Mercy's Dr. Lindsay Appel Discusses Iron Deficiency in Women and its Treatment

The most common type of anemia is caused by a lack of iron in the body.

And for women of child-bearing age, there's a big reason why iron-deficiency anemia can happen to them.

Candrice Heath considers herself healthy, but suddenly last winter she experienced what she calls a change from the norm.

“My periods becoming a little bit heavier, and also just really in general feeling very fatigued, very tired, not wanting to do all of the other activities, that I usually do,” Heath said.

Heath consulted Dr. Lindsay Appel, OB/GYN, of Mercy’s Family Childbirth and Children’s Center, and a series of tests showed she had iron-deficiency anemia.

“Iron deficiency anemia affects about one to two percent of the population, and it affects women much more than it does men, mainly because one of the most common causes of iron deficiency anemia is menstrual blood loss or blood loss during your period,” Dr. Appel said.

According to Dr. Appel, dark green leafy vegetables and iron-fortified foods can help prevent or treat iron deficiency anemia as well as iron supplements, which is what Heath said worked for her.

Heath said after the iron was replaced she felt much better.

“If you're having irregularities with your menstrual cycle, if you feel like your bleeding is heavier than it should be, it's affecting your lifestyle, you have symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, then you should come see a gynecologist, because we can certainly help you with those symptoms, and get you feeling better,” Dr. Appel said.

To view Dr. Lindsay Appel’s interview about iron deficiency in women, click here.