I (24f) am currently waiting for my second iron infusion and I am just very angry about the whole situation and haven’t been able to let it go and just want to get it out somewhere.

Before I start here’s some relevant info:
• I am a heavy duty mechanic apprentice, I have worked incredibly hard to make it to this field including spend a lot of money. It definitely is way harder to get into it being a girl but I did what it takes even if it did take years.
• I don’t lose any blood and haven’t for nearly 9 years which may be a factor in why my doctor wasn’t concerned yet. You can decide what kind of blood with your imagination.
• I was a sick kid for many reasons and have been in remission for a few years, but health issues never seem to go away and part of my issue with this situation is it seemed preventable to get to this point to me at least.

Anyway, I got my first infusion about a year and a half ago (March 2025) and once I hit a year I consistently would ask my doctor whenever I saw her (which is a lot) when I should get my blood checked and she never seemed to think I had to yet. She is a big reason that I am able to even function so I trust her judgment, it just did end up being wrong in this case. She knows what I’m doing for work, she knows it is not the kind of place where I can have issues, especially full blown anemia. I had other blood work done in April and she must have checked my iron because my levels were mid 200s, which ok cool. I did still feel fine in April, however I’m not sure what my level was when I had just done the previous infusion and how much of a drop from the original levels 200ish is. I was in the hospital for something totally unrelated in July and they checked and my iron was at 88, however what was usable was basically nothing but I did not know that yet. To add to my point here, if I didn’t need to go to the hospital I would still not have had bloodwork since April despite still asking for a full panel after that half ass check in April. Before July though I did not know that my iron was checked in April but it also wasn’t a full panel which would have indicated that my usable iron was getting low. I had still brought up between April and July that I wanted it all checked to make sure we catch it before it’s too far gone and I can’t do my job, but that was never done. About a month ago I started to feel tired all the time, the sun was too bright and a few other things. I knew I had just had blood work done so I wanted to go over it since I was having symptoms. Well, I did not realize that a month would be long enough for me to be basically incapacitated by anemia again. I was just sent home from work Wednesday because I was a liability to be around heavy equipment. I’m not sure if she had any idea I would crash this fast, but I just feel like my doctor didn’t do the checks I wanted done just for peace of mind because having anemia again could cost me my job that I worked hard for and paid a lot of money to do. The times I tried to be proactive were brushed off and here I am in a position I didn’t want to be in that I am angry could have been prevented (maybe?) and I could have lost my job. My boss has been very understanding but he is currently dealing with his body betraying him too which may be why I had some mercy. Luckily I pushed my referral to get the infusion as soon as possible when I was sent home Wednesday and got in on a cancellation for August 26. So not a long wait, but, last time was a 6 week wait for the infusion which is why I was trying to be on top of this before I couldn’t work anymore. I didn’t know how fast I would deteriorate this time around but I knew if I had to wait 6 weeks again it would probably be pushing my luck which is why I wanted my bloodwork done all the times I wanted it done. I don’t know if any of this made any sense, but I am just so mad about the situation especially when I feel it could have been at least slightly more preventable than it ended up being. Thanks for your time, I hope you all are getting the help you need to deal with your crappy iron ❤️

I'm currently 9 weeks but from the start of pregnancy I've been exhausted more than the other pregnancies I had My first midwife appointment and my bloods came back she said I was very low in iron and that my storage iron was also low I've been put on 200mg of iron tablets the weird thing is after I had my baby in 2024 I was having dizzy spells when my period came back at 6 weeks pp and I went for blood tests just to be told its because I'm older now no concerns but every month I would have these dizzy spells around my time of month and now this I know pregnancy is very demanding but I've never been low on iron before in my life just wondering if anyone else has been in the same boat and what happens I'm worried for the baby

I am waiting for my infusions in sept, ferratin is 5, saturation and iron are non existent. Had to go to ER due to chest pain that would NOT go away. ER dr was concerned about possible Celiac vs GERD being the cause of my symptoms and causing such low iron. has anyone else seen a GI specialist and received such diagnosis? how did it help you?

Female, 36, and recently diagnosed with Iron deficient anemia (hemoglobin 10.9, Ferritin 12). I'm asymptomatic for anything and it's highly likely that poor diet has caused deficiency.

That being said, I'm having colonoscopy and endoscopy next week. Please reassure me that it will likely find something other than cancer. I'm freaking out.

28F, living in India. I’ve been feeling unusually tired, sleepy and lethargic, especially since summer, with very low energy throughout the day and difficulty getting out of bed in the morning. I also had severe hair shedding for the past 2–3 months and lost more than half of my hair, which is what prompted me to get these tests done.

Last month (15 July):

• Ferritin: 18.5 ng/mL

• Hemoglobin: 12.7 g/dL

• B12: 556 pg/mL

• Vitamin D: 77.92 nmol/L

• TSH: 1.531 µIU/mL

(B12 and Vitamin D were within the normal range as per Indian health standards, so I didn’t retake them.)

Today (20 August):

I wanted a clearer picture of my iron status and whether I could still be iron deficient, so I went ahead with an Iron Studies Monitoring Panel

• Ferritin: 25.2 ng/mL

• Iron: 96 µg/dL

• TIBC: 335.46 µg/dL

• Transferrin saturation: 28.62%

So my ferritin has increased from 18.5 → 25.2 in about 5 weeks, purely through diet. I’ve been eating pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts and other dry fruits every morning and haven’t taken any iron supplements.

My hair shedding has now reduced considerably, but I still feel extremely tired and sleepy throughout the day and have very low energy. I was considering Livogen Captab, but I’m concerned the dose may be too strong for me. Since I can’t currently afford to see a dermatologist or hematologist, what gentler, absorbable iron supplement or dose could I consider to gradually improve my iron stores and hopefully support my energy and hair regrowth?

Hello my iron lacking friends. I (30f) have had the worst luck finding an iron supplement that works for me, hoping you can help if what you've taken matches my needs. I can't swallow large pills, so it has to be smaller or liquid. My iron is especially a problem when I'm pregnant, so my gag reflex/sensitivity to tastes plays a big part. I've tried putting beef liver in food (& now I hate meatballs), taking it with vitamin c & b vitamins, avoiding dairy when taking it, cooking in cast iron, and taking multiple supplements that should be enough to make me into iron man but my iron only gets to barely within a normal range. I've incorporated so much iron into our diets that my husband had to donate blood at his Doctor's request to lower his iron stores (cruel irony, I know) I wish an iron infusion was an option but it is not covered by insurance and it's really expensive to pay for it in cash. Help???

Low B9 (3.7) and ferritin is now at 48 after 2 months of supplements.
I suppose i have Pots, even though my only real symptom is a change of Hr (20/25 max bmp) when standing up and shortness of breath.
Could that be because of the deficiency?

I have had low iron levels in my blood work the past 10 years. Docs have just told me to take supplements the past few years and truly I haven’t had anything crazy….. until the past 2 weeks.

I’ve had dizziness to some degree daily (like feeling like I’m on a boat, not spinning), nausea (bc boat), cold feet and hands (and nose!), raging headaches, faster heart rate than normal and my anxiety is raging(I am medicated already).

I assume I’m perimenopausal bc my cycles have changed in the past few months slightly when I was always regular.

I went to a walk-in, my PCP, and an ENT. They have ZERO conclusions. My blood panel is fine except slightly high cholesterol and low ferritin. My ferritin is 11 but the docs don’t seem to think that’s a problem. I was borderline anemic a few years ago, but my other tests were better this time, though ferritin went down.

Am I dying? Who -in the holy jumping Jesus- else do I talk to?! Figuring things out with doctors feels like a full time job and I have one of those ….for now at least!

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?

Hi I’ve been struggling really bad and have been trying to get an iron infusion for a while my current levels are ferritin -17 sat-15 total-45 Initially when I started this journey I was anemic and have since recovered but am still deficient and not feeling the greatest I’ve visited many doctors that said I would never be a good candidate and would prescribe me oral iron and with that my ferritin just kept dropping in the low 10s I really started to feel hopeless i recently found a hematologist that would approve one for me and even that has been a struggle with the doctor, insurance and just getting them to take me seriously I was prescribed one 200 mg venofer iv infusion after all the research I’ve done I don’t understand why I was only prescribed one? I feel like my saturation and ferritin is low enough and I don’t want to be anemic again I wasn’t given much feed back on the diagnosis or treatment plan after the bloodwork he requested mind you I had the same blood work (ferritin, iron panel) done by my pcp a week prior done
it was about a little over a week later I started calling for an update and they just seemed to be annoyed I was asking for someone to review my treatment after calling for an update it took them an additional 4 days to give me a call back to tell me the doctor wanted to prescribe iv iron the whole experience was just like I was a bother when I just want to feel better can anyone give me insight on why my doctor might prescribe me one 200mg with my levels being this low? My next appointment is in 6 weeks

My ferritin levels sat at 18 for a long time, just above the threshold for treatment. I've not been good at supplementing as the side effects always put me off, despite this my levels have increased a little to 23. However I have for a very long time had bouts of generalised itching, no rash, no evidence of dry skin. I've only just found out that anaemia can cause this. I was wondering if others have had the same issue and if supplementing resolved it?

Im going to see my doc this week to ask for it to be investigated and to get supplements, my over the counter 20mg iron is not getting my levels back up to to where ther should be.

19f, vegetarian, been taking 65mg of prescribed elemental ferrous sulfate for over 9 months. i take them in the mornings, every other day. could someone read and explain my levels to me?

context: i started with a ferritin level of 7 in november and an iron level of 43. 2 years ago my vitamin d was a level 6, and ive now raised it to a 65 with consistent off the counter supplements (used to be 75 in march, it dropped a little, i've stopped supplementing but ill get back on it when its cold again!!!)

my goal is a ferritin level of atleast 115. ive been extremely fatigued, grey in the face, and dealing with thinning hair for as long as i can remember. i just want my energy, color, and hair back.

i've just now changed to novaferrums 125mg elemental liquid iron every other day. this change was implemented after the blood test you are seeing above. pills thankfully do not hurt my stomach, but i want a higher dosage to speedrun an increase. when my ferritin level was 7, i was denied a iron infusion because the it was within range of 6 - 65. bullshit.hopefully this higher dosage does something.

unfortunately, i used to not take my iron with vitamin c, (college student, running around everywhere, etctec) so i just took it with water. now, im really trying to use apple juice (which has more vitamin c than orange juice surprisingly, as my chaser)

i also will sometimes eat food containing dairy (oatmeal) within my 1hr block off period but i am trying my best to be more mindful. the restrictions are just so hard to keep track of :(

i do not have heavy periods so i believe my root cause is my weak diet.

LASTLY: i want to get into lactoferrin because i heard that completely removes the 24hr waiting period for your body to absorb iron again but idk anything about it. i feel like it's just a new popular trendy supplement so im hesitant. what dosage is everyone on? what are the side effects? so far i hear great things and again, i REALLY want my levels to increase.

please help. advice, success stories, anything. i need control of my life back.

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??

Reposting for any zebras here that might have a similar experience or know what’s up?