r/Anemia

Male 28 years old. 5f7 weighs 77 kilograms

Just 3 hours after work i collected my wife went home we both cooked dinner. Got this sudden wave of weakness, queezy-Ness, heart palpitations (on and off) slight chest pain and extreme tiredness. I get this from time to time but today July 21 was defo the worst in years. It's like I'm about to faint.

I always suffered with anxiety and panicked attacks but this is different. Panick attacks last 5 mins... this can last hours. I thought and my GP too that it was dysautonomia perhaps linked with my already diagnosed sjogren's? Now I'm perhaps thinking anemia? But my bloods were always good. Also got full cardiac works done and they found nothing.

Im 28 just married and bought a house in February so I'm a happy camper. Have a good job but i feel like an old man. I have no energy left for exercise. Can someone please help? What could this possibly be? For months I'd be perfectly fine and then these attacks of weakness tiredness palpitations (either when sitting or when doing the bare minimum exercises) feeling like fainting and nausea. These attacks always happen for weeks on end and then nothing for months. I eat healthy and quite smoking months ago.

Doc gave me 10 mg propannalol to use when needed only.

I have a severe copper deficiency, and my levels aren't rising despite supplementation.

I have G6PD deficiency.

Also, I react very strongly to copper with anxiety and migraines.

What have your experiences been?

I just need to vent to people who might actually understand.

I have a J-pouch. I’ve had the surgeries, the scopes, the medications, and everything that comes with living with one. Whenever my iron starts dropping, though, someone inevitably says, “Just eat more steak,” or “You need more red meat,” or “you need to take iron pills,” or “you should cook in a cast iron pan,” or “you should eat spinach like
Pop-eye.”

If only it were that simple.

It’s exhausting having to explain that malabsorption is real, my digestive anatomy isn’t the same as someone with a normal colon, and diet alone isn’t always enough. I eat iron-rich foods when I can, but sometimes my body simply doesn’t absorb what it needs.

Needing iron infusions isn’t a failure or a sign that I’m doing something wrong. It’s just part of how my body has to be managed.

After hearing the same advice over and over, it starts to feel less like people are trying to help and more like they’re implying I caused the problem or just haven’t tried hard enough.

I honestly thank god that I have a hematologist that can interpret my labs correctly and now orders the infusions before I need to ask or beg for em.

Does anyone else get tired of constantly having to justify your lab results, treatment plan, or why your doctor recommends infusions? I’d love to know I’m not the only one.

i’ve been taking ezfe 200 elemental iron for almost 2 years off and on but mostly every other day and my ferritin had increased from 6 to 38 in the span of those 2 years and then all of a sudden 6 months later my ferritin dropped to 12 despite me still taking the iron. my dr told me to still take it but i feel like it hardly helps, it raises my ferritin so slowly and gives me constipation and i haven’t really felt any difference in my symptoms. i want to try taking thorne ferrasorb because maybe that’ll help more. i’m just so upset about my progress because my ferritin was the highest it’s been in years and now it’s back to being what it was a year and a half ago.

Hello all! Today I got the iron dextran (infed) 1,000mg flushed with saline. The whole thing took about 5 hours and honestly? It wasn’t bad at all. Nothing happened to me. I think my heart is actually a bit happy because when I was sleeping it was actually relaxed and under 60BPM. They did an initial test dose over 30minutes and then waited another 30min to see reactions. I had none. I was not dizzy, I did not feel like I couldn’t breathe, and I was checked on constantly. I know everyone won’t respond like this BUT just remember you will constantly be checked on and supported. I did it at an oncology infusion center. If anyone has questions, let me know. I took a nap for six hours after and I’m feeling totally fine so far.

Recent labs show my ferritin is 8.25, hemoglobin is 11.4, iron saturation is 9% (UIBC is 531, TIBC is 583), and I'd been assuming my other chronic conditions (POTS, EDS, PMOS, etc.) were to blame for my worsening fatigue, hair loss, palpitations, etc., but it seems like anemia has probably been playing a role, too. Previously, I'd tried supplementing with iron pills, but I wasn't able to tolerate them (they kinda wrecked my stomach). I've tried eating more iron-rich foods, but evidently, that hasn't been helping much. I'm seeing a doctor soon and hoping to get an infusion because oof I'm exhausted.

If the cause isn't identified, though, I'm wondering if the issue will keep popping up. I have heavy periods, so it's possible that could be a cause, but I've always had them, so I'm not sure why it's been dropping off more. I wanted to know y'all's experience with this. Thanks so much!

I recently realized something that honestly surprised me.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been told my iron was low and to just take iron supplements. It became more of an issue after I had my children, but the recommendation was always the same: supplement and recheck.

It wasn’t until my ferritin dropped to 12 that my new gynecologist recommended an iron infusion.

That made me curious, so I went back through my lab history. I was able to see results going back 18 years, and what shocked me is that my ferritin has never been above 19. My very first ferritin level on record, 18 years ago, was also 12, and I was simply told to take iron supplements.

I’m not saying an infusion is the right answer for everyone, but if I start feeling significantly better after this, it’s going to make me wonder how much of the way I’ve felt over the years has been related to iron deficiency that never really improved.

Has anyone else discovered they’ve had chronically low ferritin for years before finally getting treated differently? What was your experience?

Ok, so I have fibroids. Although my doctor has downplayed my fibroids and my symptoms, I have been experiencing Anemia. I personally think my Anemia is severe. I bleed for about a week but Its very heavy. One time I felt very weak and it felt like I was dying because of how low my energy was from the anemia

I also have high blood pressure. And I struggle to understand how my blood pressure is why when i have a low blood count. I did some googling and I found that low blood count can indirectly cause high blood pressure because your blood vessels have to constrict when there is less blood to go around. My doctor says that that’s likely not the case because of my family history of high BP. But I still find this very concerning because I got diagnosed with high blood pressure when I was only 33. I dont eat a lot, plus i go out for walks from time to time. I’m also taking blood pressure medication, which seem to work, but not that much. My question is if its possible that my fibroids and severe anemia are linked to my high blood pressure?

Hola tengo 44 años mujer y desde siempre batalle con fatiga, dificultad para agarrar aire especialmente, etc los síntomas de deficiencia de hierro y ferritina recién empece fumarato ferroso he visto que hay gente que ha perdido peso si es asi que tipo de hierro tomaste, cuanto peso perdiste, en cuanto tiempo y tu cara se desinflamó?, perdiste peso sin hacer ejercicio o haciendo?

Hi guys.my ferritin is 8 and hb is 7,7. I feel tired all the time, for many periods of my life tbh. Lately also hairloss, bad sleep. Might be adhd too i dont know.but im feeling 'heavy' most of the time. Wich supplement and iron type is the best to take, for little side effects and best absorption?

Hello, I 22F have been losing my hair since about 2020. Since I was a child, I was always told I had anemia. I didn’t really feel too many symptoms until I became a teenager. I’ve lost about 80% of my hair over 6 years now. I suspect I had low ferritin for 2-3 years before the hair loss even started (10-30 ng/mL). My ferritin was at 23 ng/mL in January 2026, and as of last week it is now 66. I’ve been taking iron supplements consistently since January. My hair shedding has finally reduced significantly since my hair loss started. Since it’s been many many years of low ferritin/anemia, how much of my hair would I be able to recover? I know it can vary person to person. Also, I’m afraid it’s AGA. How do I know the difference between long term ferritin hair loss and AGA?