low ferritin

[Sunshine3232]

my ferritin results is 6 it’s dropped from being 20+ I collapsed last Friday and rushed to hospital,my brain scan was clear,but my bp was 207/104 my haemaglobin was ok,but I’ve felt dreadful, for months,my low ferritin has been overlooked .???? I’m at a loss

[pitney]

hope you feel better soon👍

[Sunshine3232 in reply to pitney]

Thank you xx

[Nackapan]

Sorry to hear of your collapse. Glad brain scan was clear .

Hoping regular bloods are done .

My daughters ferritin was 9 at one point .

Also ignored 🙁

I know everything is looked at together but odd medics felt it of no significance

Seems very linked with heart irregularities and B.p.

Hers kept dropping suddenly causing a collapse.

Hope you Improve very soon.

[Regenallotment]

Over on the Thyroid forum quite a few of us have benefited from taking three Arrows Simply Heme iron supplement.

Heme iron is absorbed better than ferrous fumarate and other forms of iron. It raised my Ferritin into normal range in 3 months.

As I have fibroids and heavy bleeding I now raise and lower my dose through my cycle .

Also in my search for info I found that iron tablets are not absorbed properly if you drink tea coffee herbal tea cocoa within and hour before and two hours after taking. Same with eating chocolate.

I’ve also tried the liver twice a week diet, eat tonnes of kale etc but the absolute best solution for me was Three Arrows.

🌱

[MrsTuft]

You urgently need iron - ferritin lower than 30 is deficient. Presumably they’re treating and reviewing your BP?

[Sunshine3232 in reply to MrsTuft]

O just me keeping eye on blood pressure,was 207/104 when in hospital,they weren’t interested in my ferritin levels as my hmg was ok!!!!! I wasn’t,was told to go back id dizziness doesn’t get any better,but I haven’t,but I have got my iron infusion on Thursday,so that’s a plus,just don’t know where the bleeding must be from,I’m of menopause age, so I don’t know. Thank you for your reply to me.

[MrsTuft in reply to Sunshine3232]

Monitor your BP. If it’s still high you need urgent treatment. I’m not surprised they’re not interested in ferritin but it’s good you have your infusion. You can be anaemic from malabsorption as much as from bleeding. As you’re on a b12 forum I guess you’re having injections which can use up iron too. I’m anaemic as I have coeliac disease.

[Orchard33]

Your very low ferritin indicates that your iron stores are very depleted. This iron deficiency may not show up in your blood count. It indicates that you are ferritin deficient without anaemia, an increasingly recognised specific condition which is poorly diagnosed. I would encourage you to take heme iron and, as indicated below, Three Arrows is very effective.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

Glad your scan was clear.

Have you had other iron tests?

labtestsonline.org.uk/tests...

NICE (National Institute of Health and Care Excellence) have published guidance on iron deficiency.

Search for "NICE CKS Anaemia - Iron deficiency" to find it.

Patient Info article - Non Anaemic Iron Deficiency

This article is aimed at doctors.

It may have some details that could be upsetting to read.

patient.info/doctor/non-ana...

I'm not medically trained.

[Rexz]

If you have PA/AIG then you've then inflammation of your gastric mucosa and quite possibly low stomach acid. If you're taking a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) you may want to have a conversation with your GP and possibly wean yourself from this treatment.

Low/no gastric acid causes malabsorption of iron, amongst other micronutrients. An indirect way to check gastric acidity levels is to have your serum Gastrin tested. If is is very high above normal and you've PA/AIG then you most likely have low gastric acid and your iron is actually low even though your GP will look at it and say well your WBC and Hemoglobin look fine so you do not have iron deficiency anemia. With AIG you've got chronic inflammation going on and you've a double whammy condition firstly your body is sequestering (making it unavailable) your iron to help fight the inflammation much like it would do to fight a virus or bacterial infection. secondly, your body is not able to properly absorb dietary iron. Therefore Ferritin is not a valid marker for those with AIG. you need to have a complete iron panel run. which includes Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC), Unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC), Iron, Iron Saturation, in addition to Ferritin. Your Ferritin level should be kept above 100 ng/mL. This may require occasional iron infusions.

See my post on Iron Deficiency Without Anemia (IDWA). Here there is information you can use to "maybe" convince your GP to at least run the full iron panel test.

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po...

Rexz

[FlipperTD]

Scientist, not medic.

Please be aware that Iron Deficiency is a symptom of something else. It takes a smart cookie to work out what this something is. That's where your GP should start.

Likewise, BP: one reading in hospital can confuse, due to White Coat Syndrome. Home testing when relaxed can be more revealing. Your GP can arrange a monitor you wear for 24/48 hours, and that's more meaningful too.

Good luck.