1. Community
  2. Blood & Immune System
  3. Anaemia

Can being slightly aneamic make you feel awful?

Posted , 3 users are following.

sian87627
sian87627

I've often had low ferritin and sometimes mild aneamia and have just had results to confirm that I am very slightly low in both areas. I was ridiculously pleased when I first found out as I was hoping that explained how I felt but when I found out the numbers my hope fizzled out somewhat. I thought this would happen... If any results are abnormal they don't seem bad enough to explain how I feel. I've lost count how many thyroid tests I've had. My question is, can you be slightly low in ferritin and slightly aneamic and feel horrible.... Tired to the point that I actually closed my eyes crossing a car park, puffed out going upstairs or showering and generally feeling weak and like a wimp. I have a low bpm of late 40s to early 50s average 52 or so but apparently I just have a healthy heart so I don't see why I'd get breathless and find simple tasks so overwhelming. Any advice gratefully received... Many thanks, Sian

0 likes, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • TheCannonator19
    TheCannonator19 sian87627

    Posted

    I'm not a doctor so please don't take my advice as medical, but I am severely anemic and know the signs and symptoms. What did your blood tests show? Ferritin? Iron Binding Capacity? Hemoglobin? MCV? MCP? Ferritin is your iron, iron binding capacity is how much iron your body is absorbing, hemoglobin is the amount of oxygen your red blood cells are carrying and MCV and MCP have to do with the size of your red blood cells....the smaller the number, the smaller your cells are and they're basically itty bitty when they lack iron.

    The lowest my hemoglobin has ever been was 6.7 and my ferritin was a 3. I was exhausted, falling asleep all the time, and basically couldn't function. Those numbers resulted in 2 bags of blood and 2 times a week iron infusions for 6 weeks.

    Now, my hemoglobin is around a 9, but my iron is still low and I'm only absorbing 5% of it. It's a royal pain, it's still exhausting and it's no fun at all really. You sound anemic, especially with what you're saying about falling asleep while in your car. Talk to your doctor again, tell him/her to do a full iron profile on you and if you can take the over the counter iron pills, start doing it....anything is better than nothing.

    Again, I'm no doctor, but even tiny changes in your iron stores can result in your body feeling more tired than normal.

    I hope this helps! Good luck with everything and please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

    Stephanie

    • sian87627
      sian87627 TheCannonator19

      Posted

      Thanks so much for your reply. Sorry I didn't explain that very well... Thankfully I was walking not driving when I closed my eyes... Not asleep just soooooo tired. Still, not exactly safe. My last test was 12 for ferritin and 111 for iron. Bases are 13 and 115 respectively. I've been down to 9 ferritin before. Many thanks again, Sian

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.