In this blog I’m going to record how I dealt with a diagnosis of Anaemia. This is the World Health Organisations definition;
“Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal. Haemoglobin is needed to carry oxygen and if you have too few or abnormal red blood cells, or not enough haemoglobin, there will be a decreased capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues. This results in symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, dizziness and shortness of breath, among others.”
I was aware that bowel surgery to the caecum (the junction where the small intestine meets the large intestine and the location of the Appendix) can result in malabsorption of Vitamin B12 and hence a general deficiency throughout the body. However, I wasn’t aware that the surgery can also lead to a deficiency of iron (ferritin) and hence symptoms of anaemia. Feeling constantly exhausted and wondering why my next door neighbour’s car kept looking appetising I decided to get some blood tests to find out the cause.
My GP rang me a few days later to explain that my Ferritin level had dropped to a rather alarming level of 9ug/L whereas the normal range is 22-275. I immediately did two things;
- Contacted British Supplements
- Rang my herbalist, the wonderful Lucy at The Herbary.
British Supplements were fantastic. Within a few hours I had a detailed email with masses of information about anaemia and a link to one of their ‘Stacks’ from which I chose Nettle and Spirulina. Lucy meanwhile recommended a liquid iron supplement called ‘Floradix‘ with instructions to take twice daily.
Repeat blood tests were carried out 6 weeks later which showed Ferritin had increased to 14ug/L, a good increase but still some way short of the normal range. My GP was happy to see the increase and encouraged me to continue using natural remedies.
7 weeks later, at the end of September 2025, further blood tests revealed Ferritin has now reached 25ug/L, a figure comfortably above the bottom of the normal range, and thankfully the extreme tiredness, the main symptom of anaemia I experienced, has dissipated.
This was done without iron injections, radical changes of diet or any form of medication. Just simple natural solutions and a generous helping of patience.