What is iron deficiency?

Women’s health
Up to 1 in 3 women suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding which is the leading cause of iron deficiency in women. Even normal menstruation can result in more iron being lost each month than is absorbed from diet.

This can be exacerbated by changes following pregnancy or with the menopause and over time results in the debilitating symptoms of iron deficiency. Losses are often so severe oral iron is ineffective, like trying to fill the bath without the plug.

Post natal
A single pregnancy consumes up to 1,200mg of your 4,000mg iron stores.

If stores were low during or prior to pregnancy or you had significant blood loss in labour, you are likely to develop iron deficiency symptoms which can affect breastfeeding, neonatal development and lead to extreme fatigue and low post-natal mood.

Surgery and perioperative anaemia
Being anaemic prior to surgery is associated with an increase in complications, blood transfusion, delayed recovery and mortality. In most cases preop anaemia is due to iron deficiency, and an international consensus and national guidelines support the optimisation of anaemia prior to surgery to improve surgical outcomes.

Oral iron is ineffective for many patients, and an iron infusion delivers rapid correction of anaemia before surgery. It is also an essential treatment for those who have had unexpected blood loss during surgery.

Functional ID
Chronic inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobility, and polymyalgia rheumatica, all trigger the release of hepcidin from the liver which restricts dietary iron absorption and locks away iron so it cannot function.

This nutritional immunity means oral iron will almost certainly be ineffective and lack of dietary iron to replace normal losses results in development of iron deficiency. People with conditions such as these find Iron infusions hugely beneficial and the only effective treatment.

Malabsorption issues and dietary deficiency
Absorption of dietary iron is tightly regulated and restricted to a small area of the bowel. Conditions such as pernicious anaemia, SIBO, MCAS, coeliac disease impair iron absorption as well as medication such as omeprazole.

Only a very small percentage of iron is absorbed from vegetables. As such, vegan and vegetarian diets have reduced oral iron availability and are a particular risk of iron deficiency.

Fertility and iron deficiency
Recent studies have shown correcting iron deficiency prior to fertility treatment is associated with increased conception rates, halved miscarriage rates and increased birth rates.

Many fertility clinics now advocate optimising iron stores prior to or as part of treatment. We have had several patients who have had successful pregnancies following an iron infusion.