Low iron, fatigue and endometriosis

As we know women with endometriosis often suffer from anaemia due to heavy blood loss. We take a closer look at the effects of low iron and anaemia as you may be thinking your fatigue is purely down to your endometriosis.

Anaemia is a deficiency of iron in the body. Iron helps your body replenish red blood cells and a vital role is to transport oxygen to your tissues throughout your body.

Reasons why iron is important

~ Iron also directly helps with energy production by driving the electron transport chain, or ETC -- a series of chemical reactions that help you get energy from carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

~ Iron improves your immune system, which means if your iron is low, you are more susceptible to infections and illness.

~ Iron helps raise dopamine and serotonin in your brain, and low iron can leave you feeling depressed.

~ Iron assists with promoting cortisol secretion and if your iron is low, the cortisol secretion is decreased as well as lowering glucose in your cells.

~ Iron promotes good conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3 (the active hormone) which is important for those with a thyroid problem.

~ If iron is low your T4 will build too high which leave you feeling rather toxic.

~ Iron balances your autonomic nervous system, so with low iron you can end up in a frequent state of fight-or-flight with accompanying adrenaline surges and nervousness due to heightened sympathetic activity.

~ Low Iron affects brain cell health, so if your iron is low, you can have brain cell death contributing to dementia and possibly Alzheimer’s.

There are many symptoms of low iron and many of them can cause debilitating symptoms and severe fatigue.


Read the full article here


This article comes from Jessie who suffers really bad fatigue herself and discusses her fight with this issue.

‘Living with chronic fatigue is not something you can fix overnight. It’s an everyday battle, like fixing your frizzy hair or treating your problematic skin, only it leaves you perpetually defeated. One day, you wake up thinking it’s gone, but the next morning it’s still there. Maybe you start off your week full of energy, when suddenly it hits you: legs of lead, arms covered in tar, a fuzzy brain.

Since my diagnosis took so long, I spent years self-identifying as a lazy person. I thought I had no drive, my painful limbs were just imaginary, and that it was all in my head. Then, after being told I had endometriosis, I had to accept that my lack of energy was a real and long-term thing. Once I learned the nature of the beast, I found coping mechanisms.’


Read the Jessie's article here


There can be other reasons for your fatigue including:

Adrenal fatigue

Thyroid issues

Nutrient deficiencies

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Mitochondria dysfunction

We look at some of these issue in future newsletters – so keep an eye on your inbox.

Till next time, stay safe