Iron Deficiency, Fatigue, and Hijāmah: What Most Women Aren’t Told

For me, one of the clearest signs is ice. When I find myself constantly craving it, chewing it without even realizing I know my iron is low. It’s become one of those quiet signals that tells me it’s time to tighten my routine and take myself seriously again.

My struggle with iron deficiency began after my first child. At the time, my levels were low enough that a blood transfusion was recommended. I remember how heavy that moment felt. I was young, postpartum, and afraid. I chose to move forward with supplements and iron-rich foods instead, doing the best I could with what I understood then.

I’ve also never been someone who naturally leans toward pharmaceutical solutions. Part of that comes from my upbringing, and part of it if I’m honest comes from those commercials many of us grew up watching. You know the ones. The commercial would show people laughing, hiking, living their best lives… and then, right at the end, a calm voice would start listing side effects: may cause heart attack, stroke, organ failure, and a long list of other terrifying possibilities.

I remember thinking, Wait a minute… I thought they were just treating a stomach ache. Now suddenly the medicine itself sounded more dangerous than the original problem.

I know many of you remember those commercials too.

That early exposure shaped how I approached my health. It made me cautious maybe even overly cautious at times. And to be clear, pharmaceutical medications absolutely have their place and can be life-saving when used appropriately. This isn’t about rejecting medicine; it’s about understanding my own comfort level, my history, and the choices I felt capable of making at that stage of my life.

So I chose a slower path. Supplements. Iron-rich foods. Learning my body’s cues. And over time, learning when to tighten my routine and when to seek more support.

Eventually, I learned something that many women are never clearly told: iron deficiency isn’t the same as anemia. It exists on a spectrum. You can feel deeply exhausted, lightheaded, short of breath, or notice hair thinning and heart palpitations even when your hemoglobin is technically “normal.” Low ferritin, which reflects iron stores, often shows up long before anemia does, and it’s incredibly common in women.

When iron first begins to drop, it doesn’t immediately affect hemoglobin. Instead, the body quietly dips into its reserves. Ferritin your iron storage starts to fall, even while bloodwork still looks “normal.” This is often the stage where women feel tired in a way they can’t explain. Energy feels inconsistent. Focus becomes harder. Cravings, like chewing ice, begin to appear. But because hemoglobin hasn’t changed yet, many are reassured that everything looks fine.

As time goes on, and those iron stores continue to empty, the body has less iron available to work with day to day. Circulating iron drops. Fatigue deepens. Dizziness may come and go. Shortness of breath becomes more noticeable with effort. At this point, the body is compensating, but it’s doing so under strain. Some labs may start to shift, but not always enough to raise concern.

Eventually, if depletion continues, the body can no longer keep up. Hemoglobin drops, and iron-deficiency anemia develops. This is often when symptoms become impossible to ignore persistent exhaustion, palpitations, headaches, breathlessness even at rest. Iron deficiency finally has a name, even though the body has been signaling for quite some time.

Some women are told hijāmah will fix their fatigue. Others are warned to avoid it completely. The truth sits somewhere in between. Hijāmah does not replace iron intake, and it does not correct a nutritional deficiency on its own. When iron stores are critically low, hijāmah is something I advise waiting on. A body that is already struggling to carry oxygen needs support and rebuilding first. There is wisdom in pausing.

At the same time, hijāmah can play a supportive role when it’s used appropriately. By improving circulation and oxygen delivery, reducing chronic inflammation, and supporting detox pathways that can interfere with nutrient absorption, hijāmah often helps relieve the heaviness and fatigue that come from long-standing stagnation and stress. It’s not a cure, but it can be a meaningful companion in the healing process once the foundation is in place.

This is especially important for women and mothers. We are often conditioned to normalize depletion. Fatigue becomes expected. Symptoms become background noise. But craving ice, constant exhaustion, dizziness, and breathlessness are not personality traits they are messages. And we have to learn how to recognize and listen to them.

Women’s bodies move through cycles of depletion and replenishment. Constantly pushing through fatigue is not strength it’s a warning sign.

Hijāmah is a powerful Sunnah-based therapy, but like all healing tools, it must be used with wisdom. Healing is not about doing more. It’s about doing what’s right for your body, at the right time.