How I Fixed My Iron Deficiency & Raised My Ferritin from 5 to 51 — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00My feritin was five and after years of anemia,  I finally raised it to 51. When you have only
2. 0:07ever known low iron, you don't realize how heavy  life feels until one day it doesn't end anymore.
3. 0:13No more dizziness, no more hair loss, no more  heart palpitations, no more feeling like my
4. 0:19body was fighting against [music] me. If you are  on your own feritin recovery journey right now,
5. 0:24this one is for you. This is part two of my  feritin recovery journey. In this video, I'm
6. 0:28sharing exactly what worked, what didn't, how long  it took, the mistakes that cost me time, and the
7. 0:34lessons that will save you some. By the way, I'm  [music] Bamby, and I am on a mission to find out
8. 0:39what my body can do when I actually give it what  it needs. Disclaimer though, I am not a doctor.
9. 0:45I'm just someone with real blood test and a lot of  determination. [music] Alright, let's get into it.
10. 0:52Understanding the problem. to solve any problem  properly. It's often a good idea to understand
11. 1:00it [music] first. I will get to the exact  supplements I took in a minute. I [music] promise,
12. 1:05but I truly think that everything starts here.  It will help you keep going and stay consistent
13. 1:10in a journey that can be incredibly long and  lonely. [music] Iron deficiency anemia is the
14. 1:16story of my life. So much that I got used to the  symptoms and they just [music] became my normal,
15. 1:22my identity. Getting up too fast and seeing black  normal. Feeling weak and tired all the time.
16. 1:30Normal. Even getting iron infusions from time  to [music] time still wasn't enough to make me
17. 1:36take my anemia seriously. What changed everything  was my hair. I had always dreamed of having long
18. 1:43hair since I was a kid, but it never happened for  me. Before starting my feritin journey, I remember
19. 1:48watching YouTube videos of women with [music]  similar hair textures to mine and thinking,
20. 1:53"What if I really give it a try? It would be nice  to have long hair at least once in my life." So,
21. 2:00I invested in routines, creams, shampoos, oils,  everything. [music] And despite all my efforts,
22. 2:06my hair started falling out like never before.  I got to a point where I was scared [music] to
23. 2:11touch it because every time I did a huge  clump would come out in my [music] hands.
24. 2:16I felt completely hopeless. I could only cry.  I felt that this [music] time was different.
25. 2:23So the sad truth is that the cosmetic reason was  stronger than years of chronic health symptoms.
26. 2:31So I started doing my research and that's when I  realized that everything is connected. My feritin
27. 2:36being low for years, my vitamin D being low for  years, the fibroids that [music] appeared at some
28. 2:42point. All the things I had ignored for years were  the exact reasons why I was losing my hair. Let's
29. 2:49look at ferritin, [music] the topic of this video.  It's your iron storage. And when that storage is
30. 2:55critically low, your body makes survival choices.  It prioritizes your heart, your brain, your vital
31. 3:02organs, your hair, your energy, your nails, your  hormones. Those go straight to the back of the
32. 3:08line. I said straight to the back of the line,  please. Thank you so much. When I understood that,
33. 3:15I was so angry at myself for pushing my body  to that point for so long. But more than that,
34. 3:22I finally understood that no cream, no oil, no  topical product was ever going to fix my hair.
35. 3:29The problem was internal and the solution had to  be internal, too. That was my wakeup call. What
36. 3:34scared me the most was the prioritization idea.  I didn't want my body to have to choose anymore.
37. 3:40I wanted to thrive. In the comments, let me know  what your wakeup call was. And if you haven't
38. 3:46had it yet, I really hope this video does it for  you. That's when I booked a doctor's appointment,
39. 3:51not to find out what was wrong because I already  knew, but to finally take responsibility and
40. 3:56start tracking [music] my data with a complete  blood test. The blood work came back. Fitin 5,
41. 4:02hemoglobin 6.9, anemia confirmed. That  shift of thinking, truly understanding
42. 4:09what my body needed and why is what made  everything that followed actually work. Well,
43. 4:14kind of. [laughter] You will see that I made  some major mistakes along the way. So if you
44. 4:19are watching this and don't know [music] where to  start. Start by understanding what's happening in
45. 4:24your body. Step two, get your blood work done.  Know your numbers. Start [music] there. Okay?
46. 4:29Having a baseline matters in my opinion is  a very good way for you to assess whether
47. 4:34your efforts are paying off later. Now I will  share with you the three solutions I tested
48. 4:40that helped me grow my ferritin from 5 to 51.  Moringa. This video is actually part two of my
49. 4:48feritin recovery journey. In part one, I actually  break down the moringa experiment in details.
50. 4:55If you missed it, please check it out. It explains  my first big mistake. But I forgave myself because
51. 5:00I was desperate and above all very scared of iron  supplements from my past experiences. For years,
52. 5:06I had been prescribed the same pill, Tardyferon.  That one completely traumatized me. [laughter]
53. 5:14So, I didn't want to take any conventional iron  supplements and prioritize a more natural approach
54. 5:19instead. So, I spent two months drinking something  absolutely disgusting because the internet claimed
55. 5:25that it was an iron superfood. Surprisingly,  moringa did make me feel much better. My nails,
56. 5:32my hair, my energy were all temporarily improved,  but it simply wasn't enough. As a result,
57. 5:39my ferritin went from five to six. Embarrassing,  [music] but I am nevertheless grateful for this
58. 5:46experience because I can share the lessons with  you now. First, do your own research. Online,
59. 5:51we often see crazy claims like 25 times more  iron than spinach. Take the time to double
60. 5:57check. Okay, [laughter] let's take moringa as  an example. [music] The real number, according
61. 6:02to a peer-reviewed study, it's at most 3.4 four  times more iron than dried spinach. Lentils, tofu,
62. 6:09amaranth actually have more iron per serving than  moringa. So, learn to read nutrition labels to
63. 6:15verify whether a solution is actually very rich  in iron [music] or not. Two, test regularly.
64. 6:20I felt so much better physically and mentally that  if I hadn't tested, I would have never known that
65. 6:26the moringa wasn't working. So test every two to  three months when you start your supplementation
66. 6:31journey to make sure that the ferritin is  actually increasing at a good rate. Three,
67. 6:36know your numbers. To treat a true deficiency,  you need at least 30 mg to 60 of elemental iron
68. 6:42per day and even more in some clinical protocols.  One teaspoon of moringa only had 1.3 mg. Four,
69. 6:50iron supplements are not all the same and that I  didn't need to be scared. There are other options
70. 6:56out there. I just needed to push for them and I  will give you some examples in this video. This
71. 7:01experience then led me to my next attempt standing  up for myself and Ferro Sanol. After the moringa
72. 7:08failed for me, I went back to the doctor to get a  proper clinical iron prescription. But this time
73. 7:15I was a new person. I was motivated and I was  ready to stand up for myself for the first time
74. 7:20in my life and say no to Tardyeron. I asked the  doctor for an iron pill. He started typing on his
75. 7:26keyboard. I was curious, so I asked, "Which wine  are you prescribing me?" TARDYFERON!, "I knew it.
76. 7:32I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew  it." So I said calmly and politely,
77. 7:36"Thank you, but actually don't tolerate that one.  But it's a very good pill. We get great results
78. 7:41with it. I don't give a s*** about you getting  great results with it." Kidding. [laughter]
79. 7:50Kidding. I didn't say that. I didn't say that.  Not out loud, at least. But I couldn't believe
80. 7:56how unnecessarily difficult it was just to get an  alternative. Then I said, "Honestly, I tried to
81. 8:03take this pill all my life. The side effects  are really awful. I never managed to take it
82. 8:07for more than one week or two max. You can maybe  try to take it every other day." I look at him
83. 8:12and I calmly [music] said, "You know what? You can  prescribe it, but I'm not going to take it." All
84. 8:17right, then. In this case, we also have this one,  Ferro Sanol, 40 mg. Have you ever tried it? No,
85. 8:23I haven't. I'm very happy to try it. [music] Yeah.  Thank you. Finally, guys. Finally. So, I tried
86. 8:29Ferro Sanol. It's more expensive. Is not covered  by the public health insurance here in Germany,
87. 8:35but I was open to trying anything else. The major  lesson here, doctors often work with statistics,
88. 8:41which is understandable, but you live in your  body. Stand up for yourself. It was uncomfortable
89. 8:47and stressful to say no to a medical professional,  but I'm glad I did because I managed to take Ferro
90. 8:53Sanol for 6 and 1/2 long months 30 minutes before  my breakfast and [music] I had absolutely zero
91. 9:01side effects. And when I retested, then after 6  and 1/2 months, my ferritin went from 6 to 25. 25
92. 9:11guys, I was finally out of the red critical zone.  I was happy, very happy. Now, I know that some of
93. 9:19you might think 19 points of growth in 6 and 1/2  months is not much. Honestly, I can disagree,
94. 9:27but my [music] iron supplement dose was only 40  mg. And at that point, the true root cause of my
95. 9:34deficiency was still to be discovered. I still  had to figure out if it was my fibroids or if I
96. 9:39potentially have gut issues or something else that  are preventing me from absorbing or retaining iron
97. 9:45properly. I'm just saying this because on Tik  Tok or Reddit, you can see people showing these
98. 9:50crazy massive increases in one month. [laughter]  But at the end of the day, we are all different
99. 9:57people with different bodies. Indeed, there are  so many potential reasons for an iron deficiency.
100. 10:03and everyone's puzzle looks a little bit  different. So even if 25 was a slow growth, I
101. 10:10still [music] celebrated it. If you have struggled  with iron supplement side effects, please know
102. 10:15that are gentler options out there. In fact, if  you want even better absorption and zero side
103. 10:21effects, stay tuned for the next pill I tried, the  normal reference range trap. When my feritin hit
104. 10:2825, as I said, I was very proud that I requested  a phone review with a doctor. It was a different
105. 10:35GP this time and her reaction completely shocked  me. She called and said, "Everything looks good on
106. 10:41your blood work." I could immediately feel that I  was wasting her time. I had to be the one to say,
107. 10:47"Yes, but my feritin is 25. It's not five anymore,  but it's still pretty low." Yes, but 25 is good.
108. 10:54Many people never even get to that level. I want  my level to be much higher than that. Well, just
109. 10:59keep supplementing then. For how long? 3 months  and we check again. Yes, if you want. But will it
110. 11:04be possible to also try to find out the root cause  of my deficiency so I don't have to take these
111. 11:09pills forever? You are a woman, right? And you  have periods, right? So, it's normal to have low
112. 11:15iron. In my head, I was like, it's normal. Before  I could barely finish my sentence to thank her
113. 11:19for her time and wish her a good day, she hang up.  [music] That's when I realized two things. First,
114. 11:25there is a massive difference between the lab's  normal range and the optimal range. Lab ranges are
115. 11:30just statistical average of a general public,  a population where tons of people are already
116. 11:35super tired. So, a lab sheet might tell you that  a feritin 15 or 20 is normal just because it's
117. 11:42common. But haematologist or hair specialist would  tell you that ferritin under 30 is a functional
118. 11:47deficiency. Optimal ferritin for hair growth for  example or vibrant energy is actually between
119. 11:5370 and 100. I was only at 25. Second, I realized  that I couldn't expect deep root cause care from
120. 12:02an overwhelmed GP whose only priority was getting  me out of the medical red zone. [music] But for me
121. 12:08to get real answers about the why to find out if  it's gut, if it's my fibroids or something else, I
122. 12:14knew that I would eventually have to invest money  into a private functional medicine practitioner
123. 12:20or internal medicine doctor. But I need to be  honest with you at that specific moment. I didn't
124. 12:25think that way. I was just super upset [music] and  extremely sad after that phone call. So much that
125. 12:31I didn't even want to walk back to that clinic to  pick up my Ferro Sanol prescription. But luckily,
126. 12:36I had my strong why. I still wanted my hair  to grow. So, I didn't give up. That's when
127. 12:42I remember the supplement that I had bought on  iHerb months prior, [music] which was just sitting
128. 12:48in my kitchen cabinet waiting for its moment,  [clears throat] the blood builder breakthrough.
129. 12:55From months 8.5 to months 12, I switched to the  MegaFood Blood Builder. It's vegan, gluten-free,
130. 13:03requires no prescription. You can take it anytime.  You don't need to wait 30 minutes before or
131. 13:08an hour after your meals. It's incredibly gentle  as well. What makes it a game changer is that it
132. 13:14pairs iron with vitamin C, folate, B12, the exact  co-actors your body needs to actually absorb and
133. 13:21utilize [music] iron. But even before taking  my next blood test, I could already feel that I
134. 13:26was a new person. No more dizziness. My brain fog  cleared. My hair loss completely stopped. And for
135. 13:32the first time in my entire life, I have nails.  Look at these nails. [music] I have never had
136. 13:39nails before. What I mean by that is that my nails  were extremely short because they were brutal and
137. 13:44I was also biting them. They were easy to bite.  So 3.5 months after starting the blood builder,
138. 13:50I went to get tested again to see if the  data matched how I felt. [music] My feritin
139. 13:56shot from 25 to 51. 51. I'm not [music]  going to pretend I was calm. I genuinely
140. 14:04cried and I feel like crying right now. I know  that some of you might look at me like, "Girl,
141. 14:08calm down. You didn't do much. You just took a  pill." [laughter] But it wasn't just a pill. It
142. 14:14wasn't just a number. It was a year of constantly  advocating for myself with doctors who didn't have
143. 14:20time to listen. It was spending a lot of money  on blood tests and supplements because yeah,
144. 14:26when you are not in the red zone anymore, nothing  is covered by the health insurance. It was months
145. 14:31of researching, learning to eat differently,  wondering if my hair will ever stop falling out,
146. 14:36and feeling incredibly lonely in a struggle most  people around me didn't really understand. Hitting
147. 14:4251 just confirmed that every single bit of it was  worth it. [music] Listen, it might be hard for you
148. 14:48right now, but I promise you it's worth the fight.  Drop a comment below and let [music] me know what
149. 14:54has been the hardest part of your iron recovery  journey so far. Also, when I finally sat down and
150. 14:59look at the data, I realized something. Think  about the math. It took me 6 and 1/2 months to
151. 15:06crawl up 19 points. With Ferro Sanol, that's about  three points a month. But with the blood builder,
152. 15:13it took me only 3 and 1/2 months to go up 26  points to 51. That's almost 7.5 points [music] a
153. 15:22month. I literally more than doubled my speed.  Now, I'm not going to say that is all because of
154. 15:29the blood builder and the vitamin C. It could also  be that when you [music] are finally out of this
155. 15:34dangerous zone, it becomes easier for your body to  focus on storing iron versus constantly using it
156. 15:41to just make hemoglobin so you can function.  [music] Supplement recap. So, let's recap the
157. 15:47three supplements I tried. I know we all live  in different places and have access to different
158. 15:51options. But if we focus on the type of iron,  the absorption rate, and the side effects,
159. 15:57and the price, I hope this table gives you some  ideas on which one might be worth exploring with
160. 16:03your doctor. For me, tardyferon was the cheapest  one, but the least effective and the most
161. 16:09traumatizing [music] for my stomach. Tardyferon  uses ferrous sulfate which releases right in the
162. 16:16stomach causing major irritation at least for some  people. Only the other two were the ones that I
163. 16:23could actually tolerate which stabilizes the iron  and allows it to release further down in the gut
164. 16:29making it way gentler. And they were the ones that  finally [music] moved the needle for me. So check
165. 16:36out supplements using ferrous glycin [music]  sulfate or ferrous bisglycinate. Have you tried
166. 16:42any of those or do you have any recommendations  for another low iron girly out there? Share it in
167. 16:48the comments along with where you are located  and what was your experience [music] like
168. 16:53the vegan dip and where I am now. So after  hitting my peak of 51, I kept taking blood
169. 16:59builder for another 3 months and I did another  follow-up test and my ferritin came back at 49.
170. 17:07Was I a little bit disappointed because I  was secretly hoping to hit 70? Yes, totally.
171. 17:15But was I surprised? Not really. Healing is never  a straight line. And I actually made a few massive
172. 17:22lifestyle changes during that exact period. First,  I transitioned fully to a plant-based diet to help
173. 17:29manage my fibroids. Cutting out animal products  meant that I was no longer getting heme iron. So,
174. 17:35when you are a brand new plant-based eater who is  already prone to low iron, you have to be extra
175. 17:41careful. And I was completely new to it. I didn't  really fully understand how to eat high iron meals
176. 17:48and balance iron enhancer and inhibitors in this  plant-based diet yet. And second, I started taking
177. 17:55some traditional herbs for women's health  to target my fibroids. This actually led to
178. 18:00temporally heavier menstrual bleeding for a  bit before my cycle finally stabilized. So,
179. 18:05between the dietary shift and the extra blood  loss, a tiny two point dip actually made total
180. 18:11sense. Honestly, the amazing news here is that the  blood builder [music] successfully kept my stores
181. 18:18completely stable in the high 40s despite such  a huge transition. If you're on a similar diet,
182. 18:25make sure you subscribe to my channel because  I'm planning a video where I'm going to share
183. 18:29plant-based [music] iron rich absorption optimized  recipes. Although, I need to be honest with you
184. 18:34that I [music] am considering reintroducing maybe  quality fish and eggs to my diet. In the meantime,
185. 18:41my next goal is actually clear, guys.  Ferritin 100, but I'm a bit realistic. So,
186. 18:47let's say 70 to 100 will be great. And this time,  I'm documenting the entire journey, the recipes,
187. 18:53the doctors, the blood tests in real time. You  are part of that journey now. [laughter] Are you
188. 18:58joining? If you find this video helpful, I would  truly appreciate a like to help keep me motivated
189. 19:04for this next phase. But before you go, extra  tips. track enhancers and inhibitors. Take your
190. 19:12iron with vitamin C. Keep the coffee, the tea,  the calcium at least two hours away from your
191. 19:18iron dose. I personally decided to just cut them  out for my diet, [music] but I understand that
192. 19:22some people cannot live without their coffees.  Two, try to find the root cause. Supplementing
193. 19:29is ideally [music] a temporary tool to pay off  your iron debt. But once your stores are full,
194. 19:35your ultimate goal should be a lifestyle and  a diet that supports your levels so you can
195. 19:40eventually stop taking the pills. So if you  can try whenever you're ready to figure out
196. 19:45why you're losing iron, whether it's the diets,  [music] the intense sports, the heavy period,
197. 19:51don't just pour water into a bucket with holes  in it. And last but not least, don't try to do
198. 19:57everything at once. I did this entire process  completely step by [music] step. Honestly, that's
199. 20:02also a big part of why it took me a year. But it  was the best way for [music] me to stay consistent
200. 20:09because I get easily overwhelmed and usually just  give up. At the very beginning, I remember that
201. 20:15just being consistent with taking one single  pill every day was a massive win for me. Journey
202. 20:21is already stressful enough. So, pick one habit,  master it, and then take the next step. If you're
203. 20:27watching right now and your ferritin is 5, 15, 40,  or anything in between or above, I hope this video
204. 20:33made you feel a little bit less alone. I hope it  proves you that the effort is worth it. For me,
205. 20:40my anchor was saving my hair. For you, it might  be your energy, your mental health, fertility, or
206. 20:46just wanting to feel like yourself again. Whatever  it is, hold on to that reason and keep pushing.
207. 20:53Thank you so much for watching and for being here.  Bisous Bisous and see you in the next one. Bye.
208. 21:13[music]