If you have iron deficiency, you may not realise it as you may just feel tired and run down. Low iron symptoms include: feeling fatigued (tired), listless and weak. short of breath, dizzy and light-headed.
If your ferritin levels are too low, you may feel fatigued and run down. Fatigue can often be linked to inadequate iron in the blood. And since ferritin is a marker of long-term iron intake, it's perfect for determining whether that worn-down feeling can be linked to your diet.
Extreme fatigue and exhaustion “Fatigue is one of the most common signs of iron deficiency because it means your body is having trouble carrying the oxygen to your cells so it's affecting your energy levels,” Thayer says. People lacking enough iron in their blood often feel sluggish, weak, and unable to focus.
Research suggests a connection between low iron levels and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, Levin and Gattari write.
Hypoferritinemia caused by decreased iron intake, as part of the general poor diet, or due to low gastrointestinal absorption that happens to postbariatric surgery. It also happens in Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and celiac disease, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, peptic ulcer, menorrhagia, and hematuria.
In this disease, iron deficiency-related changes could also be observed in response to pain at the central nervous system level. FMS patients with iron deficiency in the present study had higher depression and anxiety levels and poor sleep quality, although the differences were not significant.
PA This raises an important question regarding the appropriate normal range for serum ferritin levels. Many laboratories consider serum ferritin levels greater than 200 ng/mL in women and greater than 300 ng/mL in men to be abnormal.
Iron is used to produce a substance that does the heavy lifting of moving oxygen around your system – so low iron will leave you feeling exhausted, short of breath or with constant headaches. You may also find that low iron causes weight gain.
Low iron intake resulting from diet and accelerated iron loss, which occurs through bleeding or breastfeeding, are the main causes of iron deficiency. The first symptoms of iron deficiency anemia tend to be neurological resulting in brain fog and fatigue.
When your body isn't getting enough oxygenation due to a lack of iron, you may find it hard to maintain focus and carry out your daily tasks. In addition, you may experience mood swings and irritability. Over time, in some cases, it may cause anxiety and depression.
You may need to take iron supplements for several months or longer to replenish your iron reserves. Generally, you'll start to feel better after a week or so of treatment. Ask your doctor when to have your blood rechecked to measure your iron levels.
Severe iron deficiency anaemia may increase your risk of developing complications that affect the heart or lungs, such as an abnormally fast heartbeat (tachycardia) or heart failure, where your heart is unable to pump enough blood around your body at the right pressure.
One of the main ways iron deficiency depletes energy is by affecting the thyroid gland. Your thyroid governs your body's metabolic processes, so when it isn't working properly, your metabolism rate falls, severely hampering weight loss efforts.
Patients receiving ongoing chemotherapy who present with anemia (Hgb ≤ 11 g/dL or Hgb decrease ≥ 2 g/dL from a baseline level ≤ 12 g/dL) and absolute iron deficiency (ID) (serum ferritin < 100 ng/mL) should receive iron treatment with an intravenous (IV) iron preparation to correct ID.
Left untreated, however, iron-deficiency anemia can make you feel tired and weak. You may notice pale skin and cold hands and feet. Iron-deficiency anemia can also cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded. Occasionally, it can cause chest pain, a fast heartbeat and shortness of breath.
In patients with chronic inflammation, iron deficiency anemia is likely when the ferritin level is less than 50 ng per mL (112.35 pmol per L). Ferritin values greater than or equal to 100 ng per mL (224.70 pmol per L) generally exclude iron deficiency anemia.
Brain iron deficiency is associated with disruption of neurophysiological mechanisms that, within a social context that does not provide regular stimuli, compromises motor and cognitive development (e.g., impaired motor sequencing and bi-manual coordination, poor executive function, attention, and memory).
A valid specific test for iron deficiency is serum ferritin levels in the blood. Due to the importance of iron in the metabolism of monoamines, and the effect of these monoamines on sleep, sleep quality and patterns are known to be affected by iron deficiency.
Ferritin level and risk of incident heart failure
Subjects with low ferritin showed the highest rate of HF events in the whole sample [7.7 (5.2–11.4 /1000)] and in non-anemic participants [7.5 (4.7–12.0 /1000)] among the studied groups (Table 2).
In the early stages of iron deficiency anemia, your body may have a low amount of ferritin but a normal amount of iron in the blood and will still be able to make healthy red blood cells. You may have few or no symptoms of anemia at this point.
If a ferritin test shows higher than normal levels, it could indicate that you have a condition that causes your body to store too much iron. It could also point to liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory conditions or hyperthyroidism.