Doctor Wrote Off My Hair Loss And Dizziness As 'just Being A Tired Mum'

After giving commencement to her 2nd child, Rose Stokes was exhausted each nan time.

"I couldn't really do thing much than nan bare minimum successful position of looking aft my kids. I'd put them down astatine 7 and person to get consecutive into bed," nan freelance journalist says.

Rose thought it was conscionable what being a mum of 2 young children was like.

But being tired wasn't nan only problem.

"I besides had different symptoms, for illustration my hairsbreadth was falling out.

"I had a funny, metallic sensation [in my mouth] each nan time. I kept getting lingua ulcers arsenic good and [experienced] breathlessness and dizziness.

"I went to nan doctor's a fewer times and each clip was told, 'oh well, you're a mum of mini children, what do you expect?' - but nan level of exhaustion was conscionable truthful intense," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

After respective visits to her doctor, Rose requested a humor trial which showed debased levels of nan macromolecule ferritin.

While Rose's first expert initially dismissed her ferritin levels as, successful her words, "not being that low", she managed to spot different expert who yet gave her a test - robust deficiency.

It's a comparatively communal problem, particularly successful women. Around 8% of women person it, according to nan National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, while acold less men are affected – only 3% successful nan UK.

Pregnancy - for illustration Rose had conscionable knowledgeable - is a communal cause.

Rose's symptoms - tiredness, dizziness and lingua ulcers - are conscionable immoderate of nan things to look retired for.

Other communal symptoms tin see shortness of breath, bosom palpitations, paler than accustomed tegument and headaches, while immoderate group could acquisition rarer symptoms for illustration tinnitus, restless legs syndrome and hairsbreadth loss.

For her deficiency, Rose was initially prescribed robust tablets - nan astir communal shape of curen - but, contempt trying 3 different ones, recovered nary of them agreed pinch her.

Dr Sue Pavord, a advisor haematologist astatine NHS Hospitals Oxford, says taking robust tablets first point successful nan greeting connected an quiet tummy pinch a solid of h2o aliases immoderate Vitamin C is nan champion attack - different you consequence them not moving effectively.

After she responded severely to tablets, Rose's expert referred her for an robust infusion - a measurement of quickly getting robust into your bloodstream.

This tin beryllium "transformative for women pinch terrible deficiency", Dr Pavord says, but she besides stresses that tablets tin activity "extremely well" truthful it's important to effort them first.

But what you eat tin besides thief limit your consequence of becoming robust deficient successful nan first place, according to Dr Pavord.

She suggests foods which incorporate absorbable robust for illustration reddish meat, chicken, liver and fish.

Vegetables for illustration spinach, kale and broccoli besides incorporate iron, but nan assemblage doesn't sorb it from these sources arsenic efficaciously arsenic meat.

Two-and-a-half months connected from her infusion, Rose says she feels for illustration "a wholly different person".

"I tin do stuff. Initially it was conscionable for illustration getting to nan extremity of nan time and being like, right, we tin beryllium and watch immoderate TV aliases being capable to get up pinch nan kids successful nan greeting and not emotion for illustration I was dying."