Hi, I'm Becky.
About 7 years ago, my doctor diagnosed me with Thalassemia. There is no cure, so I thought nothing about it. Two weeks ago, I went to the hospital because I was having chest pain, could not breath, and was fatigued. The doctor sent me to the emergency room and my blood pressure was 221/186. While in the hospital, they ruled out any heart or pulmanary problems. They said I was anemic (and I said yes,,,I told you that LOL) But anway, this anemia is Iron deficient ....my hemoglobin was a 9 and when I had my follow up my ferritin was a 10. I am suppose to go get a prescription of Iron, B-12 and Folate today. I CAN"T take iron. It makes me sick !! What should I do?
I am so tired. I can't walk around much. I need to do things. and I haven't been to work in 2 weeks. I'm still having chest pains and I have started having this wierd little tingling in my tongue and lip. (what is that)
So, I guess I have 2 kinds of anemia (plus high blood pressure)-- Iron Def and Thalassemia. any suggestions??? OH, and with the new meds for the high blood pressure, my blood pressure has been about 158/98.

thanks for any advice,,,,,Becky
Have a Great Day

Taking iron orally makes me sick too. There are no easy answers. The burning and tingling sound like peripheral neuropathy. I believe you are fighting a hard battle because the iron deficiency is probably causing your blood pressure to go up to makeup for the oxygen you are not getting from the low iron. Check and make sure you are getting enough potassium because some blood pressure medications will deplete your potassium. Next, go back to your doctor and tell him/her about the iron supplement making you sick. They have numerous ways of getting iron in to your body without infusions, shots or pills. They can give you liquid iron in a sugar base or alcohol base that goes down pretty easily and tends to slip through before your stomach has time to object. But, you may feel flu symptoms while your bone marrow is catching up to where the blood manufacturing is normal, so don't get confused about how you should feel. It is not a fast process.

You're saying that iron deficiency contributes to high blood pressure? That's strange because I've heard that one of the main symptoms of anemia or iron deficiency is hypotension, or low blood pressure. I have high blood pressure and take medicine for it, but I've noticed that several people on this board (the anemia section) seem to be have it also. I never connected my hbp to anemia, but that's really something to think about.

Hi Becky,

I also have Thalassemia, make sure you know which type you have, if you are a carrier then you have to be careful if you plan on having children, if your partner is also a carrier your child is at risk for having Hemoglobin H disease. Get a copy of the lab resluts they took so you know specifically which type you have.

Your feritin is on the low side, 10-154 is the range, your hemoglobin is low, 11.7-5.5 is the range. If you cant tolerate or absorb iron speak to your hematologist about getting it in another way besides pills.

The tingling tongue and lip could be side affects low vitamin D and Calcium, (which is also a problem I am working on). If you havent already done so get copies of all the lab work they took from you two weeks ago. A complete lab work up will show all of your vitamins levels, (A, D, B, ZINC etc) and your calcium levels too. This can be contributing to your fatigue, and low calcium/vitamin levels can be just as dangerous as low iron.

It is possible to feel better once your levels are up, get on your doctors and make them work and if they arent competent, find another.