of days. Within a couple of weeks my ferritin levels were sky high. But I had it privately. I don’t know your chances of getting one on the NHS, guess it depends on your whole medical situation (and your GP practice).

Hello. I was the same (I think mine was 5.something). I got ferrous sulphate 200mg x 3 a day and tranaxemic acid. I found the tranaxemic acid didn’t make much difference tbh.

I’ll be honest, I couldn’t manage 3 tablets a day - made me really nauseous. Doc was happy with me taking 1 and trying to get up to 2, which I managed to get to. Like another poster, I changed my habits - took tablets with orange juice and avoided caffeine for about 3hrs around taking the tablet, all to help absorption. Added more red meat and green veg to my diet and started having fortified cereal for breakfast.

The great news is you should start feeling better really quite quickly - I genuinely felt like wonder woman for a while there, discovering that hills I hadn’t been able to cycle up without stopping are actually totally easy. Even the first time I got to the top of the stairs without gasping was such a buzz.

Are they going to investigate what’s causing it? Turned out I had a huge fibroid and I got a hysterectomy. That sorted out the blood loss issue permanently!

Another thing that I think does me some favours is tahini especially mixed with pekmez or another Turkish fruit molasses. You can swirl them together 50/50 to have with toast or sliced apple. Both are good for iron & I think they must be easily absorbed - it certainly feels like they perk me up.

KindKylie

You really do need to see a gynaecologist and properly establish why this is happening rather than merely try and treat the symptoms.

Has anyone ever mentioned endometriosis to you; this can often be the cause of heavy bleeding as well as periods being agonising in terms of pain.

Tranexamic acid (that is usually also given to women who present with endometriosis) made no real difference whatsoever and a pelvic ultrasound will likely not show anything either. If endometriosis is present it is NOT detected on any such scan. You probably now need keyhole surgery along the lines of a laparoscopy and I would be pushing hard for a gynae referral.