Restless Legs, Pregnancy, and Iron: What I Wish I’d Known

Apparently, you need iron during pregnancy. I didn’t have any much, so this is what we did about it.

A few weeks ago, I started dealing with horrible restless legs. It was keeping me up until 3, 4, even 5 a.m. I had just changed my psychotropic medications, decreasing Prozac and increasing Lamotrigine while coming off Clonidine for pregnancy. So, when the sleepless nights started, I assumed the Lamotrigine was to blame.

I reached out to my reproductive psychiatrist and said, “Hey, I think this medication is keeping me up at night. What should I do?”

When I described the restless legs, she said, without hesitation, “I think you have low iron.”

For context, the test you need isn’t just “iron” — it’s ferritin, which measures your stored iron levels. My LabCorp panel said anything below 11 ng/mL was too low. Mine was 9.

But here’s the thing: my psychiatrist explained that those “normal” ranges are often based on men’s values, and that during pregnancy, she prefers to see ferritin around 75.

She recommended I get iron infusions. Infusions are usually given through hematology, which is a subspecialty of oncology. Healthy patients are understandably a lower priority compared to those undergoing cancer treatment, so scheduling can be tricky.

But I got lucky. My psychiatrist referred me to Virginia Cancer Specialists, and they were wonderful. I had my first of five iron infusions yesterday. I haven’t noticed a huge change yet (it usually takes a few days), but I’m hopeful. Even just knowing why my legs were restless made me feel more at ease. I’m so grateful to my psychiatrist for her insight and referral.

My reproductive psychiatrist mentioned that ferritin often gets overlooked because it’s such a “low-hanging fruit” lab. But when you’re pregnant (or not), it can make a world of difference.

To the moms out there: you shouldn’t have to suffer through restless nights without answers. If you’re not feeling right, trust that instinct and ask questions. It might lead to something small but meaningful, like this did for me.

Huge thanks to the team at Virginia Cancer Specialists for making the infusion process smooth and accessible.

And to anyone reading this who’s up late, kicking their legs, wondering what’s wrong: you’re not alone!

(Always talk with your healthcare provider before starting or changing any medications or treatments.)