Iron level of 4, Anxiety from being homeless (kind of) and sneezing 800x a times a day HELP

[Treebabys]

I had my doctor check my iron levels last may. but I'm not sure if the number reported is the one that I need to get up to 100 or between 20-45. This is what the results said. Ferritin Level: result: 4.0 Ref Range: 7.3-270.7 Units: ng/ml result: Low

Does this mean I'm super duper low. I'm currently without a doctor or insurance as we are living fulltime in an RV with our 5 kids while my husband tries to find a job.

My doctor prescribed ferosul 325 (65 FE) mg pills at the time, which I promptly forgot to take on a regular basis, what with having a job loss, selling our house and moving into an RV. I also have a bottle of Pro FE rrin which says it is a Heme Iron Polypeptide dietary supplement. which gives 10.6 mg of iron per serving. not sure how what to take to have the greatest effect in raising my iron levels.

-I've recently weaned myself off of my prozac since it seemed to be making my RLS worse.

- I'm taking 0.5 mg of ropinerole once a day in early evening which I would love to wean off as well.

-I also have stopped taking my allergy medicine which is causing me to sneeze about 800 times a day. lol But it was worth stopping as it made my legs jump like they had carniverous fleas on the inside.

So my questions are. should I get my iron level of "4" up to 100?

What med can I take for anxiety since I'm definitely having some anxiety with being "homeless." But don't worry we have plenty of money from the sale of our house.

What can I take for allergies? Does flonase cause RLS to get worse?

[SueJohnson]

Flonase is fine. Yes you want to get your ferritin up to 100. 4 is extremely low. Take any iron with elemental iron totaling around 75 mg since your ferritin is so low. Take them with 100 mg of vitamin C or some orange juice since that helps its absorption. Take it every day but 24 hours apart preferably at night at least 1 hour before a meal or coffee and at least 2 hours after a meal or coffee since iron is absorbed better on an empty stomach.If you have problems with constipation switch to iron bisglycinate. Don't take tumeric as it can interfere with the absorption of iron. If you can afford it, an iron infusion will help raise it faster. It takes several months for the iron tablets or iron infusion to slowly raise your ferritin. Ask for a new blood test after 8 weeks if you have an iron infusion or after 3 months if you are taking iron tablets. For anxiety ask for Buspar which may also help your RLS.

[SueJohnson]

To come off ropinirole, reduce by .25 mg every 2 weeks or so. You will have increased symptoms. You may need to reduce more slowly or with a smaller amount. Wait until the increased symptoms from each reduction has settled before going to the next one. You will suffer and may need a low dose opioid temporarily to help out with the symptoms especially as you near the end. But in the long run, you will be glad you came off it. Dopamine agonists like ropinirole are no longer the first line treatment for RLS. Gabapentin or pregabalin is. The beginning dose is usually 300 mg gabapentin (75 mg pregabalin). Start it 3 weeks before you are off ropinirole although it won't be fully effective until you are off it for several weeks. After that increase it by 100 mg (25 mg pregabalin) every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. Take it 1-2 hours before bedtime. If you need more than 600 mg take the extra 4 hours before bedtime as it is not as well absorbed above 600 mg. If you need more than 1200 mg, take the extra 6 hours before bedtime. (You don't need to split the doses with pregabalin) Most of the side effects of gabapentin or pregabalin will disappear after a few weeks and the few that don't will usually lessen. Those that remain are usually worth it for the elimination of the RLS symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS: "Most RLS patients require 1200 to 1800 mg of gabapentin (200 to 300 mg pregabalin) daily." If you take magnesium take it at least 3 hours before taking gabapentin as it will interfere with the absorption of the gabapentin. Check out the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS which will tell you everything you want to know including about its treatment and refer your doctor to it if needed as many doctors do not know much about RLS or are not uptodate on it as yours obviously isn't or s/he would never have prescribed a dopamine agonist at Https://mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...

[enjoy2013]

With such a low iron, your doctor should make some investigations to identify the cause. No anemia? Did they not offer iron infusion? Are you in the UK 🇬🇧?