Ferritin 17. Type of iron supplement do you use and how do you take it

[Kmoore464]

Does 17 seem really low. What is best way to bring it up

[Lapsedrunner]

Yes, very low...you’re aiming for over 100!

Lots of us here like iron bisglycinate every other day (found to work better than daily) on an empty stomach with fruit juice (for vitamin C)

It could make a lot of difference!

[Kmoore464 in reply to Lapsedrunner]

Thanks for the information

[Hidden in reply to Kmoore464]

I think every day for a bit will bring it up faster. 17 is quite low so your body should be happy to absorb iron reasonably easily for a while till ferritin gets to levels which are normal for folk who don’t have RLS. I think it’s when we’re trying to get above ‘normal’ but what we RLS folk need that every 2nd day works best to encourage body to absorb more

[LotteM]

I second Lapsedrunner.

[Parminter]

Kmoore, that is the very bottom of the iron ocean.

Take a supplement as Lapsedrunner suggests, but also stuff yourself full of iron-rich foods. Liver, leafy greens, legumes ground sesame, beef, oats, quinoa, prunes etc etc. And add lots of Vitamin C rich foods to help absorption. Ask Mister Google.

Check your ferritin level in three months, at the same time of day. If it has not shifted then you may have an iron absorption problem and IV iron would be indicated.

Tell your doctor what you are doing so that he is 'on board' if you need the latter. Keep an iron diary so that you have evidence of your efforts.

I am old enough to remember the days when one ate liver and prunes at least once or twice a week, because mothers knew best.

hopkinsmedicine.org/neurolo...

There is a good section on iron in this article.

rls.org/file/understanding-...

[Graham3196 in reply to Parminter]

From what I have been told and read there is no point in trying to take iron supplements to find out if they work. It might take a year to get your iron to 100 so thats a year of your life wasted walking around like a zombi and probably losing your job. How sad if you really need 150 to be healthy and you never find it out. Every RLS patient should get an iron infusion if the rest of their body is healthy. Of course at the community expense because we all lose if one of us is crook!

[Parminter in reply to Graham3196]

I agree Graham, entirely.

But one might at least discover whether or not one can absorb the stuff at all, then take the evidence to your doctor.

I was lucky enough to have GP who was entirely happy to give me an IV infusion in his rooms, without fuss, but the testimony of many/most people on this site shows that very few doctors are like that. In fact they seem to be terrified of the whole thing, as well as pig-ignorant.

I am in favour of gathering ammunition, then firing it!

[Hidden]

Yes, 17 is very low. If you are female, normal is between 12 and 150. You need to bring yours up to 100. I take SlowFe because it is a slow release tablet and causes fewer GI upsets. Take first thing in the morning with orange juice (it needs acid to absorb properly).

[Antstarr]

Is it possible to have a normal hemoglobin and low ferritin and still be iron anaemic ? Thanks

[RLSgirl]

this was recommended to me by a natural pathy. she said it seemed to be particularlly good for raising Iron store (Feritin) levels. I've been taking ti for 4 mo. (2 pills at bedtime with a vitamin C - I use Rose Hips for my Vitamin C source.)

I just got my levels checked again. it did go up form 45 to 60 in the course of 4 mo. so I think it is a good one.

Standard Process is the brand and it is called Ferrofood 4375.

[Graham3196]

In a round about way you are lucky. You are genuinly anemic with no arguenents this .means almost any doctor worth their salt will prescribe an immediate intra venous (IV) iron infusion. The other promising aspect is that it is very likly that the low ferritin is the cause of your RLS. in other words you can easily get an iron infusion and an iron infusion is very likely to fix you. You target should be about 350. Anything less than 350 leaves open some doubt if you dont get some relief. If you got to 100 and still had RLS you would always wish the doctor had done the job properly a nd it might be a lot more difficult to get any doctor to agree to a second infusion.

An infusion is far and away the best path for you provided your doctor cant see any other problems with important bits like your liver and heart

If your doctor resists an infusion get another doctor

Supplements help some people but mostly you will just suffer for an extra year or two and you might never get high enough ferritin to drive away the RLS

It must be said that there is no guarantee that an iron infusion will help

I think everyone else is jealous of you.

[marsha2306]

Go to Johns Hopkins RLS Iron and watch the video of Dr. Christopher Early about the role iron plays in RLS and particularly about iron infusions. He is one of the leading RLS specialists in the world.