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1355431 tn?1369975306

Im always exhausted. Possible iron dificiency?

Hello all :) I feel absolutely terrible and I believe it has to do with my iron levels being low. I'm 31 female and have heavy menstrual periods. I went to the the doctor with these symptoms , extreme exhaustion and fatigue despite of getting plenty of sleep. Numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, also sometimes my fingers swell to the point where I can't close my fist. Dark circles under my eyes, headaches ,dizziness , shortness of breath and joint pain. She tested my iron levels and said they were normal. My levels was 59 and from what I understand , from reading on line is that a normal iron level for a woman is between 65-170. I really want to feel better anyone else have the symptoms? Even though she said my level was normal, I bought some liquid iron supplements. I think I will feel much better if I can get my levels closer to 100. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
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4851940 tn?1515694593
When you get your injection of the B12 you may feel a big improvement straight away.  You will probably need a few, and these are usually given every 3 months.

You can also get sublingual B12 tablets, so if you do not like the injection (my mother didn't), your doctor may prescribe B12 for you.  Sometimes though some people are not able to absorb B12 through the gut, but blood tests would be able to confirm that if you went on the tablets.

The injection is better in that it gets into your system quicker.  Any excess in the body is usually excreted through the urine.   Meat is high in B12

With your thyroid meds, may take a while for the body to adjust.

Hope you are feeling much better soon.

Best wishes.
Helpful - 0
1355431 tn?1369975306
Thank you all for your great responses, I love my med help community. I just got back more lab work and I am low in vitamin b12 , my thyroid meds are way off and I am also really low in vitamin d.  My doc is adjusting my thyroid meds, is giving me vitamin b 12 injections and has me on a prescription strength vitamin d supplement. She also said that although my iron is in the low normal range, that she would be ok with me supplementing for a couple months as long as we keep up with routine blood work. So I guess all these things together is what is causing all this fatigue and other symptoms. I just hope I start to feel better soon. Does anyone know how long it will take to start getting some relief and get my energy back?
Helpful - 0
4851940 tn?1515694593
Swollen fingers can be due to inflammation from arthritic joints and also from fluid retention.

Cut down on your sugar and salt intake.
You may notice that some foods or alcohol might cause that.

Keep a diary of what you consume and jot down your symptoms to find out any possible trigger.

I have suffered from fluid retention in fingers for years and have noticed that it if I have salty foods there is more fluid retention.

If you have a healthy and well balanced diet and cut out fizzy drinks and keep junk foods to an absolute minimum and reduce your salt and sugar intake you will find that your fingers should not retain the fluid so much.

Do not think that because you have fluid retention that you must cut down on your water consumption.  Quite the contrary.  Make sure that you drink at least 2-3 litres of water per day.

Best wishes.
Helpful - 0
5669694 tn?1372070410
Here's information on what happens if you take too much iron supplement. It can cause iron poisoning. It's what my doctor was talking about when I tried taking iron pills after I found out I was no longer anemic.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/happens-much-iron-supplement-taken-6728.html

Sometimes I feel really tired and weak and think my iron is low, but every time I go to the doctor for a check up it's fine. It's just my stress and anxiety that makes me feel like that...
Helpful - 0
5669694 tn?1372070410
I have had the same symptoms except for swelling in my fingers. Was told it's related to stress and anxiety... and recently, related to my stomach/back pain that finally after 6 months found out were pulled muscles. I'm not sure what could be causing your swollen fingers? The rest are symptoms of stress. I was low in iron in my early twenties but I didn't have all those symptoms and definitely didn't have any swelling in my fingers. I had fatique and would experience "white outs". I was really pale with palms of hands and fingers nails white. I wasn't eating any meat and pretty much living off of horrible processed foods. I was put on iron supplements and eventually started eating meat. So they took me off the supplements. I was told not to ever take iron supplements unless the test says my iron is low -- I was told that it is dangerous to take them. You should ask your doctor before you continue taking the iron supplements.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Did the doctor check your adrenal glands?  If they aren't functioning correctly they can make you extremely fatigued.  Taking Chinese Ginseng or DHEA might help.  But, you should ask your doctor about how much to take.  It will take some time before you feel/see any results from these natural remedies.  But they do work.
Helpful - 0
4851940 tn?1515694593
You should really go back to the doctor and ask her what she thinks is causing all your problems.

For the pins and needles that you are feeling try taking Vitamin B12 and see if that helps too.

If you are having joint pains, the pins and needles in your feet may be a problem coming from your lower back.

Pins and needles in your fingers, could be from neck problems or from carpal tunnel problems, especially if you do a lot of repetitive work.

With the other symptoms you say you have, it may be a respiratory infection and bacterial or viral.  That can make you feel really tired and under the weather.

The doctor should be checking your ears, throat and chest and also your blood pressure and your temperature.  Ear and throat problems and infections as well as too low blood pressure or too high blood pressure, and urinary tract infections, sinus infections can give you headaches and cause dizziness.

Do not drink tea at the same time as taking your iron supplement.  This hampers the absorption of the iron.

For your heavy menstrual periods, perhaps a blood test to check your hormone levels may be a good idea.

Hope you start to feel better soon.

Best wishes.
Helpful - 0
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