Just don’t feel right 😔

[Froggles1]

Hi all,

I just wanted some advice. I feel as though since I’ve had my little one (2.5 yrs) I’ve not felt right in myself.

I feel very achy (mainly around my rib area) and my periods are around 2 weeks long (I do have a copper coil). Also I get PMS so much now whereas I didn’t before.
I also feel bone tired (I know most mums probably do!) and get ear infections a lot which I didn’t before.
I’ve been to gp a few times but nothing ever gets resolved. I had blood tests over a year ago & they just said all was ok (which was a relief but my symptoms were still there.
I do think it’s cycle related but I do worry about anything underlying (that is probably some anxiety too)
Any advice or shared experience? I really feel like I need a MOT!!

Did they test your iron? I was a bit like you, extraordinarily heavy periods, feeling not right, lots of chest infections, aching, anxious, grumpy - I thought it was just permenopause and there was nothing individually that jumped out as a ‘big’ issue. Eventually, after my third chest infection in 9 monthd, I had my iron tested and it was on the floor. One month of heavy duty iron tablets was an absolute life saver.

Hope you feel better soon.

When did you have the copper coil put in? It caused all those symptoms and more when I had it. Getting it removed changed my life.

I second the recommendation for iron tablets and also high dose vitamin D.

Hi @Ohdeariedear@peachgreen I did get my iron tested but it was about 18 months ago. I’ve had copper coil for about 20 months so might well have dropped since.
I don’t take an iron supplement but do take Vit B, calcium and vit D which has helped the pms slightly.
I think I always feel like I’m taking up the GP’s time as I seem well to look at. Especially now with the virus I’ve tried not to bother them but think I should go back again. I also get breathlessness which I think can be linked to low iron?
Thanks for responding 😊

Hi - any advice I'm about to give is fairly generalised so if you have any underlying health conditions or take regular medication please check things won't interact

Sorry to hear you're not feeling great.
Brilliant that you're already taking some supplements- have a look for an iron supplement too.
B12 and vitamin d are great ones to already be taking
In terms of feeling achy try and incorporate a few minutes of stretching into your day which may help relive muscle and joint tension

You can up your iron through your diet so this is definitely worth researching. If you eat meat and are open to different things you could try having a small bit of liver every now and then and other iron rich veg

If your low in vitamin d an everyday multi vitamin may not be enough - check the units of vitamin d in the tablet as you may benefit from taking something with a bit more for a short period - check with your gp what bloods were taken previously
You can always ask to speak to a go who specialises In family planning, quite often the ones who do the coil - they may be able to discuss how your feeling and may suggest an alternative or something to help

Good luck and hope you feel better soon x

@Froggles1 oh yes to breathlessness! My other random symptoms were thinning hair, really dry skin on my feet, occasional racing heart and being very pale - all gone now. Looking back, I am amazed by how I didn’t realise something was so seriously wrong but it just crept up over about 3 years, nothing changed dramatically enough for me to go “somethings wrong“ until the third chest infection in a year that wouldn’t shift and I realised things just weren’t right and asked for some tests.

Oh, and Don’t be afraid to call your GP. DH had to phone the docs this week and he got a callback and a phone consultation within a couple of hours. We got a sense that they weren’t as busy as we presumed they might be (our area has quite low COVID cases).

Definitely get your iron checked. 12 months ago I felt like I'd been flattened by a steamroller, got chest infections one after another, also weirdly dry skin on my feet too. And was paler than Casper the ghost. I had no energy, felt permanently exhausted, and wanted to cry a lot of the time. My iron levels were within the 'normal' range, but at the very bottom.of the range which was obviously too low for me. It took about a month for the iron supplements to make a difference but I havent had a chest infection for over a year now, despite dh having a couple of really nasty ones since then. Despite having a 7 month old and a toddler, I feel a thousand times better than I did a year ago.

Thank you all for your replies! Sounds like I definitely need to get it rechecked.
Interesting @katmarie you say about the range as they didn’t give me my levels last time just said they were normal. I think I’ll ask what they were before too. Thank you!