Serum Ferritin levels

[Hakeyhoo]

What is the recommended level for serum ferritin. I have recently had bloods checked as a routine before deciding whether to embark on HRT.

However the serum ferritin was 191, the GP said the high limit it 150 so I should stop taking Iron. My iron levels have always been low especially during pregnancy and I have not been able to donate blood . So this is weird and thing is I had only very recently started taking Spatone again - 1 sachet a day for about 4 days. This calmed my RLS massively so I am reluctant to stop but I also know too much iron is not necessarily a good thing. B12 was also very high but I take a multivitamin with high B12 so that’s was not a surprise. Any views greatly appreciated thank you.,

[Hidden]

There is evidence that the difference between somebody with RLS and somebody without it is that for the person with RLS to have the same level of iron in the brain as the non-RLS person the serum ferritin level needs to be at least 200ug/L.

You haven't quite reached that.

Your doctor is possibly worried about iron overload but unless you suffer from a condition called haemochromatosis it's virtually impossible to cause iron overload by taking oral iron.

Iron isn't normally found in it's "free" form in the body, it's either stored as ferritin or it's transported by transferrin. It will only be found in its free form if there isn't enough transferrin to transport it. This is indicated by the "transferrin saturation" level. A high saturation means that iron is more likely to be "freed".

However, normally the body has a mechanism for preventing iron overload in that depending on ferritin/transferrin when iron is ingested and some absorbed a hormone called hepcidin is released and this prevents any more iron being absorbed. This is therefore a self-limiting mechanism - you can't overload.

Furthermore because of the hepcidin mechanism, if your ferritin is above 75ug/L taking oral iron is probabaly not really going to make much difference. Normally then. there is little point in taking oral iron once ferritin is over 100ug/L. To raise it higher it usually requires an IV iron infusion which bypasses the hepcidin mechanism.

Some RLS experts apparently recommend a ferritin level of 300ug/L or more.

It's really great that you've managed to raise your ferritin to 191 by taking oral iron. It isn't too much.

Continuing to take it is unlikely to raise your ferritin higher. However, if you stop taking it, your ferritin may fall again. You may chose to continue taking it just to maintain the level.

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Oral iron is more effective if you take it alternate days NOT every day.

Taking vitamin B12 is proabably of no value if you have no deficiency.

[bluteco in reply to Hidden]

Can taking a lot of vitamin C like 6000 mg a day have raised my ferritin level?

[LotteM in reply to bluteco]

No. Not by itself. Only if you've also taken an iron supplement.

[Hidden in reply to bluteco]

You can only raise your ferritin level by taking iron. It's not just iron supplements, if you are taking vitamin C with a meal, it will help you absorb any iron that's in the meal.

However, there would have to be a lot of iron in the meal and you would have to take some vitamin C at the same time.

I don't think taking a higher amount of vit C will make much difference, what might make more of a difference is how much iron you take.

There's no iron in vit C!

[Madlegs1]

191 is not a high level of ferritin. It can go up to a 1000 before cause for real concern.

Ferritin levels can be caused by inflammation- severe sickness, so no need to panic.

If the higher ferritin is calming the RLS ,then great. If you are taking iron supplements, then you could ease off if the effect is adequate. But you could continue if you think it's going to be more effective.

Good luck.

[Joolsg]

I agree with Manerva and Madlegs. Keep taking the iron supplements as they’re helping your RLS.

[DicCarlson]

Here is a link to explore iron tests a little deeper. % Saturation can also be an issue. Also, I would get retested soon and do it fasting in AM - apparently that can make a difference. Iron supplements ELIMINATED my severe RLS. bloodtestsresults.com/iron-...

[Hakeyhoo]

Thanks everyone for helpful replies. I shall continue with Iron every other day as recommended by Manerva. Also I am sceptical my Ferritin is that high and wonder if it’s elevated by some sort of inflammation as I have not been feeling great , aching all over but had put it down to lack of sleep.