Low IRON levels!!! Seriously Need Advice

It has been a very long time since I have been on here. I had my RNY in September of 2009 and have done well with maintaining my weight loss. Over the past 3 months I have been struggling with low iron levels. My doctor informed me that my iron level is at 10. I dont know what the danger level is but he showed unusual concern today when I met with him. Can someone tell me what is the danger zone here as well as what I should be asking my doctor when it comes to all of this.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 Talk to your doctor about the dangers and what level is bad.  In the meanwhile, you should be taking iron supplements.  You cannot take your iron within 2 hours of taking your calcium.  Iron is absorbed better if you take it with vitamin C.

Ask for a referral to a Hemotologist.  It sounds like you need iron infusions.

Is 10 your iron or your ferritin?  there is a big difference.  Iron is your actual iron and ferritin is the iron storage level.  iron range is 50-150 and ferritin is 10-280.  Ideally we like them both to be around 100 but if you can get a ferritin to be 50 or 75 that is good too.

Are you taking any iron?  If so, how much and what type?  Are you taking it with vitamin C and how much?  You should be taking either carbonyl iron or heme.  If the iron you are taking has ferrous in the name, it is pretty useless and that is why you aren't absorbing it.  You are best off with either tender irons from vitalady.com they come in 60mg capsules with the necessary vitamin C in them - you can take up to 5 at a time depending on your iron and ferritin levels and if your iron is truely 10, then you might want to take 4-5 at a time.  You can't take it within 2-4 hours of your calcium or thyroid medication.  the other option is to take proferrin which is heme iron which is much more expensive but is supposed to be more effective for some.  You need to break them in half and can take up to 3 of them at a time.  Some people need to take a combination of proferrin and tender irons but you don't take them together.  The proferrins aren't taken with calcium or vitamin C.


If you have tried all of this and none of it works, then you need to see a hematologist for iron infusions.  But give the tender irons and proferrin a chance - they really work well for many

I had to have iron infusions, and I was taking Proferrin. My iron is OK now.

TINA-Did your doctor tell what his plan for the future was for you? Is he going to repeat your test? What were his instructions?

If the "10" was just the Hemoglobin, that's not TOO terrible. The "range", fo an adult female is 12-14, so 10 is like "mild anemia". 10 and under are the numbers we use to "red flag" for things like not to have surgery, may be at risk for bleeding, etc. My sister (non WLSer) has long term aplastic anemia, walks around with a Hgb of 4-5, and gets iron infusions monthly.

Don't panic..but DO follow up, of course...and, as the other ladies said...DO take your iron supplements..Tender iron fron vitalady has been my iron of choice for years

Please update, and let us know how the follow up goes-we all learn from each other, ya know!

Gina AKA Nurse

My levels are much lower I'm waiting for ins. to approve my Iron Infusion as I can not get my levels up.  this is the first for me and very frustrating as I have always taken the correct vitamins and always keep up with my labs.  Since October of this year, with no explainations other than the bypass I can not get iron/and other levels up. 
I do nothing but sleep and eat ice.  it is crazy!! 
I would be asking your doctor about Iron infusions to get your levels back up. 
wishing you the best, this is nothing to mess around with. 

Thank you all for your responses. I spoke with my primary dr. this morning and after my requesting it be done has ordered a new blood test for my iron and hemoglobin levels. I will not get those results until Monday. But the following are the numbers that he gave me from Decembers blood work;
                                    my level                            "Normal" according to the Doc
Hemoglobin                  10.1                                        11.7
Hematocrit                  30.3                                        35
MCV                              77.8                                        80
Total Iron                    14                                           40
and (some other) Iron  3                                           15
I didnt understand

I am very new to all of this, simply because I have not had ANY complications until now. I have been taking Ferrous Gluconate 324mg as prescribed by the doctor since this blood work was done. I saw according to one of your posts that this "Ferrous" is not the correct type of Iron?? I am so friggin confused aout all of this now that I want to scream. I am attempting to contact the surgery center where I had my surgery done... to get some better advice than that I have gotten from my primary. I will keep all of you posted. ~Tina~

YOu ... you need iron infusions..
Some of us can't absorb iron.  And after 2 years - it usually catches up with us and once we getthe infusion... things will improve.. most of the time..

yes, you levels are very low but before you go through trying to get IV iron infusions, you really need to try some good iron - you have been taking very low dose iron and not very good iron.  Ferrous Gluconate 324mg is really only 65mg of elemental iron.  Also, were you taking it with any vitamin C?

You need to take iron with vitamin C to help you absorb it and you can't take it within 2-4 hours of any calcium or thyroid medicaiton.

I highly recommend you go to vitalady.com and get tender irons - they are 60mg per capsule and they have the necessary vitamin C already in the capsule so you don't have to take a separate vitamin C tablet.  There are 400 capsules in the bottle making them very cheap. With your levels - an iron of 14 and  I tend to the 3 is your ferritin, you need a very high dosage- I would recommend taking 4 of them - some take up to 5 of them (I take 4 of them and my levels are alot higher than yours) but I think that is a good starting dose for you, you can always adjust.  You take all 4 of them at one time not within 2-4 hours of any calcium or thyroid medication.  If you want some extra absorbtion, you can take it with orange juice if you can tolerate it or not, just take it with water.  Take this for 2 months and then get your levels and then get rechecked.  Your levels should increase nicely with this dose.  If you do this, please let me know what you level are and then I can advise you further then - Please PM me.

I am a big advocate of IV iron infusion but only after giving oral irons a try.  IV irons have there complications - I know + I lived it, I am allergic to them, it wasnt' fun but they worked.