I have been feeling extremely exhausted and unable to do basic tasks, need advice ?

I am 25 year old Female iron 3.3. I have been feeling extremely exhausted and unable to do basic tasks, Anytime I walk outside or do anything my heart races immediately. I have had times where have felt faint, I did hear ringing in my ears, my hands and feet started tingling and my heart raced and on on occasion of this episode everything went black and I passed out. Thankfully these episodes do not happen very much, they are not brought on by anything are appear to be completely at random,
All of this lead me to get some blood work done. I realize that I have very low iron of 3.3 in addition to that my transferrin saturation is a 4.9
This is what I have read online
:Iron deficiency is diagnosed by a transferrin saturation of less than 16%. The serum iron is low and the total iron binding capacity is usually increased.
Patients with low total iron binding capacity have anaemia of chronic disease if the transferrin saturation is ≥16% or iron deficiency along with anaemia of chronic disease if the transferrin saturation is <16% Serum Ferritin test. Results can be high in IDA and usually low in ACD, in ACD it can be dangerous and even fatal to take iron": what im trying to figure it out is why is my transferrin satuation not going and are very low at 4.9% even when my iron is very low 3.3 ... also my transferrin recepters are within normal range. ferritin is 9 Hemoglobin 113 Hematocrit 35% I do not show signs of inflammation or sweeling because of the CRP, my liver appears to be fine I had my thryiod tested that is also fine.. Vit B, C folic Acid also fine. All I have read says that in normal iron deficiency receptors and saturation should go up in order to recieve more iron but I cannot figure out what it means if they dont, and if I take irons supplements can this be dangerous because there is nothing for the iron to bind to? Could this mean I have some type of Bacteria or cancer my body is hidding the iron from? So to summarize my questions are. 1. What kind of additional tests if any do I need to take to diagnoses what type of Anemia have or what is the cause of my Anemia. 2. Why is my Transferrin Satuation so low what could be some reason? 3. In any diseases or infection wouldn't my CRP raised? is this a sign that I do not have a infection or bacteria or disease etc. 4. Is it dangerous for me to take iron supplements? Could this be a bacteria or cancer that my body is hidding the iron from? 5. Is having such low Iron a liability or dangerous to me? I do feel awful but I was just wondering if this is also a concern. Any recommendation are greatly appreciated I am desperate for any help anyone can give. Thankyou



5 Comments on “I have been feeling extremely exhausted and unable to do basic tasks, need advice ?

  1. Hi
    1 -I recommend liver profile + GFR + urine test
    2- low Transferrin Satuation can be liver related or genetic problem
    3-CRP is raised mainly in auto immune disease, and yes it suggests you have no infection but does not mean no disease
    4-your iron levels suggests that you are far from iron overload
    5 there is no danger on your life
    I recommend iron supplements for 6 month then redo your tests
    By the way your platelets say 308 is that 308milion ? If not check your spleen
    Good Luck

  2. I think iron def. Anemia causes u anxiety aswell, no worries ma am , just use iron supplements and diet rich with iron – animal sources- and do follow up CBC

    CRP increases in inflammation, infection, but its not diagnostic , it can be high with no reason ..

  3. Thankyou for the reply, I really appreciate it, can you explain what tests I would need to get in to find out if its a genetic problem, and what that would mean? I believe I already had my liver tested if there is something missing in my blood work in regards to my liver can you let me know what that would be?
    I understand I am far from iron overload but in the case of anemia in chronic disease they say not to take iron, so I was worried about that, thankyou again for your time and your experience.

  4. Hello thankyou for your replay. I was wondering could you tell me what additional liver tests you reccomend me to take as far as I know I did get all liver tested, which leads me to believe that it could be as you mentioned a genetic problem is there anyway I can get a test to see if thats the case if so what test would that be?
    Just to clarify you feel its safe for me to take iron even though my saturation is so low? From what I read it says that in Anemia of Chronic disease it can be dangerous to do so. So just wanted to clarify.
    Thankyou again for your help.

  5. hi christy,
    you have done almost all the liver function tests and i do not feel any need to do any other tests.
    you are right that iron supplements can cause problems in chronic cases.
    that is why you should stress more on dietary supplements that are rich in iron,like dates,dry fruits,green leafy vegetables,beet root etc.
    taking iron and folic acid tablets once a day for atleast 3 months will help.
    Later,you can get the tests repeated to assess the degree of improvement.
    thanks

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