Article: If fatigue during your period is interfering with your ability to work and to enjoy your personal life, see your doctor. You may be suffering from iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency anemia can happen to anyone, but women who experience heavy periods are at a higher risk due to their increased blood loss. In order to diagnose anemia, your doctor will want to do a simple blood test. You may also need to undergo additional tests, such as an ultrasound to check for uterine fibroids that could be causing excessive menstrual bleeding. There may be other medical causes for your fatigue as well, although anemia is the most common cause for fatigue that occurs during menstruation. For some people, it may be possible to correct iron deficiency anemia simply by making changes to their diets. Your doctor may advise that you eat more iron-rich foods, including: Proteins such as beef, pork, chicken, and fish Dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale Peas and beans Fortified grain products like cereal and pasta Dried fruit like raisins and apricots If you are not able to increase your iron levels with dietary changes, your doctor may recommend that you take an iron supplement, which are available over-the-counter. In extreme cases, your doctor may recommend an IV supplement. Your doctor may also recommend that you take Vitamin C, which aids the absorption of iron. This is available in an over-the-counter pill form as well. You should take this with an acidic juice high in vitamin C such as orange juice, grapefruit juice, or lemonade. These help increase iron absorption. Always take the recommended dose of supplements. Don't stop taking them or change your dose without talking to your doctor. It's a good idea to follow up with your doctor, and perhaps get another blood test, after you have changed your diet or started taking supplements. This will help you understand how effective your treatment has been and what further changes you need to make. It may take months to get your iron levels back to normal. The good news is that if supplementation is working for you, you should start to feel a difference in your energy levels after about a week. For some some people, iron deficiency anemia is caused by a condition, such as celiac disease, that prevents the absorption of iron into the bloodstream. If this is the case for you, simply adding more iron to your diet will not solve the problem.

What is a summary?
See your doctor. Get more iron from food. Consider supplements. Follow up with your doctor.