Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] Hi, I had blood work done and it showed that I was anemic, my ferritin level was at 8. This was back in early february and I have been taking iron pills since. For the first month I was taking 65mg and I had another blood work done and my ferritin had only risen to 12. I am a college distance runner, and for training needed my iron levels to get up much more quickly, so for the past month I have been taking 130mg of elemental iron in the form of ferreous sulfate but my performance has not improved at all. I do not take my iron with any calcium or meals. Is my body just not absorbing it? Why am I not seeing any improvements?
[|AI|]  Thanks for submitting your question. You are surely suffering from iron deficiency anemia. Your ferritin level is low which suggest iron deficiency anemia. I think oral iron therapy in the form of ferrous sulfate is sufficient, which contains 60 mg of elemental iron. What is your hemoglobin level?. 60 mg of elemental iron if taken for 4to 6 weeks rises hemoglobin by only 1 %. So it takes time for ferritin level to rise. If you want quick results then iron injections are available but in your case it is not required. Besides you should also go for iron profile to know the cause of anemia. But from your current history it is evident that ferritin level is not rising, so one should find the cause for blood loss from the body. Next step is to undergo upper and lower GIs copy to rule out anemia due to blood loss. Have patience oral therapy requires time for ferritin level to rise. Thank you, best wishes