Question for the Girls: Iron Anemia

[cristiana]

Like many of you I had anemia at dx.  With various tablets and including red meat in my diet things improved and last reading, over a year ago, I had reached 41 on the scale.   

I have had to stop taking the tablets as increasingly they disagreed with me and my readings were going up without them.  However, approaching the menopause with episodes of menorrhagia I am being tested again for  iron and I suspect my levels will be down again.  My question is did any of you approaching menopause have iron levels that were affected in this way and if so, what is a good normal level to aim for with blood iron?  Thanks!

 

 

 

[cyclinglady]

Here is a government link to ferritin (iron stores) ranges:

Open Original Shared Link

I think as you transition into menopause, your doctor should keep on top of your iron levels.  Maybe mid-range......  I am not a doctor though.... 

My experience?  I suffered from every single perimenopausal symptom on record for over a decade.  The final year was a killer.  My celiac disease was undiagnosed, my thyroid was swinging from hyper to hypo causing heavy bleeding (30 day periods), I was not absorbing iron even though I was taking supplements and to top it off, I have Thalassemia which usually brings my hemoglobin just out of range but with all the rest of my issues I was struggling to breathe!  

Hope this helps. 

[cristiana]

Hi cyclinglady - thank you so much.   This month has been awful, worst ever,  and yet other months are fine.  I can't help thinking my thyroid is playing up and could be behind all of this.  I guess I will need to ask for more thyroid tests if my scan doesn't reveal anything.  

 

 

[cristiana]

Okay - as expected my iron has taken a dive (from 41 to 20).   I imagine what I am going through has a lot to do with this, plus the fact that I have ceased supplementation over a year ago.  

Cyclinglady - is it common practice for celiacs to have to routinely resort to supplementation?  I have been gluten-free since May 2013 and ceased iron tablets about a year later, having only taken one ferrous glucanate once in a while when I remembered to towards the end of that time!

Also, another question for you or anyone else, can thyroid be responsible for what they call 'flooding'?   I cannot believe the difference between last month and this.  I am a bit scared about it TBH.   (I am having a scan just to be sure).

Sorry to any men reading!

 

  

[icelandgirl]

Hi Cristiana,

I'm sorry to hear about your flooding and low ferritin... ((((hugs)))).

Thyroid trouble can cause long, heavy periods and flooding.  So can perimenopause.  I've had my share of the long, heavy periods.  This last period was ok, but the 2 prior the flooding was terrible.  I did have 2 ultrasounds done last year because of all of the issues.  The only thing found was polyps which were removed, but were not believed to be causing the issues.  

My ferritin was quite low as well.  As of July it was in the mid 20s which is the highest for me since diagnosis.  I'll be retested in January. 

A full thyroid panel would be good.  This would include TSH, Free T3, Free T4, TPOAb  and TgAb.  Many Dr's will only test TSH, but that doesn't tell a whole lot.  My mom's TSH was perfect...but she didn't feel great.  She pressed for a full panel.  Her antibodies were around 1600...way high!  They just did an ultrasound and found a 2.5 cm nodule on her thyroid so now she's scheduled for a biopsy.  In the years leading up to menopause she had flooding so bad that it was hard for her to leave the house. 

I hope that you are feeling better and that your scan goes well.  Press for that thyroid panel if you can.

((((Hugs))))

[cyclinglady]

Ugh!  I wrote a huge post, but the forum went down the other night.  Anyway, in a nutshell:

Could be your thyroid.  When I was hypo in my 30's, I never had heavy periods or flooding.   My thyroid antibodies were as high as 4,000 never dropping below 2,000 back then.   I never gained weight either....go figure.   This only occurred (flooding) when I was in that final year of perimenopause.  30-day periods are no fun!  That same year, my hemoglobin dropped to a 7, ferritin to a 2 and I could not supplement iron fast enough.  I was swinging from hyper to hypo and my doctor blamed my Thalsassemia and my thyroid, but it was really hormonal shifts.  I went on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).  I  kept gobbling up iron supplements, refused a hysterectomy and survived.  

Three months after my last period (a year later) I was diagnosed with celiac disease by my GI when I went in for a routine colonoscopy and he noted that I have been anemic for 20 years (just not severely).  Ugh!  

Good idea to check your thyroid, but HRT really save me.  Helped build or at least ceased bone loss for me too.  Just something to consider!  Also, supplement with iron.  Have your doctor keep an eye on your levels.  You can take too much iron!  

Oh, no more nodules on my thyroid.  I think healing from celiac disease has helped.  It has....my thyroid is now stable.  

[cristiana]

Girls, thanks so much for your replies.  And the hugs!  I think I ought to print your advice out to pursue the thyroid question with my doctor once I know how the scan goes.   Wow - anemic for 20 years?  That is dreadful.   

I have just received some Floradix in the post, a German iron supplement that one can add to OJ and hopefully it will be easier than ferrous glucanate which I used not to have problems with but now makes me belch.  Strange thing how one can become less tolerant of these things... I do think I have problems with my thyroid, I do have at least one nodule but also have dry, brittle hair, which was never thick but is much finer these days and I often have a v. low body temperature.  What fun!

Thank you for sharing all of this with me, it is v. helpful.   And I hope your mum's biopsy goes well, icelandgirl.