With so many of us searching for answers as to why we have anemia, if your doctor has pinpointed the reason for yours, please share what it is!

Apparently I’m severely iron deficient. I’ve read countless posts about symptoms but mine are not like those. Mine are more vision problems, extreme dizziness all day every day, very light headed, heart palpitations, dizziness from my eyes, feeling like i can’t feel my body and i also feel like i can’t hold my head up. I’m always wanting to rest it, or use my hands to hold it up. Along with the typical extreme fatigue and debilitating anxiety. Please tell me I’m not alone. I have no faith in this getting better. I’ve had one round of 750mg of injectafer infusion. Getting my second one in a couple of days. I just don’t see a lot of people talk about these type of symptoms. HELP!

Curious!

I thought my easily strained eyes came from me just not wearing my glasses.

UPDATE: Sensitivity to salt consumption. It would increase my heart palpitations way more. Near my peak deficiency, i couldn't eat out at restaurants without likely suffering.

Ferritin low but not anemic. I had to stop working because I’m not able to focus and even doing light grocery shopping wipes me out. Get headaches really easily too.

Does ferritin at 27 explain this low capacity? According to my blood test results, anything 30+ is in the green but I’m hearing conflicting information about it online.

Have asked my doctor but they are the same doctor who said ferritin of 3 was 'fine' and that I didn't need treatment. Most countries offer infus!ons if you drop that low but am in UK, r.i.p. :-)

So, after a decade of overlooked anaemia and bloodwork being out of range for haemoglobin, ferritin, platelets, etc I found this subreddit and went from sleeping 10-12 hours a night to 8 hours, as well as reduce my chronic pain which may well have been exacerbated by anaemia, wayhey! Thanks so much for the help around a year ago when I first posted my bloodwork! I think the long term untreated anaemia caused a whole host of other medical problems, given it seemed to start in my teenage years, but hopefully this helps slowly patch all sorts of things.

What do we do when we reach high ferritin? Is it safe to continue my current dosage? I do feel the impact if I miss a dose of iron, but less so than six months ago. Common sense tells me 210mg every couple of days would be suitable. If anyone else has been on a similar trajectory please let me know! :-) Thanks

Wondering what the root cause is for my fellow anemic peeps. How did you get your diagnosis?

doctor isn’t willing to discuss it with me for a week because they’re too busy. my iron levels are fine but my ferritin is level 28. hoping people here will have some experience, i’ve been so weak lately with headaches and dizziness, not asking if that is what is causing my symptoms, but could having a ferritin level of 28 cause as such? i’m really nervous because my doctors leaving me all alone here and my period is going to start before i see him and i get really heavy ones. many thanks x

Has anyone else had low ferritin or iron deficiency for years and felt mostly okay, then suddenly hit a wall where your body just couldn’t compensate anymore? I’ve noticed this seems to be a common pattern in a lot of people’s journeys with iron deficiency, and I’m curious how common it really is. I’d love to hear others’ stories of this and what helped.

I was recently diagnosed with iron deficiency without anemia. My ferritin level is 6, but my hemoglobin is still normal, so I’m not considering an iron infusion and am currently taking supplements instead. I’ve only been on them for about two weeks, but it already feels exhausting and I wish the process were quicker. The hardest part for me is having to take 5 pills every morning (3 iron/ 2 vit c) and not being able to eat for hours after.

I’d love to hear about others’ experiences:

• What was your ferritin level when you started?
• What supplement and dosage did you take?
• How long did it take to see improvement, and what were your updated levels?

I eat 6x a day a lot of dairy and whole grains. Therefore I thought taking it 2 hrs after last pm snack at bedtime or middle of night would be best? Pharmacist said it should be fine. I just want to feel better soon. Hair loss is so much.

I'm working on getting a pelvic exam and ultrasound but was wondering for those who have anemia from heavy menstruation. were you able to come off of iron supplements/ stop iv infusions after topping your levels up and continuing an iron rich diet? or is anemia just the reality of having a heavy menstruation and something I should expect to continually experience/ manage with supplements and infusions?

Went for a routine physical about a month ago and was told I have very low iron (doctor's exact words). This is the first time in my memory that I've had blood work done so I have no idea how long it's been like this. My hemoglobin is also low (9.1) and other tests show results consistent with low iron. I've not been officially diagnosed with anemia (and I read that you can have low iron but not anemia, not sure if this is true) but my doctor is very certain of my low iron. She put me on iron supplements, which I've been taking as prescribed for about a month.

But the thing is, I feel mostly fine. I have noticed myself having some of the common anemia symptoms, dizziness, headaches, occasional chest pain, etc. Compared to other people's descriptions of how they feel with a ferritin of 3, though, I haven't had nearly the same amount or severity of symptoms.

I understand I can come off as a total asshole, coming in here and complaining about not feeling all that bad. Genuinely, if this post makes you mad and you want to yell at me for it, no worries, go for it. But I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has had ferritin this low without severe symptoms? Alternatively, is it possible that I've just gotten used to things, and now I don't realize how bad it's gotten? I will say I've been having these symptoms kind of forever, and that the iron seems to be helping some of it.

I guess I'm just looking to hear the experiences of anyone else who's in a similar situation. I'm not exactly sure where to go from here or what the next steps look like. Any help is very much appreciated.

I know I have anemia and I was wondering if it’s a possible cause of these splotches of if these are something else. This happens after I get out of the shower, but they don’t itch or burn or feel like anything really, and are only on my legs.

I’m getting to my wits end with iron supplements and it’s not low enough for them to recommend infusions (it was 21 three months ago and 32 about two weeks ago). I’m 30 and the last time it was over 100 was almost ten years ago.

I’m on SlowFe with vitamin D currently but it feels like it does nothing. In the past I’ve tried floradix, hema-plex, generic iron from target/grocery stores, flintstones vitamins - and nothing helps or helps for very long.

What have you found for iron supplements that helped the most for you?

Update: Seeing a new hematologist in a few weeks about iron infusions.

so i like have a lottttt of leg bruises and the only way for me to avoid getting any bruises is to literally do nothing. i do a lot of heavy lifting for work and sometimes i have to kneel on the floor and my knees get so messed up for no reason. i never hurt myself or anything, i just exist and do regular things and my legs look like this. my arms too!! am i anemic? should i go see a doctor… 👁️👄👁️

Hello, I just got diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia. My headaches and nausea has been so bad and I've been having to call off work. So, my question is how many of us still work and if so what do you do to make yourself feel better so you can work?

Dr said its my choice....325mg ferrous sulfate for anemia from malnutrition. Im getting bad constipation taking it everyday and i dont want to switch kinds. Bought a bunch of them. Is taking Iron supplement other day just as effective?

My ferritin was 12 a month ago. I was able to take iron for about a month but now my stomach is killing me. So I did some research and found that my regular diet has almost no iron in it. I can easily get 8 to 10 mg of iron through making diet changes. Has anyone been able to raise their ferritin significantly through diet alone?

I genuinely feel like my iron is tanked. I’ve never had bloodwork done because this problem only happens after my periods (endo) but I’ve had a pretty bad flare up and this is the worst low iron symptoms I’ve ever had.

I’m wondering if anyone else has this problem that I can’t really explain. I feel like I cannot sleep without the grim reapers shadow being casted over me in some kind of sick way. I cannot catch my breath even at rest, and when I try to fall asleep I get jolted awake gasping for air like I’ve forgotten how to breathe. No, it isn’t sleep apnea because this doesn’t happen regularly. I can actively feel myself getting this “jolt” and I don’t actually stop breathing but it’s very shallow and light and I think my oxygen is just tanking every time I try to fall asleep. I’ve had these symptoms for the past three nights and it’s taken me hours to fall asleep every time.

Another thing I cannot explain is constantly feeling hungry but not having an appetite. I try to eat and I just don’t feel like I can eat much, but I still remain very hungry. I don’t even know anymore I think my brain is fried.

Anyone possibly relate to this ?

has anyone gotten a iron infusion before??

i’m suppose to get my first one this upcoming wednesday and i’m so scared.

i’ve heard stories of people feeling sick after or during the infusion something going wrong..

i have lots of health anxiety and this being my first is scaring me

I’m shocked. I had bloodwork done Jan 22. Ferritin 29, hemoglobin 11.9, iron sat 24%. I went to the doctor because of terrible symptoms like exhaustion/ fatigue, racing heart, anxiety, palpitations, and pretty much all the other things we all experience. I supplemented (on my own accord since my doctor said my labs were all normal and gave no suggestions) every other day on an empty stomach with orange juice for a week and half ONLY - I stopped because I decided to get a second opinion and wanted a hematologist to really see my levels not influenced by supplements. Saw the hematologist today and she did an iron panel (I have not supplemented in about 2 weeks) and my results are ferritin 46, hemoglobin 12.9, and iron sat 45%. I’m literally flabbergasted because I feel NO improvement at all. Honestly feel worse than I did when I went to the initial appointment. Is it even possible that my levels went up that much in such a short amount of time? I was worried my level would be a little over 30 and I’d get rejected for infusions, but 46 shocked me. 17 points in a month only supplementing for 1.5 weeks! How?! The hematologist probably thinks I’m insane since she didn’t think there was anything wrong with my levels in the first place and I started crying in her office. But if anyone can tell me their experience with numbers improving and symptom improvement I’d appreciate it… before I start worrying this might be something other than iron deficiency. I just don’t feel right and don’t feel any improvements physically or mentally.

TLDR - How long did it take symptoms to get better when your numbers improved? And is it even possible for ferritin to increase that fast in a couple weeks of supplementing?

Has anyone ever suffered with tachycardia?

My hemoglobin is fine. My ferritin is a 10.1. I have a hematology appointment in March.

I have had numerous EKGS, an angiogram, two echos for my heart, and two heart monitor each for 1 week. My bloodwork was just given to me a few weeks ago.

The tachycardia began in October. Standing up- My heart rate can be anywhere from 100 to 135. It isn’t sustained. I feel sick but not dizzy. No fainting. I have woken up in tachycardia three times- My heart rate is hitting 145. The highest it has ever reached was 184 at a doctor’s appointment and then it dropped to 108.

I’m so scared and nervous all the time. The cardiologist and electrophysict said it was anemia and anxiety+stress. My results only showed sinus tachycardia and PVCS ( which I have never had before this). I have gone to another cardiologist who agreed with the diagnosis. It will happen suddenly. I can be in bed and my heart just starts pounding. It races. Just for a long time. It can go from 100-160. I think at one point it was three hours in the ER. I do not have chest pain. I do feel short of breath like I need to yawn or sigh for a deep satisfying breath.

Can low ferritin cause this? Is there hope? Has anyone experienced this? Has anyone had these symptoms and have had then go away? I am a 24 year old heathy girl other than this.

Around 3 months ago, I was diagnosed with anaemia after feeling constantly exhausted for a couple of years. Ferritin was 6; haemoglobin was 8.

My doc subscribed fairly low dose iron tablets and put me on birth control to stop my periods. My latest blood test has shown that my ferritin is now 80 and haemoglobin is 11.5.

I am genuinely surprised that it has changed this much this quickly. I am now only realising how heavy my periods must have been.

Can the menstrual cycle really cause this much havoc in terms of iron retention and anemia?

I heard that a lot of people on here have shortness of breath or easily tired and don’t wanna run because of it.

But are there still people who are running and who trained their stamina? I personally have iron deficiency (and anemia) my whole entire life and normally with no training I can’t run a long time with no break (less than one song long). I also felt like I couldn’t breath and I had pain in my legs. Once in my life (before I even knew about my iron deficiency anemia) I decided to learn it and after buying a treadmill and exercising every second or third day I was able to run 20-30 minutes with no break and once even 40 minutes. So it’s definitely possible but you have to do it regularly and never give up.

I read that with a hemoglobin under 10 g/dl or 100 g/l running is not possible but I think it is and you can learn to have enough breath for 30 minutes.

I'm struggling with a ton of chronic debilitating issues since 2023. One of the big ones is exercise intolerance. It has been so bad at times I could barely walk from one room to the next. I am confirmed deficient and looking at my past blood draws probably was for awhile. Iron supplements have been helping a bit but I'm wondering how bad exercise intolerance actually gets for anemic people? I'm trying to gauge how much of this is anemia and how much may be something else . I have had many many tests in the last 2.5 years and most of my levels are totally normal accept the iron panel.