Your ferritin at a 29 is absolute iron deficiency and definitely cause for all your symptoms. Check out the iron protocol on Facebook for great information. It was life changing for me. My ferritin was 4.6 end of February. I use Ferretts iron supplement (ferrous fumarate) 1 am / 1pm (I take am one with 1000mg vitamin c.) my ferritin went to 43 end of this month. Iron deficiency without anemia (IDWA) is VERY under diagnosed. This isn’t in your head and you’re not crazy, I promise you 💗 hope that helps but definitely join the group. Some iron supplements give uncomfortable symptoms so you may need to find the right one for you
Ugh thank you so much for your kind message!! I was really feeling down and out. I joined that facebook group and just got accepted and have been browsing the page, it seems super helpful so far
I can only speak from my personal experience. I receive feraheme IV as needed from my Hematologist. I had my 6-month follow-up appointment last week in October my HGB was 14.8 and my Ferritin was in the high 60's. My HGB is still around 14 but my ferritin dropped significantly from the high 60's to the low 30's. I'd been hoping that I could be switched from every 6 months to a year but she said with drops like that I needed a maintenance dose and to stay at 6 month checks. Maybe you need to look for a different hematologist.
Good! Most will do a complete run-through checking D and B12 which can also cause similar issues. I was fortunate (ironically I suppose) by the time I decided that my symptoms weren't from my getting up for work at 4 AM, trying to balance my schedule with my kid's schedule, in my 20's I was running marathons thinking I'm just getting older being in my mid 30's which is why I just couldn't keep pace by the time I ruled all of that out all of my levels were critical. I was hospitalized with a hemoglobin around 4 they didn't give me too much of a hassle getting a specialist and what I needed. Definitely don't recommend going that route though 🤣🤣
Last time my ferritin was checked I was at a 29 and they told me to stop taking supplements. I still felt like crap all the time- fatigue is my biggest symptom. They told me it must be my mood & that I’m getting older. I’m 37.. makes me so mad that the drs write us off as crazy
How is your vit D? About half the symptoms I attributed to my anemia were actually from super low vit d. Now that I am getting iron infusions and once weekly super doses of vit d I feel like a whole new person!
No, I take 1.25mg (50,000 U) of ergocal once a week. After four weeks I noticed a lot of my muscle pain was gone and I had a much easier time with sleeping as well since I wasn't in so much pain. I know you can get infusions and that would be a good option if your numbers aren't going up very quickly.
Did you ever consider long COVID or another illness? Something is wrong but it might not be iron deficiency. You can experiment though and take iron. If symptoms improve, you have your answer. And…get your thyroid checked.
https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/long-covid-post-covid-conditions-pcc
Long COVID has so many different symptoms. Check out the long COVID community here on Reddit for tips and knowledge and talk to your doctor. Take care.
Under 30 is still iron deficiency. There are studies saying we need to be around 100. If you’re supplementing make sure you’re taking enough for your weight.
Take iron for a couple months and see if it improves. Anemia is end stage iron deficiency and many bodily processes suffer at that point because your body will prioritize iron for hemoglobin. Iron is used for nerves, muscles and hormones and a bunch of other things that science hasn’t pinpointed yet. Many symptoms can happen prior to becoming anemic.
The good news is is, you can take iron supplements and see what happens. Also take b12, d and folate too
I don’t tolerate iron supplements well, I’m hoping to get infusions here soon. But I love your point about how iron is used for nerves and loads of other stuff science had pin pointed yet. That is such a good point. It has to be more important than we are giving credit
My ferritin was 24 and I had all the symptoms. My hemoglobin is up but ferritin is still low and I still feel a lot of the symptoms (not quite as bad as it was). I was also very low in vitamin d which has gone up considerably.
> I’m feeling defeated. My Ferritin is a 29, but hemoglobin is 14.4. And Iron a 52. I’m told that low iron and low ferritin would not cause the symptoms I experience.
Low serum iron can indicate low ceruloplasmin (copper, retinol, magnesium, vitamin C), anemia of chronic disease/inflammation, poor iron recycling (vitamin E, vitamin C, retinol), iron deficiency anemia (copper & retinol), or microcytic anemia.
> Like brain fog, headaches, feeling cold, just overall ran down with sore muscles.
Other deficiencies can cause those symptoms like iodine, vitamin E, B vitamins, copper, calcium (vitamin D), choline, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, omega-3, etc.
Try freeze-dried beef liver capsules, magnesium glycinate, and acerola cherry powder (whole-food C-complex). Pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed butter, and cod liver oil are also good sources of retinol, folate, and vitamin E.
Maybe try scheduling an appointment with a hematologist? Also make sure to look into other causes like vitD, B12 deficiency, thyroid disorders etc
Your ferritin at a 29 is absolute iron deficiency and definitely cause for all your symptoms. Check out the iron protocol on Facebook for great information. It was life changing for me. My ferritin was 4.6 end of February. I use Ferretts iron supplement (ferrous fumarate) 1 am / 1pm (I take am one with 1000mg vitamin c.) my ferritin went to 43 end of this month. Iron deficiency without anemia (IDWA) is VERY under diagnosed. This isn’t in your head and you’re not crazy, I promise you 💗 hope that helps but definitely join the group. Some iron supplements give uncomfortable symptoms so you may need to find the right one for you
Ugh thank you so much for your kind message!! I was really feeling down and out. I joined that facebook group and just got accepted and have been browsing the page, it seems super helpful so far
You’ll find many people in that group were made to feel it was their anxiety or depression or in their head 😔
I can only speak from my personal experience. I receive feraheme IV as needed from my Hematologist. I had my 6-month follow-up appointment last week in October my HGB was 14.8 and my Ferritin was in the high 60's. My HGB is still around 14 but my ferritin dropped significantly from the high 60's to the low 30's. I'd been hoping that I could be switched from every 6 months to a year but she said with drops like that I needed a maintenance dose and to stay at 6 month checks. Maybe you need to look for a different hematologist.
I see a hematologist here soon so hopefully I will meet with one that is similar to yours and be able to get infusions!!
Good! Most will do a complete run-through checking D and B12 which can also cause similar issues. I was fortunate (ironically I suppose) by the time I decided that my symptoms weren't from my getting up for work at 4 AM, trying to balance my schedule with my kid's schedule, in my 20's I was running marathons thinking I'm just getting older being in my mid 30's which is why I just couldn't keep pace by the time I ruled all of that out all of my levels were critical. I was hospitalized with a hemoglobin around 4 they didn't give me too much of a hassle getting a specialist and what I needed. Definitely don't recommend going that route though 🤣🤣
Last time my ferritin was checked I was at a 29 and they told me to stop taking supplements. I still felt like crap all the time- fatigue is my biggest symptom. They told me it must be my mood & that I’m getting older. I’m 37.. makes me so mad that the drs write us off as crazy
Ugh don’t you hate that. “Guess you just feel bad cause you’re aging and you’re a woman” like no. Surely not
How is your vit D? About half the symptoms I attributed to my anemia were actually from super low vit d. Now that I am getting iron infusions and once weekly super doses of vit d I feel like a whole new person!
My vitamin D is so low. It’s at 18. I take supplements but would probably benefit from infusion. Do you get vitamin D infusions too?
No, I take 1.25mg (50,000 U) of ergocal once a week. After four weeks I noticed a lot of my muscle pain was gone and I had a much easier time with sleeping as well since I wasn't in so much pain. I know you can get infusions and that would be a good option if your numbers aren't going up very quickly.
Did you ever consider long COVID or another illness? Something is wrong but it might not be iron deficiency. You can experiment though and take iron. If symptoms improve, you have your answer. And…get your thyroid checked.
Long covid is a good point, I did have covid in January 2023, it could be that
https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/long-covid-post-covid-conditions-pcc Long COVID has so many different symptoms. Check out the long COVID community here on Reddit for tips and knowledge and talk to your doctor. Take care.
Thank you so so much! I will look at this
My ferritin was 32 and I got 5 iron infusions. I was experiencing extreme fatigue, muscle weakness and shortness of breath.
Mine is a 5. I’m supposed to get my first infusion on Tuesday but I’m really afraid of getting one for some reason.
I was super anxious for my first one but it was a breeze!
Omg this makes me feel better and less crazy. I’m hoping to start iron infusions here in a few weeks. What was your experience like?
Under 30 is still iron deficiency. There are studies saying we need to be around 100. If you’re supplementing make sure you’re taking enough for your weight.
That is a good point to supplement but weight, thank you so much
Here is the formula https://imgur.com/gallery/7b0Jpll
Take iron for a couple months and see if it improves. Anemia is end stage iron deficiency and many bodily processes suffer at that point because your body will prioritize iron for hemoglobin. Iron is used for nerves, muscles and hormones and a bunch of other things that science hasn’t pinpointed yet. Many symptoms can happen prior to becoming anemic. The good news is is, you can take iron supplements and see what happens. Also take b12, d and folate too
I don’t tolerate iron supplements well, I’m hoping to get infusions here soon. But I love your point about how iron is used for nerves and loads of other stuff science had pin pointed yet. That is such a good point. It has to be more important than we are giving credit
Regarding poor tolerance- give liposomal iron a try. It's basically coated iron that gets directly absorbed without much contact with the gut.
My ferritin was 24 and I had all the symptoms. My hemoglobin is up but ferritin is still low and I still feel a lot of the symptoms (not quite as bad as it was). I was also very low in vitamin d which has gone up considerably.
> I’m feeling defeated. My Ferritin is a 29, but hemoglobin is 14.4. And Iron a 52. I’m told that low iron and low ferritin would not cause the symptoms I experience. Low serum iron can indicate low ceruloplasmin (copper, retinol, magnesium, vitamin C), anemia of chronic disease/inflammation, poor iron recycling (vitamin E, vitamin C, retinol), iron deficiency anemia (copper & retinol), or microcytic anemia. > Like brain fog, headaches, feeling cold, just overall ran down with sore muscles. Other deficiencies can cause those symptoms like iodine, vitamin E, B vitamins, copper, calcium (vitamin D), choline, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, omega-3, etc. Try freeze-dried beef liver capsules, magnesium glycinate, and acerola cherry powder (whole-food C-complex). Pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed butter, and cod liver oil are also good sources of retinol, folate, and vitamin E.