Anemia

Hi Pam

I am shocked at your Dr. First of all your number are absolutely NOT acceptable levels. With iron of 56 and ferritin of 16 you will be extremely ill. All of your symptoms are directly connected to your numbers. Be sure to take at least 3 of those tablets a day and possible 6. The reason you feel worse is because the amount of iron you are taking is not adequate to raise you levels so that you will feel better. Fibromyalgia is not likely your problem. It is truly a shame that Doctors do not take iron deficiencies serious because it is very serious. Be very assertive with your doctor. Remember you pay her bills, you employ her. This is your health and if you have to see a different doctor do so. As your levels begin to raise you will notice that your symptoms will wane but it will take some time because you are very low. I have had very low ferritin and have had all your symptoms and worse. I started taking 6 tablets a day for a few week and then cut back to three and started to feel better. Good luck.

I have almost identical symptoms: extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, nearly constant headaches, tingling (left hand and foot only), hair loss, and concentration/memory problems. The last issue has gotten to the point that it severely affects my work. (BTW, I'm 55, PM female)

I had blood work done (at my insistence and expense because the doctor dismissed my concerns). My WBC & RBCs were within normal range but not by much. My B12 was 275. My doctor said all was within normal other than high lymph (absolute) which they claimed could be the result of fighting of an infection of some kind.

I went to a different doctor. The 2nd doctor wants to monitor my numbers, do some additional hormonal testing, and started me on B12 shots. The said the B12 should be closer to 400-450, although some countries consider as low as 200 to be 'normal'.

I haven't been on the shots long enough to know if they are helping but I'm optimistic. The nurse who adminsters the shots told me she had very similar symptoms a couple of years ago and 3 months of B12 shots made all the difference in the world. She said she now is on a 'maintanence' level (a pill that dissolves under the tongue) and is feeling better than she did 10 years ago.

I am hopeful that things will improve but if they don't, I plan to pursue additional testing and/or opinions. After watching a parent deteriorate due to dementia and Alzheimer's, I'm not going to ignore anything that might suggest I will follow that same path.

Hi Pam I'm glad to hear that you are asking for a requisition for B12 as all those these things go together. My B12 is also low. In order to fell well B12 levels should be a least in the 200 range. Right now mine is low so I am taking 2 subligual of 2500 mg. That is a dose doctors wouldn't recommend but B vitamins are water soluble so my body will use what it needs and I will urinated the rest out. My doctor doesn't believe that ferritin can be low if hemoglobin is fine but that is incorrect so I am firm with her and tell her what I want done. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

Sorry Pam I didn't read where you said you are getting B12 shots and that is good that you are getting them. They work fairly quick. I had them in the past. One strange thing is that it seems once a problem exist with B12 and ferritin it seems to reoccur if I don't stay on top of it. Also, you said you were postmenopausal. Some of your symptoms could be related to that. I do bio-identical hormone therapy and have for 10 years as I had a hysterectomy young. I have to say it has been wonderful to have no menopausal symptoms. All the best to you.

Drink more water and consume Lecitin E (it is good for hormone balance). Massage the side of your lap until you feel better (that's what my mum did). Go out and breath some fresh air and do you have any hobby that you enjoy?

 Have your doctor check your b12 levels and your magnesium lecels, maybe even see an endocrinologist. Always also good to follow up with your gp to see a nuerologist.  heres a start.. B12 sub linguals and co enyme q10 (ubiqinol absorbs better) a b -complex and vitamin D. Do they allow you in uk to get b12 sub linguals?  

 

Hi Pam, 

I hear you; boy do I hear you. It scares me when your indicating many health issues that seem to relate to the heart. Have you had an EKG?

I'm 58 with RH- blood type  (unable to store my iron), and have spent most of the last two weeks in bed trying to get my iron back up. My ferritin was at 16 too about two months ago. Since then, I can only assume I used whatever I had left. After the holidays, we had a cluster of large earthquakes; two woke us up way before dawn and that's when I remember feeling the most stress!  I've been blessed in having numerous spinal surgeries in the last 7 years, along with husband having cancer and recovere. That was just prior to Christmas. So I can understand why my body was plum worn out from those stresses. I just can't get it built up enough to do much of anything and I have a lot of living I want to do: as I'm sure you do too! Ugh 

The funny part of your story vs mine is my left side of my face is hurting too but mine is due to a root canal.  Apparently root canals are a huge no no; even after the dentist kills the nerve, there are hundreds of other canals still alive and left to gather bacteria. They require no oxygen. I was just reading about this dr (dr price) from 1922, that after hundreds of tests where he would remove the dead tooth from a patient with severe ailments such as arthritis or MS etc, and place it under the skin of a rabbit or mouse and within 48 hours that animal would come down with the same disorders as the patient. The remarkable thing was the patient would recover from their ailments. Even those that were crippled in a wheelchair with pain would greatly improve once their root canals were removed. Every single test he did, the same results occurred. But because dentistry and the medical field are two different entities, no one would correlate the two. So maybe that could be something to think about. And please don't get upset at your dentist. Everything on this planet has good and bad; it's our job to research what fits best for us. And I know it would be more costly to my health to live with resentment or anger; after all we are all humans just trying to survive. 

Another suggestion is to read as much as you can about MSM and Vitamin C.  I think you will find some relief there as well. For your fibromyalgia, check out DMSO. 

I will pray for your recovery Pam. I know how it feels. I lost a ton of my hair and had to cut it off. Started back on Chia seed and finally seeing some new growth. Yay!  

Try and keep focused on positive things. No matter how hard it is, find things to be thankful for!

God Bless You, Shanon