Worried about my wife

[robin321]

So my wife is 36. She has 3 kids - including a 1 year old.
She had her checkup in August. At the time, she had low ferritin (or iron, not sure) and they said to take iron tablets and retest in 2 months.

Iron is hard on her stomach, so she took proferrin (I believe). One a day. Some days she missed. Fast forward to October, and her level was exactly the same. Not up or down - but identical.

I assumed it was because she didn't take them faithfully. I didn't really worry. She also has heavy periods, which I know can contribute.

So she has been taking 3 a day, although some days she may only take 1. It is a bit hard to take properly, because you shouldn't take it with coffee, or after other pills... remembering is a bit tough.

I wasn't worried. As I said, she has heavy periods and her compliance wasn't great. Last week, she mentioned to me offhand that the dr said if it didn't change this time it could be an issue.

Of course, I go to Dr Google. Even though Google says the most common cause is heavy periods, it does mention intestinal issues, and other more worrying things.

Since reading this I am in a daze. I am worried. She is due to go back, but I am imaging it will be low again, and Xmas will be terrible. I imagine more stress with doing more tests....

I just needed to vent.

[popejoan]

Hello, I had a blood test recently and found out I had low ferritin levels, my iron and hemoglobin levels were very good but ferritin was very low, it was 9.
I also have rectal bleeding so my doctor referred me for a colonoscopy, which is in January so I'm still waiting. I'm very scared as my first reaction to anything wrong in body is : cancer. I had an endoscopy so bleeding is not coming from the stomach, must be my colon.
However, I did my research so I can say that heavy periods definitely the most common reason in women. A diet low in iron is another common reason, is your wife eating red meat regularly? Low thyroid can be another reason, and also low stomach acid causes malabsorption and this can lead to low serum ferritin levels.
Hope this helps :)

[robin321]

Thank you so much for your answer.
My wife also had bleeding from her rectum. It happened a few times - both about 6 months after she had a baby... We were worried, but not super worried as we figured it was hemorrhoids. It seemed to happen close to her period (like right before), and would subside. It has been 2 yrs since it happened, so hopefully it will resolve for you like it did for her.

My wife does have hypothyroidism. And she is a vegetarian. I know these things put her at risk for the deficiency, but of course I assume it is something worse because the tablets didn't seem to help.

[cattia]

Someone I know had very low iron due to heavy periods and her Dr told her it would take at least six months on high dose iron tablets for her levels to become normal.

[popejoan]

You are welcome and thank you. I totally understand your fears, we are all same here. Is the bleeding right before her periods vaginal or rectal bleeding? I'm pretty much sure it is due to hypothyroidism or/and her diet. It is difficult for the body to absorbe iron from vegetables and with a low stomach acid it can be more difficult. Hope there is nothing wrong with her and hope this could ease your mind a little :)