Hi everyone,Firstly thank you for all the fantastic advice on this forum.
I've got a Serum Ferritin level of 308ng/ml (my GP was concerned that this was a bit too high), Transferrin Saturation of 31% but a Serum Transferrin level of 2.3g/L.
Please can you give me your thoughts on this & am I looking at the right things for my RLS?
That's not too high. Mine was 559. All my doctor did was tell me to stop taking my iron tablets.
Thanks Sue, is my Transferrin level really low though?
No - Normal values would be 2.0 - 3.0 g/L.
Some doctors freak out when the figure gets over 300 because that's the top of their 'normal' range. But guidance in the GP Notebook states "elevations of SF in the range 300-1000 µg/L are common, and often reflect the presence of the previously listed conditions such as diabetes, obesity or chronic alcohol consumption....mild elevations below 1000 µg/L are 'tolerable' and in the absence of hereditary haemochromatosis, the risk of hepatic iron overload is exceedingly low....specialist review is mandatory if SF exceeds 1000 µg/L due to the increased risk of fibrosis and cirrhosis above this threshold"
Thank you everyone, so it doesn't look like iron is the cause of my RLS.
Iron was never my issue either. It was only when I was recommended to try magnesium citrate that I made real progress, capped by the discovery that too much sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine could still trigger my RLS....
Unfortunately, we're all different - many people get no relief from magnesium and have other triggers. I presume that you're not on statins?
Hi, my ferritin level is consistently over 370 and saturation 43% this is considered high. I do not have the hereditary gene and liver scan was normal which is their main concern. My GP has said I most likely have a form of Heamochromatosis but not the type that can damage your organs so they will keep an eye on it. You must avoid taking iron supplements though.
As I mentioned above mine was 559 and all my doctor said was to stop taking iron. Many people with RLS try to get it over 300 and even 400. Dr Buchfuhrer said "some patients need to get their ferritin levels above 200-300 in order to drive enough iron into the brain" And above 45% transferrin saturation is usually when they start to look at whether it is too high.
My ferritin level also has remained high after an iron infusion 2 yrs ago. My hematologist said not to worry when all other indexes are normal. He attributes higher ferritin levels (when no other medical condition can be found) to inflammation. He says ferritin is a secondary acute phase inflammatory marker and will often be high in the presence of anything that causes inflammation. Arthritis for example. He also made the comment that ferritin is not a reflection of the amount of stored iron in the organs. My doctor said the same as Sue's in that he said to not take iron supplements.
Iron and Ferritin status is a very confusing metric. Here is a good resource on all the numbers and a chart by age.
bloodtestsresults.com/iron-...
Also an article that explains possible causes of high Ferritin with normal iron metrics.
The outcome of my infusion, and a question
Ferritin levels
Ferritin and TSI results.
Iron Readings
Serum Ferritin levels
