Your numbers tell a clear story: Hb 9.4 with MCV 65.8,
ferritin 7.8, transferrin saturation 3.94% and RDW 17.1 is severe, ongoing iron deficiency â your iron stores are essentially empty despite past infusions. So the question is not "which iron" but "where is the iron going". In your case there are almost certainly two things running together. First, heavy menstrual bleeding â this alone can outpace any infusion, and in a 28-year-old the usual reasons are fibroids/adenomyosis, a bleeding/clotting tendency such as von Willebrand disease (very commonly missed in women with lifelong heavy periods),
thyroid dysfunction, or a copper-T. Second, malabsorption â your "gut issues" plus simultaneously low
B12 (182),
vitamin D 6.01, low-ish
calcium and a raised ESR of 32 point strongly towards coeliac disease, H. pylori gastritis/atrophic gastritis, or another small-bowel problem. Deficiency of that many nutrients at once is rarely just diet. The fatigue, hair fall, irritability and mood change you describe are fully explained by iron deficiency plus B12 and vitamin D deficiency, and they do improve once these are properly corrected and kept corrected.
Next Steps
Answering in order. (1) Cause: menstrual blood loss plus probable malabsorption â not "iron not working". (2) For heavy bleeding: pelvic/TVS ultrasound for fibroids/adenomyosis/polyps,
TSH,
prolactin, PT/aPTT and von Willebrand factor antigen + activity with Factor VIII (done when not bleeding). For malabsorption: anti-tTG IgA with total IgA for coeliac disease, H. pylori stool antigen or breath test, stool occult blood, and an upper GI endoscopy with duodenal biopsy â genuinely indicated in your case. Also CBC with peripheral smear, reticulocyte count, HbA2/electrophoresis (your very low MCV makes thalassaemia trait worth excluding),
LFT, RFT. (3) Whom to see: start with a gynaecologist for the bleeding and a gastroenterologist for the gut; a haematologist becomes essential if the vWD/coagulation screen is abnormal or anaemia recurs after both are addressed. (4) Treatment: repeat IV iron (ferric carboxymaltose) aiming for
ferritin above 100, then maintenance oral iron on alternate days on an empty stomach with
vitamin C â alternate-day dosing is absorbed better than daily.
B12 182 is best corrected with intramuscular B12 initially if absorption is doubtful.
Vitamin D 6.01 is severe: usually 60,000 IU cholecalciferol weekly for 8 weeks then monthly maintenance, with adequate
calcium. (5) Prevention: control the periods (tranexamic acid during menses, or a hormonal option such as a progestogen or LNG-IUS if your gynaecologist agrees), treat any coeliac disease or H. pylori found, and recheck Hb and ferritin every 3 months for a year. You are welcome to consult me on Practo with all reports uploaded together so I can lay this out as one sequenced plan, or if travel is possible, see me at Synergy Multispeciality Hospital, Miraj, where gynaecology, endoscopy and IV iron can be arranged together.
Health Tips
Word of caution: with Hb 9.4 do not ignore breathlessness at rest, chest pain, palpitations, fainting or bleeding through more than one pad an hour â those need emergency assessment. Do not take iron on your own indefinitely without
ferritin monitoring, and do not take
calcium, tea, coffee or antacids within 2 hours of an iron dose as they block absorption. Importantly, if coeliac testing is planned, do NOT start a gluten-free diet beforehand â it will make the test falsely negative.