For the last 11 months, I've regularly donated blood (about every 8 weeks). My hemoglobin levels have been normal up until this last month when I went to donate. Hemoglobin is a protein in your blood that carries iron to your body. Donating blood can deplete your body's iron stores, or any other form of heavy bleeding (having a heavy p-e-r-i-o-d). So, apparently my iron levels haven't been restored since the last time I donated blood, and diet alone isn't helping me much.
Not having enough iron has caused me to be sleepy almost constantly. I'll have bursts of energy, but overall, sleep sounds like the most wonderful thing in the world! Even my giant mug of coffee in the morning does little to wake me up.
So, in my normal fashion, I took to Google. I've researched the type of iron your body absorbs best (heme or animal sources) and what helps your absorb it (vitamin C not coffee, tea or calcium). So, I've adjusted my diet to try to absorb it more, but I also bought some iron supplements. They are ferrous sulfate iron supplements that are supposed to have higher absorbency than some of the other supplement types on the market.
The pills arrived in the mail today so I'm giving them a try. I'm hoping in a couple of weeks I'll have increased energy and be able to bring this damn iron up. I'll post an update when I try to donate blood again because they will let me know if my iron is high enough. I'll also just update as to how I'm feeling and if the pills are helping.
In case anyone else is dealing with the same thing, here's a link to the iron supplements I started on today in case you're interested: Amazon.com - Ferrous Sulfate
I'm not sure if you're later post gave an update on the iron pills. But have they worked? I have slight iron deficiency too & am tired all the time. I could take naps all day if I didn't have to go to work to pay bills.
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