When my ferritin hit a critically low 9, life felt impossible. The symptoms ranged from “something is off” to terrifying.
My Iron Deficiency Anemia Symptoms
- Chest tightness
- Severe air hunger (never feeling I was getting a full breath)
- Feeling I was about to faint after minimal exercise, like a walk
- Brain fog
- Memory issues and trouble concentrating
- Irritability or mood changes I couldn’t explain
- Weakness, dizziness, and lightheadedness
- Difficulty getting going in the morning
- Severe fatigue and deep naps every day
- Heat intolerance
- Toes turning blue, especially in the shower
- Chunks of hair falling out
- Dark under-eye circles
- Anxiety
- Blurred vision
- Decreased appetite
- Dry skin
- Brittle, paper-thin fingernails that would tear and wouldn’t grow
- Craving ice
Cautionary Tale
I took Three Arrows Iron Repair Simply pills daily from July 1, 2024 to April 2025, almost a year before checking my gut with a GI-MAP. It was also feeding the high Klebsiella later seen on my April GI-MAP, which led to SIBO. In hindsight, I’d get a GI-MAP first and consult a practitioner about how to avoid feeding gram-negative bacteria and developing SIBO while raising ferritin.
Personal Note: I chose to take Heme iron because elemental iron absorption required Vitamin C and is more difficult for the body to absorb, and I didn’t exactly trust the NP who told me to “drink a glass of OJ with my iron bisglycinate”. I also ate steaks daily, which I know isn’t possible for everyone.
What I Did Next
Beginning July 1, 2024, I took Three Arrows Iron Repair Simply and ate steaks daily (a big change from my previous vegetarian lifestyle). My ferritin rose from 9 to 25 in six weeks. I felt a little improvement in overall energy, and mornings were noticeably easier. Six weeks later it had risen from 25 to 36. I was disappointed in the small jump, but happy to see it climb. My energy was returning, and the air hunger wasn’t as severe or frequent. By September 4, 2025, after working with a naturopath on my zonulin (leaky gut), which affects absorption, my ferritin shot up to 131 and I was feeling better than ever. I was shocked, and proud.
My April 2025 GI-MAP showed zonulin at 199.8 (reference range 0.0–107.0 ng/mL). That is well above the upper limit and confirmed the leaky gut I had been dealing with. By August the same test showed zonulin at 58.3, back inside the reference range and resolved. Seeing that number come down was one of the clearer signs that the work I was doing was starting to repair my barrier and absorption of iron, and everything else.
How I Repaired My Barrier
My naturopath advised me to “eat berries” to help heal my gut lining. She stressed berries emphatically but didn’t go into explicit detail. She deemed strawberries the best. Luckily it was summer in New England and I went to pick-your-own berry farms locally, gathering buckets of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I washed, ate, and froze the ones I didn’t eat. I probably ate my weight in berries that summer.
Your absorption is vital when attempting to raise ferritin. Another reason a GI-MAP would have helped me feel better even sooner!