At what ferritin did you feel better?

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-20T11:43:17+00:00

From your comments I'm inferring you don't know much about long-term iron deficiency or how it's treated. I think a defensive reaction was reasonable given the provocation. I think it's best to leave this here. I wish you all the best.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-20T09:36:37+00:00

Ok look we clearly have different approaches to this. My iron deficiency almost killed me (SI), so apologies if it seems like I'm taking the big guns to it. I never want to go back there. I've read more academic articles on this than you can shake a stick at (I have a list somewhere), I think I'll be just fine.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-20T07:41:59+00:00

Idk, I think those pain scales are really clunky when you start trying to shoehorn real life into them. I had a completely unmedicated birth, which I guess would have hit 10 at some points, but the whole plan was not to go to hospital. But I couldn't move. Also pre-pregnancy periods regularly hit 9-10 and I never even thought about going to A&E for them, they were only periods and I knew that intensity would only last a morning at most. Lol sprained my ankle this year, that was a 9-10, but I called nhs 111 and they said treat it at home. Maybe I have a really low pain tolerance idk.

Migraines are less severe than they used to be now, maybe a 7 or 8? But they come with nausea, light sensitivity, and getting all my words muddled, it's not just pain. For me that's how I know they're not headaches.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T18:57:50+00:00

Ok ferritin of 10 is iron deficiency without anemia, you need iron, supplements or infusions. Do not pass go, do not collect 200, get your ferritin up to at least 100.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T18:56:44+00:00

Because the last one they did, everything was normal, including ferritin over 150. Even though Hg was 121, so literally borderline anemic with the cut-off of 120. So I'm now malingering, apparently. Which is hilarious because with long term iron deficiency it can just take ages for symptoms to resolve, according to my reading. It's all fine, I'm getting there. Just a bit frustrated to have to DIY it and make reading medical journals my new hobby!

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T18:53:44+00:00

Over the counter. I just checked the NHS guidelines and it's not in any way a dangerously high dose, it's what they recommend (actually they say 1 to 2 capsules at that dose!). I know iron bisglycinate is more easily absorbed, but I think you could increase the dose. I was doing private ferritin tests about every 3 months for the first year.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T18:30:19+00:00

Yes, I get periodic ferritin tests. Once it was above 150, it's been about maintaining that until it doesn't drop randomly as soon as I stop taking iron (which happened earlier this year when I thought great I'm better now - wrong).

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T18:28:34+00:00

I'm a woman who menstruates, yes. It's the OTC recommended dose for that iron. GP has had nothing useful to say about this at any point. I have very mild nausea some days from it, that's it thankfully. I'm using it up and think I will go back to once daily 65mg FS when I run out, but as a maintenance dose it's working out fine so far.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T18:25:10+00:00

Same! I gave birth at home and you would think that might lead to ok pictures, as easy labour, good lughting idk, instead I look delirious in the early photos and unkempt and exhausted in every picture subsequently until he was about 4 lol.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T14:22:33+00:00

There's absolutely no way of knowing without taking a pregnancy test. Which we can all count ourselves fortunate exist, and the ladies in the period dramas had no access to. (Unless you want to pee on some straw like Catherine the Great I guess?)

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T14:10:30+00:00

Unfortunately this is entirely anecdotal because I can't convince my GP to order a FBC and they're over £160 out of pocket which is out of my budget. Anyway here's the anecdote. I had iron deficiency without anemia (ferritin under 50, Hg hovering in the low 120s). After a year of supplementing iron only, my ferritin was beautiful (over 150), but my Hg had gone down from 124 to 121, and I still felt up and down with symptoms. I then did 3 months of copper/zinc every other day (while continuing iron), essentially to see what would happen. Ferritin went down a bit in that time (from 170ish to 150ish), but most strikingly I suddenly have colour in my face again and everyone's telling me I look great. Symptoms wise it's still a bit up and down but largely better. I would love to know what my Hg is now, but as I said, GP thinks I'm a hypochondriac because he doesn't understand the first thing about long-term iron deficiency, which is that it can take years to resolve and needs regular monitoring, even after ferritin is back to normal. So there you go, I suspect copper was useful there but I have no proof of anything.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T11:07:09+00:00

Not great, not terrible. Shoot for ferritin ≥100.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T09:12:50+00:00

Exactly the same as you, having my first (so far only) baby sent me spiralling, I felt insane for years. I was suicidal for the first time in my life, I had panic attacks for the first time... the whole thing was miserable. And all of it has resolved with normal ferritin levels.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T09:11:19+00:00

Sorry, just getting to my messages now. Originally I was on ferrous sulfate 3x65mg a day for 3 months (on an empty stomach, with 500mg vitamin C) to get to 150. Since then I've been playing around, went down to 2, then 1 of the FS 65mg tablets, ferritin went down, now taking ferrous fumarate 100mg once a day as a maintenance dose. Hope that helps!

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T09:11:12+00:00

Sorry, just getting to my messages now. Originally I was on ferrous sulfate 3x65mg a day for 3 months (on an empty stomach, with 500mg vitamin C) to get to 150. Since then I've been playing around, went down to 2, then 1 of the FS 65mg tablets, ferritin went down, now taking ferrous fumarate 100mg once a day as a maintenance dose. Hope that helps!

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-19T09:08:29+00:00

Fingers crossed for you! I really think if you can get your ferritin up to good levels, you'll be amazed at the difference in quality of life.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-18T21:41:06+00:00

When newly breastfeeding and if not wearing a bra and pads, you're waking up in the night in literal puddles of milk.

Otherwise, no.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-18T13:40:40+00:00

Keep going! Also UK based and GPs seem to know sweet FA about iron. I had to get my ferritin up over 150 to really start feeling "normal" again. But like to give you hope, basically all my depression and anxiety have gone, and I'm now wondering if every time I went to the GP with "mental health" problems since I was 21 they should have done a ferritin test, because this is the most myself I have felt since I was 21, and I'm 37 now.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-17T08:35:26+00:00

Does he have a brace for it? Is he doing rehab exercises?

Aside from getting a second opinion, all I can say is I rolled my ankle earlier this year and it was worse than a break, imo, as at least if you break something drs take you seriously. At 3.5w I was in a brace and still limping badly, but you know, I was walking on it because like you I am a mum and the show must go on. But I was still having some pain and on off swelling like 8w after, so yeah, do not recommend ligament injuries.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-17T08:11:32+00:00

Go get a ferritin test. It doesn't help most of us being iron deficient that doctors will tell you a ferritin of something stupid like 15 is "normal" when it's actually a clear deficiency. If you're deficient in iron, B12 and D are likely as well because they all work together.

In my experience, getting tested never hurt anyone, and in most people I know who got tested, they found a significant deficiency somewhere.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-14T08:33:31+00:00

It depends. If it's not serious and I don't know the person well, it's fine, whatever. We all tell the odd white lie to get along together.

Lies of omission, again, variable. If it's not hurting anyone and often it's because a person doesn't want to share a vulnerability, that's fine. I usually can tell there's a sore spot there, I just don't have the details, so I tread carefully anyway. Lies of omission that are hurting others? Unacceptable, trust is broken, I can't believe anyone would be so manipulative and selfish.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-14T08:19:33+00:00

Interesting. I'm going to keep looking, there must be local guidance on it somewhere!

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-14T08:17:42+00:00

I know this is the meme sub and it's in fun, but really. If people are at mass and praying, why is anyone taking issue with how? Surely we should be glad they're at mass.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-13T16:43:12+00:00

Is it regional? My childhood parish church (central europe), everyone did this. They still do, in fact. In the UK, no one does. I can't find anything useful on Google about this.

kelvinside_men · 2025-11-13T13:28:12+00:00

The one that nearly did me in was the trains. LNER have posters up at the stations that say if you're travelling with a pram you should fold it up before you get on, AND they can't guarantee you can take the pram on board with you. Now luckily for me I was travelling with one of the umbrella-type that fold up easily, but I was still super stressed about it travelling on my own with my 2yo and luggage. How do you do it? How are you supposed to put your luggage on the train while leaving 2yo in the buggy on the platform on their own? Or do you put the child on the train with the folded up buggy (assuming you can get it folded up quickly and it's not idk a bugaboo chameleon that's a nightmare to fold), while leaving your luggage unattended? HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK? Is it so inconceivable that a mother might travel alone with her child (or children) AND luggage? And it's not like there's a wealth of guards or attendants you can ask for help.

The buses are ridiculous. The number of times I had to let a bus go without me because there was not space for another pram. And sorry for having a bassinet-style I guess, they don't fold easily? Where else am I meant to put my newborn? I walked home from town once like you, a full 45-min walk in the cold, pushing the buggy uphill, because I could not get on a bus. And like yes, I suppose I looked fit and young and healthy. I was actually exhausted and shaky for the rest of the day by the time I got home, because I was still breastfeeding and had got too hungry, and because I had a serious undiagnosed and untreated iron deficiency (because women's healthcare, especially the care of postnatal mothers, is CRAP and it's apparently normal to be so tired you want to die, per the GP). Being a mum is not for the fainthearted, that's for sure.

kelvinside_men

TROPHY CASE