You took the iron. Maybe you sat through infusions. Your levels came up — then slid
straight back down within months, and the exhaustion came with them. Here’s the
foundation no one told you: “low iron” isn’t a diagnosis, it’s a symptom — the end
result of several completely different problems, each needing a different fix.
By the end you’ll read your own blood test the way a practitioner does — a skill you
keep for life.

What's Inside

• The reframe: iron is five numbers, not one — and haemoglobin is the last to fall, so a
  “normal” result can mean you’ve been depleting for a long time
• Your iron panel, decoded: serum iron, ferritin, transferrin/TIBC and saturation — what
  each means and how they read together
  
• The ferritin trap: it rises with inflammation, so a “normal” ferritin can hide a truly empty
  tank (always read against CRP)
• The different patterns that all look like “low iron” on a basic test — including the ones
  that get dramatically worse if you take iron
• Why the tablets and infusions never hold — finding the leak instead of bailing the boat (and when low iron needs a doctor for hidden bleeding)
  
• The exact GP bloods to request and functional tests, with tear-out sheets, plus how to
  absorb and restore iron properly