I was diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia and I am Vitamin B12 deficient. I received a blood test in June, and it showed that my ferritin level was a 4! My doctor immediately put me on prescription iron (I said absolutely not to an iron infusion), but I had to stop taking the iron because it was making very sick. So now i’m taking Ferrasorb by Thorne, and I haven’t had any issues. It has vitamin C, B6, and B12, which is perfect. but I still feel tired, short of breath and fast heart rate. How long does it take for the ferritin levels to rise when taking iron, and is one pill a day enough (one pill I take has 36mg of iron)? also, has anyone experienced anxiety with low ferritin levels? I know anemic symptoms can present itself like anxiety.
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stovall1992
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Yes I got anxiety with low wish ferritin . Yours is very low. You need much more iron . I recently was prescribed 310 ferrous fumarate with folic acid. I'm actually tolerating at the moment 2010mg ferrous fumarate. 20mg solgar gentle iron and spartone.
You need elemental iron to get your leveks up. I red not using ferrous. ...and it's good for maintenence but not for loading.
Take away from food and caffeine . Up your veg and fruit juice and water to avokid stomach issues. I take omega 3 oil that helps keep bowels open .
I've tried since December with other forms of iron. It stopped it dropping but didn't raise level.
After 10 days am really ealing the benefits.
You csn take the ferrous fumarate or sulphate every other day I'd high enough dose and have your farabsorb the other day.
You really need to look at what you've been prescribed and how much elemental ion is on it.
The prescription medicine that I was prescribed was ferrous gluconate, 325mg twice a day. But i was really sick whenever I took it. I had terrible side effects and extreme upset stomach. I have a very sensitive stomach, so I need something that is very easy on the stomach. The one I take now has elemental iron and is 36mg. It’s really easy on the stomach and give me no problems. So should I take two pills a day or I need to take another form of iron with the one i’m taking now?
I've read and Neen told you need 65mg of elemental iron. Ask doctor or pharmacist. I too have a sensitive stomach. Perhaps try a lower dose of what you've been prescribed that you can but over the counter to ad to what you have. The pharmacist helped me.
All I know is the solgar 20mg and spartone taken every day wasn't enough. If you read up on the ferrous irons it may explain better Or take what you have to the pharmacist and get their advice.
They can see what you've been prescribed. You just need alot now ti get the leveks up. Then go on a maintenence dose. I was too caution and didn't persevery long enough with ferrous sulphate. Ferrous fumarate I find I csn tolerate alot better absorbed. Just wish I'd done it sooner or got better advice sooner. The gp said 3 spartone a day. Then I added 29ng solgar. Thrn it was ferrous sulphate. Now on ferrous fumarate but not the 310 dose yet. 200mg I csn feel the difference. Bloods will tell in a couple of months. Hate taking it (never had it before) but worth it. No idea why my levels dropped . Hope you get gping on enough iron soon and feel better.
the iron I take is very similar to the Solgar gentle iron, except it has Vitamin B6, B12, and Vitamin C in it. And it is a high mg of elemental iron (36mg).
Keep going with that and take more than one . I would just check with a pharmacist first though. I rang . If you can't get there. Get your bloods checked after? 2 months and see if it's working. Up your heame iron and have vit c to help absorbtion. Also add a littke lemon juice or cider vinegar. For stomach acid. Hope you feeling better soon
one more question: do you take your iron morning and night, or do you take it all at once? I wake up pretty late, so by the time I take my iron, it’s early afternoon. Just wondering because the prescription I I was given, I was suppose to take one in the morning and one at night. space it out
Megafoods blood builder is good. Take it multiple times a day, before you eat. You can only absorb so much iron at one time via your gut, so space it out. Why didn’t you doc want to infuse you?
I’ve take Megafoods blood builder, but I wasn’t really a fan. I take Throne Ferrasorb (Iron Bisglycinate). It’s the only iron I have taken that hasn’t given me any stomach issues or side effects.
I’m not completely sure. I don’t have insurance, so I pay out of pocket for any doctor visits, and he knows that, so that could be a reason. Also, he explained that some people experience bad side effects from infusions. My mom had one and she was extremely ill for days. My hemoglobin levels were somewhat normal (11), it’s just my ferritin that was so low
I don’t know where you live, but in the US it is sometimes possible to apply for assistance for medical costs. Infusions are expensive. I have been having them since 2013 and not had any bad effects from them. Do they know why your Ferritin was so low?
I take it late morning ferrous fumarate. Lunch . Spartone then a good gap and late afternoon before meal. Spartone or solgar. Away from caffeine and food. I used to have it closer to food but trying g it like this now. Certainly feeling a bit better dizziness and weakness wise.
okay, I like that. I have to take iron with food. I have an extremely sensitive stomach. The one I take is really easy on the stomach, but i still have to take it with some food.
The ferrous fumarate 21OMG contains 69mg elemental iron. (Mercpharmacy )the make . £6.66 I was actually prescribed 310mg ferrous fumarate with folic acid. As prescription haven't arrive I bought the above mentioned. Pharmacist said to start with that to get tolerance. I take folic acid in multi vit 200mg. 400 was too much for me (going by bloods)
Amazed I'm not fat the food i try and get through.
To the contrary despite lack of proper exercise and bedbound/ housebound alot of last 10 months lost over a stone thrn put weight back on but still 8 lbs lighter than well?? Only drawback with extra meat eating ia cholesterol uo a bit. Probably as unable to walk enough at present let alone get on my bike.
A very tricky balancing g act.
Do get your levels uo as well and quickly as you can so you can function and not get more unwell
I do eat a lot of green vegetables, especially Kale. I don’t eat red meat or fish (got a bacterial infection from the fish, and I’ve been scared to eat it ever since). I can’t exercise at all and I haven’t left my house in a couple of month. I’m so tired all the time. But I guess i need to up my iron dosage, since I only take one pill a day. But yea, I definitely need to raise my level quickly. I’m suppose to go to a wedding in the beginning of October, but i’m afraid that i’ll still feel bad, and won’t be able to attend.
Eat your veg with cider vinegar or lemon. Try and get 3 if not 4 doses of iron in a day whilst you so low and because stomach sensitive lower doses. The ferrous fumarate I resisted for too long. That the one that's kicked in. The other thing I now remember I did have many years ago was a new era tissue salt. Again get advice but perhaps that can be added . Liquid iron is good. Anyhow hope it all kicks in so you can get to the wedding. I had a goal like that at the end of May. I went for 2 hours as fortunately local. A good tonic.
The easiest form of iron to absorb is haem iron, found in meat and shellfish. Try eating a good portion of beef (beef liver even better) several times a week as well as any form of chelated iron supplements (bisglycinate, fumarate, gluconate) you can tolerate.
thank you for the recommendation. I don’t eat read meat, and I don’t eat shellfish as part of my religion, so unfortunately, those options I can’t partake of. But the iron I take is iron bisglycinate and I can’t tolerate that easily.
It takes time to tolerate it. I find beetroot bran flakes dried fruit nuts fruit juice. Eat at regular tImes and exercise if you csn. Also drink lots of water. Smaller iron doses through the day. I've managed 14 days but will have one day off as feeling a bit bloated. Then start again tomorrow. Wish I was less cautious before .
The iron pills I’m taking now give me no problems at all. I’ve never been recommended an infusion by any of my doctors, surprisingly. I’ve suffered from iron-deficiency anemia since I was a kid, and none of my doctors have ever recommended me an infusion.
Hello, I have pernicious anaemia and iron deficiency anaemia, my ferritin level was 4 at its lowest and I had an iron infusion (thank goodness) because I couldn't take iron tablets, they made me violently sick and diarrhoea. Not sure why you said no to an iron infusion, I was told that at 4 this was really the only option to get it back up and actually it has so far taken me 3 infusions and 18 months to get to 10. In fact they (UK) wanted to do a blood transfusion because it was so low but I chose the infusion. I think it will take quite a while (many months) to feel better from the level you were at and anxiety and breathlessness are common, my hair was falling out and my nails breaking too. I hope the oral iron works for you, I can tolerate Spatone but it is so low dose it barely makes any difference but I take it to try and maintain a reasonable level. Unfortunately if I eat a lot of foods with iron in the sickness and diarrhoea returns but getting it by-passed the stomach by infusion seems to be the solution for me. My iron levels seem to fall every 4 to 5 months. one of the first signs for me is anxiousness and forgetfulness, getting words wrong etc. I was told that what is important is not just your ferritin level but that combined with your transferrin or TIBC level (which shows how much iron is attaching itself to your blood) so it might be worth asking about that.
Thank you for sharing your story. My mom had an iron infusion and she was extremely ill. she had to call out of work for a week because she could barely get out of bed. After seeing what she went through, I was scared to get one. The prescription iron my doctor gave me made me really sick, but the ones I’m taking now are perfect. I have no problems at all. I probably need to up my dosage, as I only take one pill a day, but I really like the pills I take now. I’ve suffered from iron-deficiency anemia since I was young, and surprisingly, none of my doctors have ever recommended me for an iron infusion. My friend suffers from iron-deficiency anemia as well, and her doctor doesn’t recommended the infusion for her as well. When I got the blood test done, every thing was normal or semi-normal. My B12 levels were a little low, but I’ve never had issues with low B12 levels. My ferritin was the lowest, but everything else was fine. I changed my diet to vegetarian late last year, so that could be one factor, but I really just stopped eating chicken and turkey. I never ate red meat and I used to eat fish, but I got really sick from eating it one time and I stopped eating fish, but that was almost 8 years okay.
I too been struggling with low Ferritin for many many years.
I was taking x3 ferrous sulphate tablets each day for years but this wasn't solving the problem. I also tried various other iron supplements (spatone and active iron) to no avail. My Ferritin never got over 20.
In February of this year my Ferritin was 6. I was given an iron infusion (Ferinject) and although this increased my Ferritin afterwards, it quickly dipped and I was back today (7 months after the first infusion) getting my second iron infusion (Ferinject) as my Ferritin was back at 10.
Is there a reason for you not wanting an iron infusion?
I also have graves disease (diagnosed about 17 years ago) and was diagnosed in January of this year with Pernicious Anaemia (I tested positive for the antibody).
Main symptoms for me are severe fatigue and some anxiety. None of which has improved even after all the b12 injections (x6 loading doses and X2 three monthly injections) and the first iron infusion). Maybe this second iron infusion will make a difference.
Yea. Ive taken iron pills before, and my levels do increase when I take them. I just stopped when I’ve taken for a couple of months, and don’t continue (i know, bad idea). But i’ve posted earlier, that none of my doctors have recommended me iron infusions. I’m also really sensitive to IV medication.
I actually check some older lab results, and my ferritin level has been a 4 before, but I never noticed anything different. Even then, my doctor didn’t recommended me for an infusion. I did take some iron pills, and according to my check-up blood test, the levels did go up. I did stop taking them, which is why they probably went back down. So I definitely can’t stop taking them. I just have to force myself to keep going. Im actually curious as to why my doctors never recommended me for an infusion. and I never wanted one, so I didn’t press them about it when they didn’t give me one. I am very sensitive to medication, especially medication IV or liquid medication (I have had bad reactions when I have gone to the hospital and ER) so that could also be a reason.
I suffer from a digestive disease so my ferritin is always an issue. A few years ago I had to get infusions, it was either that or blood transfusion. Because I can't have wheat I was recently diagnosed with low folic acid. My Hematologist is trying me on liquid iron and 1mg folic acid. I had complications with iron infusions previously. But my ferritin dropped to a 5 in June so I have no choice but to take something. Best of luck, I understand how you feel.
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