Iron Deficiency/Anemia

[AdvicePleaseLowIron]

Hi,

Sorry if there is already thread running about this.

Last year I had to have a blood transfusion after an operation and told to take ferrous fermarate 210mg once a day which made me feel a lot better. I'm perimenopausal and I'm having really heavy periods and feel like I'm anemic again as I feel tired and a bit out of breath.

I've decided to stop drinking tea and coffee and have ordered some rasberry leaf herbal tea. I'm going to drink orange juice with meals and eat food with iron in.

What else can I do? Take more tablets etc?

Firstly I would ask for a blood test to check you actually are anaemic.

There isn't any benefit in taking more than one iron tablets a day. So if you are anaemic again you need a discussion with your GP about how to manage your heavy periods

How much meat/ fish do you eat? And do you still supplement with the iron tablets? I was prescribed 210mg 2x a day when my bloods came back anaemic but I didn't need a transfusion. It is possible to buy those strong tablets over the counter if you feel you need them, without needing a prescription. If you are still supplementing I would suggest going back to the gp but if you haven't been, then maybe try a couple of months of supplements to see if your symptoms get better?

@AnnaMagnani Thank you. I saw a GP last week. She was lovely. I started HRT a couple of months ago. Then forgot to take the HRT when I went away for a ew days. I had started my period but when I came home it was really heavy. that is why I visited the GP. She said I'd been prescribed the wrong dose by another GP. She did mention having the coil which I've never had.

@DinosaurOfFire Thank you. Yes, I'm a meat eater but not a lot. I've also been dieting so I can see why I may have been eating less foods with iron in. I have upped my tablet intake to two iron tablets a day this week. I admit I've not been taking my tablets everyday. I think I need to act like a grown up and start taking it a bit more serious. I hate feeling like this.

Having more than one iron tablets a day is a historic practice and no longer recommended, although no doubt it will be decades before the message is fully out.

Each tablet contains more iron than you can possibly absorb in a day so taking more is pointless and increases side effects.

Even worse you may absorb less iron as your body reduces the amount of absorbing it does.

@AnnaMagnani That is interesting and helpful to know. I'll carry on taking one every day without fail. If I still feel like this in a couple of weeks I will ask for a blood text.

I don't know if to carry on taking HRT, my boobs have hurt as well like when I was first pregnant.

@AnnaMagnani That is really helpful to know, thanks, I will bear that in mind with my own iron intake management.

@AdvicePleaseLowIron I hope you start to feel better soon, low iron is horrible! I am not sure on hrt as I'm not near that stage yet but hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along soon.

Thank you both. I'm going to look at the menepause board also.

I think you'd be better working out what works for you at reducing the blood flow. I wouldn't necessarily recommend a mirena coil- you can do your own research - but there are a couple of things you can take that might help with that. I'm so happy to be out the other side now!

Mirena coils are a love/hate thing.

My friend absolutely loves hers but I know that isn't universal.

I was talking to a woman at the hairdressers yesterday and she said she hasn't looked back since having the coil.

I've woke up this morning and I'm still bleeding after 14 days (clots). Today is the day I have to start taking the tablet for HRT if I'm going to carry on with it. I was unsure yesterday but I have taken one. So I'm going to see how I go. Hopefully I will stop bleeding soon. I'm going to go back to the GP in a couple of weeks.

I haven't been taking my iron tablets right too. I've read that you take it on an empty stomach with orange juice which I wasn't doing. So hopefully that will help too.

OP i was told to take them every 48hrs. I take them at 5am on an empty stomach. One ferrous sulphate and 1000mg of vitamin C tablets.

Got my ferritin from 16 to 71 in 3 months.

Plus at the time I was using TXA with my periods to help stem the bleeding.

I should add I don't like sweet drinks so having to have orange juice made me feel pukey and shot my blood sugar through the roof. The Vitamin C tablets are much nether.

I then have my coffee as normal at 7am

Look at the symptoms for b12 deficiency too OP.

I'm also on folic acid (I'm menopausal so it's nothing to do with pregnancy)