Low iron/ferritin experience? Purplish lips…

[njshep]

I’ve been dealing with low iron forever it seems. 4 back to back pregnancies a dozen or so
years ago never got me back to normal. Found out in my late 40a I had a fibroid which has caused extremely ( I do not use that lightly!) periods for 5 years. I had an ablation and procedure to remove the fibroid last year which was unsuccessful because they could not get all of it (within the wall of uterus). My ferritin sits at 10 and my hemoglobin was last 120. I’ve noticed my lips are tinged a purple colour lately so much so my teenaged son mentioned it to me the other day. I actually feel
ok minus spells of feeling very lightheaded.
min 52 and my next step will be a hysterectomy.
I am a bit concerned about the colour of my lips however. Is this a common symptom of low iron?

When I had low ferritin, I had tingling in my hands/arms and palpitations. Also got slightly breathless if I went for a walk, and ran up the stairs

Yep, I had purple lips when I was very anaemic

I keep being told by my dr that I’m not “quite” anaemic since my hemoglobin is 120 (12 in some metrics), but my ferritin has not been over 13 for years….. usually it is under 10.
I take an iron pill most days but nothing seems to boost it and I’m never given specific guidance on how much to take.
is there anyone who has been successful raising their’s that can share your experience…?

Mine is 11, and my daughter's is 15. When we told them about the WHO advice about treating anything under 35, they said we were fine and we couldn't compare to those recommendations because laboratories use different scales.

You need to be on ferrous Fumarate

Do you avoid tea, coffee, basically any tannins with or after taking iron supplements or iron rich foods? Also dairy should be avoided too.
I have same issues and am researching it. Advice on an Iron protocol Facebook group advises taking supplement in the morning with 1000mg vitamin C. I use one of the dissolving tablets.
I haven't retested yet, but am feeling better.

Also supplement needs to be a high mg if iron like ferrous fumerate recommended above.
Not Active Iron or spatone, as these don't have anywhere near the amount needed to raise levels.

Have you had your b12 levels checked? A nurse told me low b12 inhibits absorption of iron (or something like that) and when mine were tested it was v low. Now get b12 injections and it seems to have improved my ferritin levels.

i used to have similar levels to you, OP, linked to crazy heavy periods used to be 7, now 30ish - took 5yrs to elevate

i take ferrograde C every other night, late, before bed (empty stomach) and used to also take D-lysine on the back of some fairly light evidence

i eat red meat once a week, and daily pulses, and dried apricots for snacks.

ferrous fumarate / sulfate (inc ferrograde c) should not be taken everyday as bioavailability is poor with consecutive intake.

This is all great information. Thank you- much better specifics than I have received from my dr.

Bump….
but is purplish lips typical of low iron?