What iron supplement for low ferritin but normal iron?

[75458854]

My ferritin is scraping the range and is just in range but I feel like a supplement is necessary, I'm just not sure of what dose and what type of iron to use.

[helvella]

You might find something of interest in my document:

dropbox.com/s/g8y4e7alm5ow0...

[75458854 in reply to helvella]

Thankyou it is very helpful I think I may have to get some ferrous fumurate unless you have any better suggestions

[BadHare in reply to 75458854]

Ferrous fumarate is an industrial biproduct, & not good for digestion. I felt better for swapping to iron sulphate which is cheap, or you can ask your GP to prescribe it. Make sure to take it away from calcium & tannin containing food & drink, & with vitamin C for better absorption. I take mine with fruit a few hours after lunch, & well before dinner.

My ferritin was a little low, so I add a small dose of bisglycinate on days I don't eat a lot of iron rich foods as I'm vegetarian, aside from meds. Animal based haem iron is supposed to be better absorbed if you don't mnd that. I don't eat a lot of grains regularly, & swapped to wholegrain sourdough bread a few times a week for lower phytate content as phytic acid reduces mineral absorption.

[fbirder in reply to helvella]

helvella

You might like to add some information about solubility.

Iron needs to be in solution to be absorbed. It dissolves best in acidic conditions, so people with low stomach acid are more likely to have problems absorbing iron.

Inorganic iron (like iron sulfate) doesn’t dissolve well, even with normal stomach acidity. It can be helped by forming a chelate (where organic molecules surround the iron atom). Citric acid and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) are good chelating agents that help the absorption of inorganic iron.

Supplements that come ready-chelated (with glucose, fumarate, bisglycinate) don’t need citric and ascorbic acids to be absorbed. They should be much better that iron sulfate (which is prescribed because it’s cheap).

[deniseinmilden in reply to fbirder]

Good advice: thank you. It also pays to avoid calcium when you take it.

[75458854 in reply to fbirder]

What dose of ferrous fumurate should I take?

[clivealive Forum Support]

Have a word with your local pharmacist for advice. Has your doctor not prescribed or recommended anything?

[75458854 in reply to clivealive]

Nope because I'm still "In range" despite it being low

[dinadina]

I had low ferritin iron -- in the 20s. I tried iron supplements and my ferritin level went even lower! I am celiac and health foods aren't usually fortified with iron. I started eating Whole Grain Cheerios. They are the only Cheerios that have 100 percent daily requirement of iron. Sounds silly, but after eating them for breakfast every day without taking iron supplements, my ferritin went in the 50s. Whole Grain Cheerios really worked for me!

[Quigley2005 in reply to dinadina]

How can you eat cheerios if you are coeliac? Made with wheat?

[75458854]

Can anyone tell me what dose of ferrous fumurate I should be taking to boost my ferritin levels

[75458854]

I have some ferrous fumurate but don't want iron overload but nobody is answering my question about what dose to take

[Annnon58]

My husbands ferritin level dropped from 88 to 33 in a short time after he was told by gastroenterologist to stop taking ferrous fumerate due to chronic constipation , . He has recently been prescribed them again and he takes 1 tablet in the morning and one in the evening with fresh oraange juice ( not from concentrate ) containing vit C , his dose of F F is 210 mg per tablet . You could ask your gP to prescribe them if your ferritin level is dropping , but you’ll need to be careful your level doesn’t get too high . Good luck

[75458854 in reply to Annnon58]

Thankyou I will try 2 210mg tablets a day thankyou

[esteloca]

Hi I've been down a long road with low iron and ferritin. My new Dr got my iron up with 2 Feraheme infusions (I've had dozens of other iron infusions because my old Dr never realized I have CD & PA) however my ferritin was still low.

New doc as I'd be fine but I got on the Feraheme website and read that the goal of iron therapy is to get both iron AND ferritin up etc etc .... Anyway I took this info and showed my new Dr. She ordered 2 more infusions & finally my ferritin is up over 100 for the 1st time in over 7 years. My iron only went up a little bit and is still within normal range.

So in my situation, my body used the iron like it was supposed to and stored it. Proving, imo, that treatment needs to continue until both are raised.

Also some Drs don't even know that literature on this topic has changed since they got their degrees!! We now know that our bodies run off of what we call our "iron stores" aka ferritin. Not the other way around!!

Hope this helps!!

[esteloca]

Just be sure you keep getting checked if you go at it alone but hopefully you can get a Dr on board to get your ferritin up!!