Doctor wrote off my hair loss and dizziness as ‘just being a tired mum’

After the birth of her second child, Rose Stokes was tired all the time.

“I couldn't do anything other than the bare minimum looking after my children. I put them to bed at seven and had to go straight to bed,” says the freelance journalist.

Rose thought this was exactly what it was like to be a mother of two small children.

But fatigue was not the only problem.

“I had other symptoms, like my hair was falling out.

“I had a funny metallic taste [in my mouth] all the time. I also constantly had ulcers on my tongue, and [experienced] shortness of breath and dizziness.

“I went to the doctor several times, and each time they told me: “Okay, you're a mother of small children, what do you expect?” “but the level of exhaustion was so severe,” she said. Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.

After several visits to the doctor, Rose asked for a blood test, which showed low ferritin protein levels.

Although Rose's first doctor initially dismissed her ferritin levels as, in her words, “not that low,” she was able to see another doctor who eventually diagnosed her with iron deficiency.

This is a relatively common problem, especially in women. 8% of women have it. according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.while men suffer much less – only 3% in the UK.

The pregnancy that Rose just went through common cause.

Rose's symptoms – fatigue, dizziness and tongue ulcers – are just some of the things to watch out for.

Other common symptoms may include shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, paler-than-usual skin and headaches, while some people may experience rarer symptoms such as tinnitus, restless leg syndrome and hair loss.

For her iron deficiency, Rose was initially prescribed iron tablets – the most common form of treatment – but despite trying three different drugs, none of them worked for her.

Dr Sue Paward, consultant haematologist at NHS Hospitals Oxford, says taking iron tablets first thing in the morning on an empty stomach with a glass of water or some vitamin C is the best approach – otherwise you risk them not working effectively.

After she reacted poorly to the pills, Rose's doctor referred her to an iron infusion, a way to quickly get iron into the bloodstream.

It can be “transformative for women with severe deficiency,” says Dr. Paward, but she also stresses that the pill can work “very well,” so it's important to try it first.

But what you eat can also help limit your risk of iron deficiency, according to Dr. Paward.

She suggests foods that contain absorbable iron, such as red meat, chicken, liver and fish.

Vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli also contain iron, but the body does not absorb it from these sources as efficiently as meat.

Two and a half months after the infusion, Rose says she feels like “a completely different person.”

“I can do anything. At first it was like getting to the end of the day and thinking, yeah, we can sit and watch TV or get up in the morning with the kids and not feel like I'm dying.”