Jorinde (52) is a dental assistant, married, and a mother of two children. When she entered her early fifties, she expected menopause to mainly bring hot flushes and night sweats. However, her energy gradually disappeared, to the point where even small tasks became overwhelming. It wasn’t until later that she discovered a low iron level had been silently draining her body for a long time.
It felt like a silent assassin was creeping through my life. My energy slowly vanished, and I started feeling worse and worse.
The fatigue crept in gradually. It wasn’t the usual tiredness after a busy day, but an exhaustion that lingered, even after a full night’s sleep. “Climbing stairs? Exhausting. Doing the shopping? A struggle. Walking my dog? It felt like running a marathon.”
Jorinde tried taking naps and scheduling breaks, but it barely made a difference. Her partner kept suggesting she should slow down. “But I wasn’t even that busy, was I? And come on, I wasn’t an old woman either.”
This made her symptoms even more perplexing. Jorinde had always been active and led a healthy lifestyle. She saw herself as a vibrant woman. “I understand that not everyone is equally fit at this age, but I really felt like I belonged in that category. So I couldn’t understand why I suddenly couldn’t do much anymore.”
I kept thinking: this doesn’t fit me. I live healthily, I exercise, I’m not an old woman. So why does my body feel so empty?
When Jorinde entered perimenopause, she expected her periods to become lighter. But the opposite happened. They became heavier, longer, and more painful. “Sometimes I lost so much blood that I was exhausted for days.”
Looking back, she realises those heavy periods played a significant role in her iron deficiency. At the time, she didn’t know that. “I thought this was just part of menopause, but it didn’t feel normal. My body kept getting drained, and I found it increasingly difficult to manage my daily life.”
That still frustrates her. “When I later learned that this could explain my iron deficiency, I thought: if only I had known earlier, I could have acted sooner. But hindsight is always 20/20.”
In addition to the fatigue, her concentration suffered. Jorinde forgot words, struggled with simple maths, and felt like her head was in a fog.
She vividly remembers a moment at the petrol station. “I was standing there and suddenly couldn’t remember my PIN code. You just want to sink into the ground from embarrassment.”
Her body also changed. Her hair became thinner, her nails brittle, and her skin dry and sometimes itchy. At night, she developed restless legs, which made her sleep even worse, especially combined with the hot flushes. “Everyone said: that’s just part of menopause. But deep down, I knew it was more than that.”
Standing at the petrol station, suddenly unable to remember your PIN code. I just wanted to sink into the ground from embarrassment.
Jorinde visited her doctor, who ordered extensive blood tests. “I thought: now they’ll find something, and we can fix it.” But according to the doctor, everything looked fine.
She went home without answers, feeling disappointed, especially since she had hoped for a solution. “You go there because you know something isn’t right. When nothing comes up, you feel even more powerless.”
The exhaustion persisted. Taking it easier didn’t help. Better planning didn’t help. Reducing her commitments wasn’t enough either. “I just felt: this isn’t just about being busy or my age. My body was missing something.”
The turning point came unexpectedly. Her best friend mentioned a podcast where a doctor discussed iron deficiency in women. “She said: this sounds exactly like you.”
At first, Jorinde was sceptical. “I remember thinking: well, surely my doctor would know about this?” Still, she listened to the episode that same evening. In the podcast, she learned that fatigue is often assessed by looking at haemoglobin (Hb), while ferritin shows how much iron is stored in the body.
That struck a chord. “Even if your Hb is still normal, you can still have a deficiency. And if your body has been dealing with that for a long time, it adapts. You just feel tired, even though you could actually function much better.”
Jorinde got goosebumps. “This was exactly what I had.”
At first, I thought: surely my doctor would know about this? But when I listened, I got goosebumps. This was about me.
The next day, Jorinde called her doctor back. She asked if her ferritin levels could also be tested. “My Hb had been fine before, so maybe that’s why it wasn’t considered. But I wanted to be sure.” The doctor agreed and ordered the test. When the results came back, her ferritin was extremely low.
It was both a relief and a source of frustration. “Finally, there was clarity. But I also thought: why didn’t anyone notice this earlier?”
For Jorinde, many things started to make sense: the heavy periods, the fatigue, the concentration issues, the hair loss, and the brain fog. “Only after learning this did I understand why I felt so terrible. It wasn’t just menopause or being busy. There was something else going on.”
The doctor prescribed iron tablets. At first, Jorinde was sceptical. She had tried so many things that she hardly dared to hope anymore. “But this felt different.”
Gradually, she noticed small improvements. Her breathing improved, her mind became clearer, and her energy started to return. Not overnight, because replenishing iron takes time. “It took weeks before I really felt a difference. But finally, something was happening.”
After a few months, she felt noticeably stronger. She could play with her granddaughter again without feeling completely drained afterwards. Her nails and hair improved, and her mind felt sharper. The heavy periods also had less of an impact on how she felt. “I just had more reserves. It was such a relief.”
I could play with my granddaughter again without feeling completely drained afterwards. It felt like I got a part of myself back.
Now that Jorinde is in menopause, the heavy, painful periods have stopped. That has brought her a lot of peace. She still takes iron twice a week, and her levels remain stable. “That’s also much easier on my stomach because taking iron every day caused significant constipation.”
She hopes there will be more awareness about iron deficiency in women, especially during menopause and perimenopause. However, she feels that symptoms are still too quickly dismissed under one umbrella. “Of course, menopause can cause a lot of changes. But that doesn’t mean everything you feel should just be accepted as part of it.”
Her advice to other women is simple: keep asking questions if you feel something isn’t right. Especially with heavy periods, extreme fatigue, hair loss, restless legs, or brain fog. “Ask about ferritin. Not because it’s always the cause, but because you want to know.”
Perhaps you recognise some of the symptoms in this story. Are you wondering if you might be in menopause? The menopause test can help provide more insight.
