Doctor wrote off my hair loss and dizziness as 'just being a tired mum'

"I couldn't really do anything more than the bare minimum in terms of looking after my kids. I'd put them down at seven and have to get straight into bed,"

"I also had other symptoms, like my hair was falling out. "I had a funny, metallic taste [in my mouth] all the time. I kept getting tongue ulcers as well and [experienced] breathlessness and dizziness. "I went to the doctor's a few times and every time was told, 'oh well, you're a mum of small children, what do you expect?' - but the level of exhaustion was just so intense,"

A woman experienced extreme exhaustion after giving birth to her second child, accompanied by hair loss, a metallic taste, tongue ulcers, breathlessness and dizziness. Multiple doctor visits initially resulted in dismissal until a blood test showed low ferritin and a diagnosis of iron deficiency. Iron deficiency affects around 8% of women and about 3% of men in the UK, with pregnancy a common cause. Symptoms include tiredness, dizziness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, paler skin and headaches; rarer signs include tinnitus, restless legs and hair loss. Oral iron tablets are the most common treatment, but some people cannot tolerate them.

Read at www.bbc.com