anyone else anemic or iron deficient?

I thought anemia and iron deficiency were the same thing, but my doc talks about them like they are separate. I have been dealing w/ this for a couple months at least now. The blood test confirmed it about a month ago. So I've been taking iron supplements (which are miserable btw) and am supposed to go see a GI doc in may to see what the problem is. Nothing in my diet or monthly cycle point to where this could be stemming from.  I get really light headed and dizzy during the day, especially if i don't eat for a while.

I'm just wondering how other people deal with this. I have found that even with a ton of working out I still am having a super difficult time losing weight and I am thinking it has something to do with this. Anyone else?

Ive had an iron defiency and mild anemia for years, though I have never had to officially treat it. I was told that my anemia was due to the fact that I had a low red blood cell count, which I was told could be helped by excersising, because apparantly that stimulates the production of those specific cells.

I have never taken Iron supplemts because of the side-effects that they can cause (which im sure is why your miserable). Instead I just tried to to incoroporate a suggestion I was given, like cooking eggs in a cast iron skillet,( know, sounds weird but it increases the iron) and I ALWAYS make sure that I eat something before I get extremely hungry or it makes it worse.

While in junior High and early High School , I would get blackouts every time I got up from anything, and even went into convulsions at one time. Since using these suggestions Ive noticed major improvments. Maybe this will help you, I hope it does!^_^

Please let me know if you ever do run across something new that works better!

I was officially diagnosed with an iron deciency and mild anemia about a year and a half ago, and have been on iron supplements ever since, and I owe them my life. Before I was diagnosed, i had blackouts about four times a week, had passed out in the shower, going up the stairs, etc, and was constantly dizzy, especially when i hadnt eaten in an hour. Now i take 300mg of over the counter ferrous sulfate daily, and 600mg if i wake up already dizzy. I have experienced no side effects what so ever, and it really has changed my life. Before, I would fall asleep within ten minutes of sitting or laying down. I couldnt even sit to watch a half hour tv show without being asleep. all this sleeping caused me to not sleep at night, which really screwed me up.

Why not try some ferrous sulfate? its really helped me a lot with no negative side effects. good luck!!

I have been getting soooo close to blacking out so many times but I havent' completely passed out yet. I just always feel super cloudy-headed and weak. it makes working out hard. he didn't say anythign about a low red blood cell count and i work out plenty to be making those buggers! i've found that the iron supplements help somewhat, but not completely. i just want to be able to not take those, but for now i'm stuck with it.

voker-the tabs i take are ferrous sulfate. mine are 325mg taken 2x a day. tehy just are not pleasant things to take haha

There are different types of anaemia.  http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article. aspx?articleID=19  However, if you've been prescribed iron tablets, the one caused by iron deficiency seems to fit.  As well as getting more iron-rich foods in your diet, make sure you have plenty of vitamin C with the tablets as it helps your body absorb the iron.  Either wash them down with fresh orange juice or eat plenty of things such as citrus fruit, kiwifruit, berries...  And if your iron tablets don't agree with you, do tell your doctor.  There are alternatives.

I was iron deficient for a long time and then anemic. My doctors were confused because I have endometriosis and my treatment is that I stop periods so it definitely wasn't that. As well, I take iron supplements and was given iron shots and my iron would just decrease.

Around the time my iron got low, i started having severe stomach problems and last week I was diagnosed with crohn's disease of the small bowel and my doctor feels that my iron problems are related to that and that my system just can't absorb iron. So, i'd definitely suggest looking into medical reasons for absorption.

As for the weight issue, i don't know if it is related but my doctor thinks that it could be. I started gaining a lot of weight when my stomach got bad (the opposite of most crohn's patients) and it has only increased as my stomach got worse and my iron gets lower - so he feels that this is also an absorption problem.

i've had iron-deficient anemia for years, too.  it's due to excessively heavy periods and a short cycle.  i have fibroids that can't be removed without compromising my fertility, so i'm going to try to live with it for a few more years before i give in and have a hysterectomy.

i don't take supplements other than my multivitamin, but i do try to eat lots of leafy greens.  i like red meat, but have expensive tastes, so i don't eat it often. 

mostly i notice the effect on my energy level in the days before my period.  i also don't bounce back from exercise very well; if i get a lot of exercise daily for a couple of weeks, my strength starts to wane and i have to be lazy and take naps for a couple of days. 

I am iron deficient and was anemic previously (not anymore). They are treated as separate things as if you are iron deficient you may eventually become anemic however you can be iron deficient without anemia.

What happened with me was that I was EXHAUSTED constantly. Around 4pm every day I couldn't keep my eyes open at work. Also I was craving ice and would schedule my day around when I could get access to "good ice" from the cafeteria. I would then chomp on the ice as if I couldn't get enough. I was also having palpitations. My boss - who is an MD - suggested I am probably iron deficient. I went and got tested and he was right. I went on iron tablets, 65 mg twice daily, and voila all symptoms cleared up.

A few years later (present time), I started getting those insatiable ice cravings again. So I put myself on one 65 mg elemental iron (aka 325 mg ferrous sulfate) pill of Feosol daily and now I feel so much better again.

I no longer have side effects of the iron pills, my stomach doesn't hurt or anything like it used to when I took twice that dose. I also take it at night, maybe that has something to do with it?

My main problem, besides being a menstruating woman, is my diet is low in iron. I think if I uppped my leafy greens and ate more meat I would be in a better situation.

If you are iron deficient it is critical to know whether it is from dietary or menstrual reasons or otherwise unknown causes of bleeding (normally GI tract). If it's the latter your doctor will want to aggressively find out the cause as it could be serious.

Here is some reliable info from the Mayo Clinic:

http://mayoclinic.com/health/iron-deficiency- anemia/DS00323

I also am anemic... I take iron pills but I must admit that I am not good about it because i dont like the negative side effects. I have recently been having some issues with it as well... gammaphi07... i feel like your story is mine... i too have endometriosis as well as PCOS and for years I was basically being treated with crohns to find out that I have IBD. The mix of all the the following can be really hard to deal with. I have never heard of iron affecting your weight loss but I am definitely going to read into it and see what i find.

my doc pretty much ruled out that it's from my period b/c i would completely skip or have a very light period quite often. i do have an appt to see a GI doc to have all that checked out. i am really really hoping that is not the reason. i have always had a fear of having a serious medical problem and i really hope that fear does not come true. unfortunately, that apt isn't for like 2 months so it's a lot of hoping.

hang in there...i've been iron-deficient anemic all my life. my body has never been able to absorb the iron supplements. in 2006, i blacked out when my blood level plumeted as a result of an internal bleed. I spent a week in the hospital during which time, the source of the bleeding could not be found. The one good thing that did happen during the episode was that I was referred to a hematologist who immediately determined that since my body obviously was totally nonresponsive to the iron pills, but that I was so severely anemic...that I needed to get periodic iron infusion intravenously. OMG.....what a difference this has made in my life. I was so surprised that in all these years -- I'm 34 -- no one had suggested that. so now i get these infusions ever so often....i'm pretty sure i need one right about now....and my energy level is just through the roof. even with the intravenous iron, my blood level at max is like 10....but i feel incredible at those times. i can't imagine having a normal blood level. it's one of the things i'd wish for if i could have anything i wanted!