You delivered at Good Samaritan Hospital or El Camino Hospital six months ago. Your ferritin came back at 18 at your six-week visit. Your OB said “try oral iron.” You’re still running San Jose Unified or Los Gatos-Saratoga drop-offs, sitting in 101 or 880 traffic every morning, and your hair is coming out in the shower.
Most San Jose women we see are postpartum or dealing with years of heavy cycles. They end up in the ferritin "gray zone". Iron stores between 15 and 30 ng/mL, where bloodwork looks normal but exhaustion is real. Hair sheds. Nails split. Brain fog makes it hard to finish a sentence. Many women experience postpartum hair loss after a Good Samaritan Hospital or El Camino Hospital delivery that oral iron alone doesn't resolve.
Many local OBs in San Jose, Willow Glen, and Almaden Valley flag low ferritin at the postpartum checkup but don’t offer in-office infusions.
Oral iron takes three to six months to work. If you can tolerate the stomach cramps and constipation. A Good Samaritan or El Camino infusion suite visit means half a day: fighting 101 or 880 each way, scheduling delays, garage parking, waiting rooms. Hard to manage with a newborn at home.