Iron & vitamin deficiency guide

Iron, vitamin D, and B12 deficiency treatment online in Virginia and West Virginia

This guide is for treating iron, vitamin D, or B12 deficiency confirmed by your own lab result. Iron deficiency in an adult man or a postmenopausal woman always requires a referral for a GI-bleed workup alongside treatment, since it's rarely explained by diet alone in these groups.

Start online

Start a $59 online review for Iron, vitamin D & B12 deficiency.

If a recent lab test shows you're low in iron, vitamin D, or B12, online review can often start the right supplement quickly — using dosing strategies (like every-other-day iron, or high-dose oral B12) that work as well as older approaches with fewer side effects. Iron deficiency deserves a closer look in certain patients: in an adult man or a woman past menopause, it's often a sign of slow blood loss somewhere in the digestive tract, so a referral for a GI-bleed workup is always part of the plan.

If treatment is appropriate, your physician can send a non-controlled prescription to your pharmacy and provide portal instructions for the next step.

Start this visit See response windows

Quick facts

You must be physically in Virginia and West Virginia at the time of request
Starts at $59
No insurance needed
No app download
Physician review around the clock
Non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy when appropriate
A work or school note can be included when medically appropriate
Response windows: 24/7, every day

Common symptoms

Fatigue, weakness, or feeling unusually tired
A lab result showing low iron/ferritin, low vitamin D, or low B12
Hair loss or brittle nails (sometimes associated with iron deficiency)
Numbness, tingling, or balance problems (sometimes associated with B12 deficiency)

May fit online care

Adults 18 and older
A photo of a lab result showing iron, vitamin D, or B12 deficiency
No chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, or a hemoglobin under 8
Willingness to complete a GI-bleed workup referral if you're an adult man or postmenopausal woman with iron deficiency

Look for another care setting

No lab result showing the deficiency
Chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, or a very low hemoglobin (these need urgent/ER care)
Severe neurologic symptoms needing immediate in-person evaluation rather than online treatment

What to have ready

A clear photo of your lab report showing the specific deficiency and value(s)
Whether you are an adult man or a woman who has gone through menopause (for iron deficiency)
Any numbness, tingling, balance problems, or memory changes (for B12 deficiency)
A history of celiac disease or bariatric/weight-loss surgery, if applicable

What happens next

Standard

$59

Within 6 hours

Priority

$99

Within 3 hours

Rush

$149

Within 1 hour

Start the request on the website, answer the fit questions, and choose the response window you want. If the concern still fits this service, a physician reviews it and sends a secure update after sign-in. When appropriate, non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy, and a basic work or school note can be included at physician discretion.

Your physician

Every visit is personally reviewed by Ankur Fadia, MD — board-certified, cardiology-fellowship-trained, and Alpha Omega Alpha. Recognized with the Act Fast Award for the fastest physician stroke-treatment times (2019–2022) and as the most efficient, highest-rated physician in the HCA LewisGale Alleghany emergency department (2018). Licensed in Virginia and West Virginia — your care is never handed off.

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Why do men and postmenopausal women with iron deficiency need a GI-bleed workup?

Iron deficiency in adult men and postmenopausal women is much less commonly explained by diet or blood loss from periods, so it's often a sign of slow, sometimes invisible blood loss in the digestive tract — which can have a range of causes that need to be identified with a colonoscopy and/or upper endoscopy. We can treat the deficiency itself while this workup is being arranged, but the referral is always given.

Why every-other-day iron instead of daily?

Research shows that taking iron every other day, rather than every day, actually improves how much iron your body absorbs while causing fewer stomach side effects like constipation and nausea — it's now considered the preferred approach for most people with iron deficiency.

Is oral B12 as good as a B12 shot?

For most people, a high enough dose of oral B12 (1,000 mcg daily) is absorbed well enough to be just as effective as an injection, since the body has a backup absorption pathway that works even without normal intestinal uptake. Some situations — like significant nerve symptoms or certain absorption problems — may still call for closer follow-up or injectable therapy.