All, wanting to see if anyone on this board has experience with low iron levels and your experience in trying to restore them to a normal balance with iron supplements.

I'm a 34 year old male, good shape, regular runner. I was turned away from donating blood a few weeks ago, and had noticed an impact in my endurance on my runs lately (having to run slower to keep heart rate down), so I went and got blood work done last Thursday. The results definitely paint a picture of a problem (Total iron: 36, Iron Binding Capacity: 434, % Saturation: 8, Ferritin: 6). Most of everything else came back in normal range, including hemoglobin/hematocrit. I have a follow-up with the doc tomorrow to discuss next steps.

I suspect my long term use of Omeprazole (PPI) may be impacting iron absorption based on some cursory research. I don't believe my diet is contributing here, as I get plenty of meat/protein.

Anyone have experience here on utilizing an iron supplement to try to get these values in normal ranges? Bonus points if you have PPI use history.

I'm guessing he/she will have you start on ferrous sulfate (common OTC iron supplement) and probably recheck your levels in 3+ months. Yes, long term use of PPIs can cause iron deficiency anemia. They may see if you can keep your reflux symptoms at bay with an H2 blocker like Pepcid as opposed to the PPI.

Unlikely that you've got some unknown bleed, but that can be a cause of iron deficiency anemia. That's for your doc to discuss.