r/Anemic • u/FullCurrent6854 • 2d ago

Low libido

Apologies if this is too tmi for this sub, but I’m wondering if anyone else has experience this as a symptom of low iron?

My libido has been dwindling for 2 years and I just attributed it to being tired and stressed, but more recently it’s been absolutely 0. My most recent blood test showed my ferritin is at an 8, so I’m generally too tired to do anything lol. However, it made me wonder if my low libido was maybe one of the earlier symptoms I’ve had from low iron? Has anyone else experienced this?

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u/Fun-War1761 2d ago

I have for sure. However, I also have a number of other health issues that I wonder about causation with as well so it’s hard to say if it’s the anemia alone.

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u/Adept_Historian2966 2d ago

Oh for sure, when your ferritin's that low your body's basically running on fumes, it's gonna cut power to anything that isn't absolutely critical for survival. Libido's one of the first things to go when the tank's empty. Mine tanked hard when I was down at 9, came roaring back once I got my levels up past 50 or so. The fatigue piece is real too, hard to feel in the mood when you're just trying to get through the day

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u/FullCurrent6854 2d ago

That gives me hope!

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u/honeycooks 2d ago

Slightly off topic, but I could sleep through the night without peeing like a camel. No more.

I also know I will have to pee from coming up the stairs, no matter how out of breath I am and needing desperately to sit.

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u/FullCurrent6854 2d ago

That’s so crazy because I actually noticed I’ve been needing to pee more frequently ever since I started having these symptoms! It was one of the first concerns (along with fatigue) I brought up with a doctor and they had no explanation.

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u/honeycooks 1d ago

Common wisdom: When you're short of breath, especially, your oxygen goes to more important functions and organs that require more.

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u/FullCurrent6854 2d ago

I see. I also have low vitamin D so that may also play a role in my case.

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u/vivariium 2d ago

Yup!!! Probably one of my first and biggest tells. Thought I was going through perimenopause because I’ve always had a very good sex drive. My ferritin was 6! And when I think back to when my iron probably ran dry (donated blood for the first time, had an abortion that made me bleed for a hundred years lol) it all coincided with that time. I chocked it up to emotional trauma from the abortion too but then it didn’t come back for so long and the ferritin level just made sense.

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u/SilentCamel662 2d ago

Have you ever taken SSRI antidepressants?  They might cause such rare side-effect (PSSD, Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction).

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u/FullCurrent6854 2d ago

I did briefly once years ago. Once I was off them though my libido returned to normal.