Your ferritin stands at 18 after your delivery at Emory Johns Creek Hospital six months ago. Taking oral iron is among the options, but absorption issues are common. Meanwhile, you're juggling Johns Creek preschool drop-offs, sitting in heavy traffic along Medlock Bridge Road or State Route 141 on a daily basis, and wondering why you keep losing hair in the shower.
Postpartum women and those suffering from heavy menstruation tend to find themselves in the so-called "ferritin gray zone". Under this category, iron stores are between 15 and 30 ng/mL and symptoms like exhaustion and hair shedding are usual, yet your blood work appears normal. These symptoms after an Emory or Northside delivery can be too much for oral iron to resolve.
Low ferritin is also being flagged by OBs in St Ives and Country Club of the South, but they do not provide iron treatment themselves to instantly address the deficiency issue among patients.
Visiting a regional medical center for an infusion can take up half your day due to a combination of State Route 141 traffic, busy parking facilities, and the waiting time involved. With a newborn to take care of, it can be logistically challenging. Daily iron supplementation, on the other hand, can come with gastrointestinal side effects and requires months of adherence.