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Low ferritin levels and iron injections???

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louise74854
louise74854

Hi all,

I had a Drs appointment and he said my ferritin levels were low at 24... I thought 24 was in the normal range...

Anyway he decided he wanted to do an iron injection right there and then. But by the time I got home I developed strange marks on my hands and fingers (gone now) and have just felt awful! Like my temps at 37.9 and my eyes feel like they are burning..

I went to the Drs because I’ve had odd physical symptoms like:

Internal humming/vibrating feeling

Heart palpitations 

Pain behind my left ear

Stomach pains 

Pain in my throat (low down almost in my neck... if that makes sense).

Pain under tongue 

Muscle spasms (usually in chest and eyes)

Extreme fatigue

Trouble sleeping etc etc

Now this Dr orders FBC, iron studies, liver test, kidney test, Urine sample, lipids (cholesterol) & thyroid... I asked for specific testing but he did the general blood test even though I said my Mum had hers diagnosed using specific testing 

Everything was fine other than the ferritin levels... but my ferritin levels were as low as 8 a few years ago and I didn’t have ANY of the above symptoms... 

What the hell is going on? Any ideas?

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • sally_14743
    sally_14743 louise74854

    Posted

    Hi Louise

    normal ferritin is between 30-200 for women 

    your gp is doing what he has to lots of tests .. it’s the only way to figure out what’s wrong ..

    you haven’t put your haemaglobin result ..

    i am guessing he gave the iron injection as quite a few of your symptoms are caused by anaemia .. palpitations,trouble sleeping ,extreme fatigue and he wanted to get your iron level up a bit .. 

    but the other symptoms maybe to do with what’s causing the anaemia .. and his tests should narrow that down .. 

    not a bad thing .. I too have had a whole array of tests .. my anaemia is extremely heavy periods but in the process of tests they discovered I have mild liver fibrosis which is reversible caught early , so I am very glad I had the tests .. 

    i haven’t had iron injections .had an infusion which did make me hot in waves for about a week .. 

    Hang in there 

    • louise74854
      louise74854 sally_14743

      Posted

      Hi Sally,

      Firstly thanks for replying.

      He did the generic testing which annoyed me a little as I’ve been on iron supplements for years now and struggled to get my iron levels even close to normal... I did ask if there was something underlying? Which possible caused this?  He didn’t tell me my Haemoglobin results... Just ferritin levels.

      He seems to think the iron will rule all my symptoms out and has offered to do no further testing saying it’s all due to the iron which I highly doubt. 

      The problem is I have Coeliac Disease and I know this can cause all sorts of problems but in Australia it isn’t highly acknowledged by Drs... It’s very frustrating. I’ve had a Dr ask me what it is... No joke. But I feel maybe there is a possibility something is being missed because I’ve been sick for 6 months now. Unsure what else to do because GPs seem to be generic in their approach..

  • martin31040
    martin31040 louise74854

    Posted

    Hi can you tell me did the iron injections up your iron store ?, and what's involved, I am in the UK, just after some info, Dr said my iron store is getting low it's 37, I'm on iron supplement iron fumarate syrup but it gives me bad gut issues, so I was going to ask about injections.

    • louise74854
      louise74854 martin31040

      Posted

      Hi Martin,

      I’ve only had one so far and I’m not too sure. I’m still very tired and lethargic. 

      My Dr ran FBC & iron studies and my ferritin levels were at 24 he said it’s not too severe but wanted to do the injections. Gave me a script for Ferrosig, got it filled $25AUD and I came back with the viles. The nurse injected me & I will have weekly doses until the script runs out. 

      Things you need to know:

      •Apparently it’s high risk and that’s why some Drs don’t like doing it.

      •it hurts a lot. Then injection site can cause muscles to tense up. You may also get severe headaches, stomach upset, low blood etc

      I personally couldn’t walk properly for a day and have felt a bit funny since. 

      Please bare in mind I’m in Australia & also have health anxiety issues too.

      If your Dr agrees it is so much faster than tablets 😊

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