r/irondeficiency

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my experience with apolactoferrin after having been unable to tolerate even the "GI friendly" iron supplements, in case it's of help to anyone else. I tried ferrous sulfate (terrible GI sides), iron bisglycinate, and then succinylate. Succinylate was the best of the 3 but the amount of capsules I'd need to take made it both very expensive and inconvenient. After 3 months of daily supplementation, I my ferritin only increased from 14 to 30.

So for a while I just gave up and my ferritin stayed steady. Eventually I had enough of my RLS (ferritin-related) and decided to give apolactoferrin a try. I took 250mg for 6 weeks and my ferritin went from 30 to 60 with 0 GI sides. In fact, I think my baselines GI symptoms have gotten better (I may have had IBS, not sure) and my stools no longer take the wind out of me nearly as much as they did before. Most importantly, my RLS is gone! I don't even get it when I take melatonin now. I'll continue taking the lactoferrin until I get my ferritin near 100, since I have other issues that may benefit from a higher ferritin level.

Hope this can help anyone else.

Lately my hair has been shedding like crazy. I found out my ferritin is 12 and I am in the process of getting infusions. (Completed 2 out of 3 so far)

I am also looking at getting a fibroid removed that might be the cause of the low ferritin.

I am hoping my hair loss will resolve itself if I address the ferritin situation but I keep thinking-- what if it's unrelated? Has anyone chalked up hair loss to low ferritin but it ended up being a different cause?

Im taking prenatal and iron medication . N natal and ferrous sulfate 325mg . Im getting black stool mix with normal stool . Ps. I also have gastritis but I was fine before pregnancy . Im 12w

My 5 year old has been unusually tired lately and it’s starting to worry me a little. He sleeps pretty well but during the day he just doesn’t have the same energy he used to. Even activities we normally do together, I’ll ask him to come play or do something with me and half the time he just isn’t interested or says he’s tired. We recently had some bloodwork done and apparently his iron is low. I’ve been reading through posts here and didn’t realize how much low iron can affect energy and how a kid feels overall. For parents who’ve gone through this with their kids, what did you end up doing and how did you make the whole process easier, especially getting them to actually take whatever you used consistently? Would really appreciate hearing what worked for you.

I’m 36F and recently found out I have iron deficiency anemia. My hemoglobin is 10.9, ferritin 12, iron saturation 7%, with a normal MCV.
I honestly feel completely normal. No rectal bleeding, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain, new bowel changes, persistent nausea/vomiting, appetite changes, etc. No family history of colon cancer.

Getting a scope in October and am very scared. Anyone else do this??

I had an iron infusion a few weeks ago. Don’t remember the type but it was the really long one- I was there all day.

Here’s the thing, though: my joints are more unstable now than they’ve been in YEEEARS. It’s been horrible. Much worse in the mornings, seems to get a little better throughout the day. My SI has always been my most problematic, and some mornings I’m subluxing so much I can’t walk without hitting the floor in pain. Haven’t fully dislocated it in years but I’m terrified it’s just a matter of when now with how bad it’s been.

Anyway, didn’t mean to ramble but nothing else has changed. I can only imagine it was the infusion? Anyone else had a similar experience? 🥹

Doctor recommended that I get an infusion as my iron is very very low but I saw some people say after they got one done that they gained weight and it has kind of freaked me out and really put me off getting one. Has anyone here heard of this happening or experienced anything happen with their weight post infusions or were the things I read just a load of crap?🤣

I’ve struggled with low iron since I was a teen. Ulcerative colitis made it worse back in 2019 but has been well managed and in remission now. I hemorrhaged after having my third child and felt awful. They didn’t tell me to take iron after but I did. They didn’t check my levels after leaving the hospital at all. That was three years ago. I’ve been struggling with dizziness and all around not feeling well around the end of my period or after. I’m not great at taking my iron supplements and just kind of forgot after I ran out. I think my iron has tanked because at the end of my last period I’m exhausted and my body hurts. I also have anxiety and the first thing my mind goes to is that I have leukemia or something even though I feel similar to how I felt after I hemorrhaged with my daughter. I can’t get into my doctor for a couple of weeks but I’m driving myself crazy with anxiety so tell me it’s normal to feel like absolute crud with low iron?

I stopped my simply 3 arrows, I ran out, waiting for the new order (been 10 days). I thought I'd be less constipated but no, I've been worse! Any ideas why this happens?

I've been battling low iron saturation and ferritin levels for roughly 4 years now, maybe longer. That's at least how long I've known about it. My total iron itself bounces between just in range to just under range, but my saturation bounces from 8-10% (currently sitting at a 9) and my ferritin bounces between 12 and 18 (currently at a 14). Diet does nothing to help, and I had tongue swelling from OTC pills. My hematologist wants to do a 1000mg monoferric infusion, titrated over the course of an hour rather than the traditional 20-30 minutes and with Pepcid and dexamethasone as premedication to minimize risk of allergic reaction or fishbane. I was actually supposed to have it already, but I had to cancel my appointment last minute last week cuz my bloodwork had elevated wbc, rbc, neutrophils, and monocytes indicating my gallbladder might be infected again. But once I either rule that out or treat it I really wanna get this infusion done on the off chance it might help the brain fog, constant exhaustion, and increased anxiety I've been dealing with the past few years. But that increased anxiety is what has me afraid to do the infusion. I'd love to hear people's experiences with it, good or bad, just so I know what I'm in for if/when I do this.

Hello, I’m 20 female and I’ve recently been struggling with a ton of mental health issues that appeared out of nowhere. I got my blood work done 3 months ago, and my iron was 60 mcg/dL, and my ferritin was 64 ng/mL. I also had a severely low vitamin d level. I’ve been experiencing panic attacks, brain fog, daily anxiety, dizziness, head pressure, fatigue, depression, and really bad derealization/depersonalization that has caused me to be housebound for the past 2 months. I had zero issues before this, and I want to get to the bottom of what’s causing it. A lot of women experience the same symptoms, and it’s usually caused by low iron/ferritin, but mine technically is within “normal range”. I notice my DPDR symptoms get worse, after every cycle I’ve had over the past three months, and at this point I feel brain dead. I’m not sure if this is an important fact, but I have PCOS, and have never had my own natural period. I take a hormonal birth control called Yazmin, which induces a breakthrough bleeding every month.

I have been iron deficient m entire life (now 24f). A year and a half ago I finally got an iron infusion, took 2 to make my levels normal. I am now starting to get the symptoms back and need an infusion soon. My levels in April were like 220 down to 88 in July. I remember most of my symptoms from before but I keep feeling like I’m getting a bug bite and go to scratch but nothing is there. It will be anywhere on my body. I don’t remember this from before but it’s driving me nuts and I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced similar. Thanks!

hi I’m new 18F, long story short I’ve been in a cycle for the past 8 months of hospital/doctors visits and panic over my breathing (+ a million other symptoms) I started having health issues from January last year but the shortness of breath only started this year. anyways I just can’t accept that this is just from having a ferritin of 9. I am practically disabled, I had to drop out of tafe after a week and I can’t do anything apart from sit at home and stress about not being able to breathe. It literally feels like something is blocking my lungs/diaphragm from expanding. and it’s not after a long walk it’s LITERALLY 24/7 I wake up struggling to breathe, dizzy and anxious and have it throughout the whole entire day. I’m so mentally and physically exhausted and sometimes wish I could just ☠️

I have suspicions of a hiatal hernia but that’s pretty much all I can think of. I’ve been to emergency/urgent care multiple times and they said my heart and lungs are perfectly fine

Does anyone else experience this severity of shortness of breath from low ferritin/iron or do you know how I might be able to fix it?

I’ll start by posting my labs, then my questions. I would appreciate any insight.
RBC 4.55
Hemoglobin 12.5
MCV 84
MCH 27.5
MCHC 32.9
Ferritin 5
Iron 61
TIBC 452
Iron saturation 13
My GYN is actually the one that ordered the labs. My hair was shedding a lot more than it usually does. I’m 53 and just assumed it was perimenopause. I had switched HRT and thought that may have added to the problem. I’ve been tired and foggy for years. I had an appointment with my PCP and took the results to her. She recommended a multivitamin with iron and vitamin c and did not say that I was anemic. Just a couple of things were low. She also tested vitamin b12 and it was okay. I have an appointment this week with the GYN that originally ordered the labs. I guess that I would just appreciate any input or questions that you think that I should ask.
I started taking Thorne with vitamin c and it’s definitely hard on my stomach.

Looking for anyone with experience of taking Lactoferrin alongside iron tablets to help with absorption?

I’m 6 months into taking iron tablets but still not feeling much better with a ferritin level of 19 and b12 deficiency issues.

I’m not due bloods to be retaken until October but I’m wondering if taking Lactoferrin alongside could help with increasing my absorption.

Likewise I’ve researched having the contraceptive coil fitted to decrease the heavy periods I’m experiencing which could also help with absorption.

Just looking for any success stories with making a few changes to help!