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

After several visits to her doctor, Rose requested a blood test which showed low levels of the protein ferritin.

While Rose's first doctor initially dismissed her ferritin levels as, in her words, "not being that low", she managed to see another doctor who eventually gave her a diagnosis - iron deficiency.

It's a relatively common problem, especially in women. Around 8% of women have it, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, while far fewer men are affected – only 3% in the UK.

Pregnancy - like Rose had just experienced - is a common cause.

Rose's symptoms - tiredness, dizziness and tongue ulcers - are just some of the things to look out for.

Other common symptoms can include shortness of breath, heart palpitations, paler than usual skin and headaches, while some people could experience rarer symptoms like tinnitus, restless legs syndrome and hair loss.

For her deficiency, Rose was initially prescribed iron tablets - the most common form of treatment - but, despite trying three different ones, found none of them agreed with her.

Dr Sue Pavord, a consultant haematologist at NHS Hospitals Oxford, says taking iron tablets first thing in the morning on an empty stomach with a glass of water or some Vitamin C is the best approach - otherwise you risk them not working effectively.

After she responded badly to tablets, Rose's doctor referred her for an iron infusion - a way of quickly getting iron into your bloodstream.

This can be "transformative for women with severe deficiency", Dr Pavord says, but she also stresses that tablets can work "extremely well" so it's important to try them first.

But what you eat can also help limit your risk of becoming iron deficient in the first place, according to Dr Pavord.

She suggests foods which contain absorbable iron like red meat, chicken, liver and fish.

Vegetables like spinach, kale and broccoli also contain iron, but the body doesn't absorb it from these sources as effectively as meat.

Two-and-a-half months on from her infusion, Rose says she feels like "a completely different person".

"I can do stuff. Initially it was just like getting to the end of the day and being like, right, we can sit and watch some TV or being able to get up with the kids in the morning and not feeling like I was dying."