Low iron but normal ferritin levels. Iron tablets?

[oceanred]

Hi. My symptoms of RLS have become noticeably worse in the last 9 months. I had my levels tested in March this year and my ferritin was 35 and my iron was 6.7. I was given an iron infusion which raised my ferritin to 172 and my iron to 8.1, which is still low (11 to 18 is normal). I noticed my RLS symptoms eased a bit, but now a couple of months later, my RLS symptoms are as bad as they've ever been. Is it possible to have RLS with a normal ferritin level but low iron level? I'm also anaemic so was wondering if I should go back on iron tablets again, even though my ferritin level was normal the last time it was checked a few months ago. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[DicCarlson]

As someone once said "There's more to this ain't there?"

Who ever heard of Lactoferrin? Well, I never had until the other day. Lactoferrin is a protein in the transferrin family and helps with iron absorption. Colostrum (first milk) from human mother's milk contains the highest amount followed by Colostrum Cow's milk and regular cow milk.

Basically Lactoferrin INCREASES the bio-availability of iron to various processes in the body and deprives it from harmful bacteria and parasites in the intestine. This bio-availability also has a sequestering effect for those with iron overload symptoms. This article is from 1985 but offers the best explanations.

life-enthusiast.com/article...

From what I read - Yes - Lactoferrin can bind with iron AND cross the blood brain barrier! Is this a mechanism to increase Brain Iron Concentrations - a leading cause of RLS? I can find absolutely NO mention of this as a therapy. It might be a good "experiment" for someone with high iron levels to try this.

Lactoferrin is available as a supplement. Or choose some high quality dairy products - grass fed yogurt is what I am using.

jarrow.com/products/lactofe...

Another article about Lactoferrin

allergyresearchgroup.com/bl...

[Wanman4 in reply to DicCarlson]

Here’s a website to buy the product in the study

bodybiotics.com/

[Wanman4 in reply to DicCarlson]

Also, this is a very good source of bioavailable Iron

perfectsupplements.com/Perf...

[Wanman4]

How many times and how often do you have to get Iron infusions? 🧐🧐

[oceanred in reply to Wanman4]

I have only had one infusion so far. It was a few months ago.

[Wanman4 in reply to oceanred]

Thanks! 😎

[intermk]

My ferritin/iron levels have been in the high normal my entire adult life yet I've had severe RLS for many years.

[LotteM in reply to intermk]

It happens. Which doesn't help you at all, but let me explain. Ferritin is an indicator for low brain iron, but not a particularly good one. As far as I understand, there are some transcranial magnetic methods to get an idea of brain iron in the area relevant for RLS, bit the best way is dissection. You don't want / can't have that while still alive. Ferritin levels and brain iron (from dissection studies) are correlated but far from 1 on 1. As always, there is a lot of individual difference.

Long story short: you may still have low brain iron while ferritin (indicator of body iron stores) is normal to high.