Q&A

Unexplained severe chest pains

Hello!

For just over a year now, I’ve been experiencing extremely painful chest pains; there doesn’t seem to be any real pattern as to when or how often I get them.

I was also vomiting multiple times daily for a good year – although this has seemed to of stopped for the past 4 months.

I’ve had chest x-rays, ECG’s, an ultrasound to check my gallbladder etc etc.

Now – I do have a hiatus hernia; one doctor told me I was extremely young to have been diagnosed with this when I was (I was 19) I’m now 34.

A few different doctors suggested different tablets, i.e. omeprazole and similar types. None of these have helped with the pain I get at all.

I’ve done some research, as I feel the doctors are saying everything they have checked is fine, so I’m fine when I’m not.

From reading different things about low iron/anaemia causing chest pains, they sound the same as the pains I get. I’m very sure my doctors have never tested me for low iron.

I’ve also read having a hiatus hernia can cause bleeding internally, which will cause anaemia.

Does anybody have any similar experience? Do you think I should push to get a test done for this?

Thank you!

Answer:

Yeah, have them test you for anaemia. I had a somewhat similar situation. I had severe chest pains and was brought to the ER. This was mostly due to previous cardiac issues, so the assumption was that I was once again having some of the same issues. Even went through a cathlab procedure to check for blockage and stent failure. All tests came back fine. One of the doctors finally asked if I had a history of anaemia, and I confirmed that, yup, ever since I was a kid. Well, they ran tests, and I was in the single digits. Low enough that I required an iron infusion. So have them test for anaemia, and don’t stop searching for answers. Advocate for yourself!

Question:

Urgent help, please!

I have very mild anaemia. For about 11 days, I noticed I could not walk long without feeling very lightheaded. Recently, I’ve noticed that if I walk for long, I start having a little trouble breathing, and my heart beats fast. I’m a bit of a hypochondriac, so I went to urgent care 3 times and have called an ambulance twice. My bloodwork looks ok except for mild anaemia, and so does my urine. I even got a head CT scan, which looks good.

Does anyone else with anaemia experience this?? Please help. Thank you.

Answer:

Are you taking any supplements?? If not, try SSS Tonic and Tranfusan B12, both liquid oral supplementations that have helped me with iron deficiency anaemia; also, try vitamin A, folate (folic acid), selenium, copper, and glutathione. Be sure to check with your physician beforehand and inquire if any of the above may be helpful for you…also, request labs to check your body’s current levels of the vitamins, essential minerals, and proteins I mentioned.

One more thing to look into is different foods, drinks, or vitamins that may impede the absorption of iron, like turmeric or tannins found in coffee and some teas, as well as dark chocolate, so you’d have to allow a window of time before or after ingesting iron supplements or eating iron-rich foods & drinks in your diet about whatever blocks iron absorption.

Try cooking with a cast iron skillet to increase iron intake by 16%.

Question:

Just diagnosed and don’t know what to do!

I recently went to the doctor because, on and off for years, I’ve been so tired to the point where getting out of bed sucks and dizzy and lightheaded and blurred vision and cold hands and feet, and just overall weakness and muscle/joint pain.

Also, I went because it’s gotten more like every day. I don’t know how I’ll feel because now it’s more of a gamble on whether I’ll have energy. she tested my blood because she wondered if I was maybe diabetic (she tested my A1C, and I’m in the healthy range- not diabetic)

these were my results:

Bloodwork:

iron: 36 transferrin: 322 saturation transferrin: 8% (low) iron bind cap: 451 (high) vitamin b12: 279 ferritin: 10 (low)

white cell count: 6.90, red cell count: 4.43, haemoglobin: 11.6 (low), hematocrit: 35.7 (low)

She messaged me and said I have iron deficiency anaemia and then basically said nothing else. Everything I’m learning is all Google, and I don’t know how to go about this. Should I make another appointment? Does anyone have similar symptoms and similar blood work?

Oh, and if I take supplements, should I start with lower mg or 18mg? I’m so stressed, confused, and exhausted. Thanks for any help or recommendations!

Answer:

You should take a supplement and try to eat more iron-rich food (there are many lists online). Meat is the best source because the body can absorb it better than plant-based iron, but if you are a vegetarian, you can do it with only supplements.

You should try taking a supplement and eating an iron-rich diet (google it) for a month or two, and if you don’t feel better, make another appointment with your doctor to check if the levels have improved. If it works, you’ll feel the improvements gradually, feels quite nice to feel your strength returning. Some people have absorption issues; if that’s the case and your iron does not get better, you could get an infusion, but at least where I live, not all doctors offer them.

Supplement Considerations

About the supplement… A low dose is usually easier on the stomach; the more mg, the more side effects are to be expected. It is recommended to take the iron with orange juice or something rich in Vitamin C because it helps with absorption. Dairy limits absorption, as far as I know.  The stool gets black when you take iron supplements, this is normal and no reason to worry.

Ferritin is the long-term iron store. Many doctors say the “healthy” range begins at 15, but my doctor said it’s better to have at least 50, and it will make a difference in energy levels. But the official recommendations often say 15-20 is enough.

I had 12 ferritin, but my iron was normal. However, I was still advised to take supplements because my period is heavy, and my doctor said when ferritin is low, the other values will eventually go down too, so it’s best to prevent it. I used to take 50mg of iron but got a stomach ache, so now I take other pills that have 40mg and are somehow easier on the stomach (not sure how it works; my doctor prescribed them to me). It’s a bit of trial and error.

I’m no doctor, so there is no guarantee of the advice. But you can fact-check what I said; there’s a lot of solid advice in this sub and on the internet. Hope you’ll feel better soon 🙂