well ive just been recently diagnosed with anemia myself though ive had the signs for quite some time. a seven is pretty low- your iron should be anywhre from 12-14. im surprised you dont feel weak or get headaches. last i checked my iron was a 9 and i feel weak constantly, but that just shows everyones body handles things differently. And its bad that your iron is so low because from what ive read and experienced, the iron in your blood helps to clot your blood should you recieve a cut or internal bleeding, and with having such low iron, yoru blood wont bleed or clot properly, leaving you in a dangerous position should you bleed externally or internally. and actually, since you dont have a menstrual cycle yoru iron should be up- your iron is in your blood as you know, as losing blood in your period causes your iron to drop, the heavier the cycle, the lower iron usually gets.

hope this helps and TAKE YOUR PILLS!!

I was diagnosed with anemia two years ago and my feratin iron level was a 9. I was also given the iron pills and they brought my iron level back up to a 40-50 range, which is normal. Anything 14 and lower is dangerous and at 9, I was at a very dangerous level, so I'm guessing a 7 is worse, lol. The pills work and they don't really do anything bad to your system once you get used to them. The worst you might get is a stomach ache or nausea at first. But it goes away :)

The girls are right; a 7 is very low. It's odd that you don't feel the weakness that's usually associated with such low iron. Perhaps, if you got your iron up to where it should be (from what I understand, that's at least a 12. I've never heard of iron in the 40s and 50s...) you might feel better and just never realized how lousy you were feeling.

I personally couldn't tolerate the iron pills. I got violently sick. But now I take those kid Flinstones Vitamins Plus Iron and try to eat some red meat regularly. Also Cocoa Wheats hot cereal is super fortified with iron.

Hope this helps! Take care of yourself.
JKD

I have chronic and acute anemia due to complications from Chron's disease. I go to an oncologist and get IV Iron (Venafer not sure that is how u spell it) once per week. In the past I have had to get frequent blood transfusions but since starting the IV iron I have not had to have a transfusion in over two years. Iron pills take much longer to absorb and are not nearly as effective as intervenious iron. I would ask your doctor about getting infusions.

I was just diagnosed with a 7 iron level and my doctor told me that this was exceedingly low.

I don't know how you don't have symptoms - I could barely breathe - and had all of the symptoms of very low iron.

I'd take the iron pills. I do - but I eat with them and I take them 3 times a day for now. Good luck - but don't let it get too low - you are on the very low end of the scale.

I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia since I was 17. 7 is a really low level and is actually pretty dangerous. When I was 20 my iron level was a 7 too and my doctor scolded me for not talking to him before I decided to become a vegetarian. He basically told me I should have known better and told me I needed to eat meat again if I don't want to hurt myself. On top of that I really hated taking iron supplements and birth control too. It always made me constipated and the birth control made me extremely moody. My menstrual cycle used to be the complete opposite of yours. I used to bleed almost every day and according to my doctor it was due to an abnormally high level of estrogen my body was pumping out. To control my hormones I had to take birth control. I used to have a lot of black outs and it was really scary when I was driving. You should take your iron supplements so you can get better and maybe once you get back to normal levels (with your doctor's permission), you could just take daily vitamin supplements with iron in it. Make sure you eat a lot of iron and vitamin C rich foods. Meats has heme iron which is better absorbed in your body than ferrous. Try to avoid caffeine and soy products. If you are a coffee addict like I was and you need caffeine or you just love soy products a lot. Don't eat or drink those products at the same time or near the same time you're taking your iron supplement. Soy and caffeine products inhibit the absorption of iron, but vitamin C promotes absorption of iron (while iron is present in your system). So what I do is I take my daily vitamin (that's says plus iron on the bottle that I bought at CVS) along with a glass of orange juice. I try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of vitamin C along side with some iron rich protein.
My best friend is iron deficient too and recently has stopped menstruating. She found out that her body is going in to premature menopause and the doctors she's going to don't really know how to help her. They basically told her there is a high probability she will never have kids. I don't know if that will be the same for everyone, but definitely talk to your doctor and tell your doctor about your menstrual cycle too. I hope this helped you.

Interesting you do not have symptoms at that level. Maybe that's why the doctor feels its okay to go with the iron pills. I'm also amazed you can still work out at that level. Wow. I'm an 8 and can hardly stand. I'm underweight and cannot workout without getting winded, etc. Maybe it depends on the individual.

Do you push yourself when you work out?

Thank you so much everyone for the advice. Lately, I have been getting extremely tired and warn out really easy and fast. If I don't eat right when I wake up, I get really weak and light headed. I think my iron is even lower now. I have started taking my iron pills but they are making me extremely ill.

Since they make you ill, please tell your doctor. There's other methods they can do. i.e. transfusion or iron infusions.

My level is at 7 right now and I can barely function after 5 hours. I tried iron supplements, however, my body did not absorb them so I have iron infusions. You might want to get referred to a hemotologist for your condition.

Blessings,
Annie

Is this your Ferritin level or Hemoglobin? When I said mine is 7, I was referring to my hemoglobin level. Normal for that is 12-14. My hemoglobin level is what they are always concerned with.

Annie

I take Feramax which seems to have less side effects.i.e. no constipation

My hemglobin has been at 6, yes 6 and I was passing out all the time, could breath right and felt very weak, so I too am clueless as to how you dont have fatigue, my hemo is always low and right now I am at 8 and feel like warmed over death, typing even wears me out

do any of you on here suffer with swollen joints and joint pain becos of the anemia.?

My ferritin level is 13.....is that too low? and iron saturation is 18% and RBC 3.7?