Hello Everyone,

I'm writing to try and figure out what is wrong with my mom. She has been experiencing episodes of severe dizziness which started about 5-7 days ago. At first it was just when she stood up but now it is happening with any motion she makes and when she tries to talk. She has been feeling short of breath and weakness in her arms and legs. She has iron deficiency anemia (her ferritin is a 4) she is also hypothyroid and is taking synthroid. Her B12 is 350. She is also on her menstrual cycle. Are these symptoms she is feeling from her anemia or are there other things she should be checking out? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you - Bree

Bree- I'm sorry that your mom is having such a difficult time. Anemia can be extremely hard on people, it was for me. It's hard to say IF your mom's symptoms are anemia or not. I say that because it is different for everyone. I did have the same symptoms but not so much a shortness of breath as a tight chest feeling. People with an extremely low HGB tend to have the shortness of breath, like lower than 7. I was dizzy but your mom's sounds like it might even be a little more perhaps Vertigo. Her B-12 is very low and with the anemia combined she is going to feel horrible, that's for sure. Is her HGB way down as well? Everytime that my period would begin I was EXTREMELY ill and dizzy and could do nothing. Whenever you have symptoms even if you think that it's anemia they should always be checked out by a doctor. I would definitely call her doctor and let them know. Good luck to you both. Hope she feels better ASAP! FLFLOWERGIRL:)

The dizziness could be some sort of inner ear infection that won't go away without treatment. Just a thought. Your mom must be feeling just pretty crappy. The shortness of breath might be undetected Pneumonia...she would need a chest x-ray for that. But if she is older it can also be a lung/heart issue. She needs to go back to the doctor to see about these new things cropping up. Take care.

You don't say what her blood count is--only her ferritin. If she is not anemic, I don't think the low ferritin alone would cause the more severe symptoms. But, if she is anemic (and she might be as she is on her period) then it could cause this.

The first thing that popped into my head was that she is having an episode of vertigo. This type of thing is very common and when it hits you it lasts for several weeks and you tend to have recurrences for a long time. As FLFLOWERGIRL said, I'm sure that being iron deficient just makes it all worse.

Thank you all for replying, I'll tell my mom the things ya'll mentioned. We're leaning towards it being her anemia so she's really been trying to take her iron good. I can't tell you her blood count because her doctor for some reason keeps only testing her ferritin but he has told her to take her iron. She's also had low vitamin D which is only now beginning to pick up alittle bit. I feel like maybe she's having a combo-deal where all her things are hitting her at once. Thanks again.

Thank you all for replying, I'll tell my mom the things ya'll mentioned. We're leaning towards it being her anemia so she's really been trying to take her iron good. I can't tell you her blood count because her doctor for some reason keeps only testing her ferritin but he has told her to take her iron. She's also had low vitamin D which is only now beginning to pick up alittle bit. I feel like maybe she's having a combo-deal where all her things are hitting her at once. Thanks again.

My doctor is also at that point now. He doesn't do a CBC anymore, just the ferritin. I guess he figures that the only important number in his mind is the ferritin. But when you are trying to figure out symptoms, I do think it might be good to know the other numbers--maybe not everytime.

You should request a HGB and HCT count you don't have to get the (CBC)complete blood count. My PCP doctor only does those two because we know that the Ferritin takes forever and the rest aren't really necessary after so long. My Hematologist doesn't even care what the Ferritin is. He knows that it is VERY low and that it takes time although he does this test also. Not having the two test results that I mention above is CRAZY to me, if you are as ill as your mother. I have been to many doctors and they all do some form of count. Ferritin alone just isn't right in my ~school of hard knocks~ opinion unless your HGB is fine. Please make them do these for her. I was able to watch my numbers rise and fall and that helped me to know what I needed to do as far as my supplements or eating meat or just whatever, it helped ME to manage my healthcare! Good luck to you and your mom. FLFLOWERGIRL:)