u/Emergency-Twist7136

Some of your doctors are telling you your iron is fine and they are wrong wrong wrong. This is an inadequately understood area of medicine. (I get it, not everyone has a haematologist friend who regularly vents about it.)

First: iron deficiency is serious. It causes everything from fatigue to the compulsion to eat ice to finding cleaning products smell heavenly to restless leg syndrome. It affects your body's function and, yes, fertility.

Second: You can be iron deficient but not anaemic.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8002799/

If your doctor tells you you're fine because your ferritin is low but your blood counts are fine so you're not anaemic they are wrong, iron deficiency without anaemia is still a problem.

And sometimes oral iron supplements don't cut it. If your ferritin doesn't come up you need a ferritin infusion. It's not that uncommon, especially if you menstruate and ESPECIALLY if you menstruate and are anticoagulated.

It's a serious health issue that is FIXABLE. It is easily diagnosed with a simple blood test.

If you're getting blood tests that don't include iron levels, ask for that to be included, and if your ferritin is below 30 μg/L that's a problem. (They can be increased significantly by chronic inflammation, so if they're over 100 that's also something to look at.) Ideally current evidence suggests you want it at at least 50.

It's a fundamental element of health and body function that's way too often overlooked. I hate that there are areas where patients have to be their own advocates but this is one of them.