A member asked:
Being predisposed to hemochromatosis, is it okay to take iron supplements for incredible fatigue possibly due to anemia?
9 doctors weighed in across 3 answers
No: It is never appropriate to shotgun a symptom with vitamins. Iron deficiency will make you feel tired before you become anemic; if you take an iron tablet, you'll ruin the ability of a serum iron assay / serum ferritin to assess your iron levels accurately. Plus, if you are iron-deficient and not on a iron-poor diet, you must find the cause -- it's life-threatening until proved otherwise.
Answered 3/8/2013
5.5k views
Do not guess: Get checked out for anemia first and verify need for iron supplementation before taking any. Do not just guess. Also get thyroid checked out. Make sure to check free T3 (liothyronine) and reverse t3 (liothyronine). Ft3 (liothyronine) should be in upper range and rt3 (liothyronine) in lower range.
Answered 3/3/2016
5.4k views
Blood tests first...: Hemochromatosis is a disease of iron overload. If you are very fatigued, i would get some simple blood work first before you start taking iron supplements. You might not be anemic, or if you are, iron deficiency might not be the cause.
Answered 10/4/2016
5.4k views
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