Iron VERY low - please help

[hilary1617]

How do you feel? There's (1) really tired and there's (2) opening the window and blasting loud music on a 1000 mile road trip / have a new baby disrupted-sleep level tired. If you are experiencing the latter and the insides of your bottom eyelids are white instead of reddish pink and/or if you are having any symptoms of severe anemia other than fatigue (dizziness, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, chest pain etc.), I think it would be prudent to go to the ER. (Not a doctor, just a mathematician speaking from my own sordid history with anemia)

If you feel okay but somewhat fatigued and can't get into a specialist timely, I'd recommend you order your own CBC (and iron panel and ferritin) through something like directlabs.com and get testing at Labcorp or Quest - once armed with the results, you will likely be able to get action.

All the best!

 

[Larra]

And if you do go to the ER, if at all possible take someone along to advocate for you, because you are not at your best right now. If you are saying your Hgb is 5, that is extremely low, and the only reason you are still conscious is that your level has dropped slowly and your body has had time to adjust. If it had dropped that low rapidly, you would probably be out cold.