Is elevated Ferritin related to Restless Legs or something else?

[Maynan17]

Yesterday I had a blood test for ferritin and folate levels.

The results online with my patient record show that folate is normal and within parameters however my serum ferritin level is abnormal /above high reference limit and that I need to speak with doctor. I do have an F2F appointment already booked for end of March so will discuss then.

The reading is: 213 ug/L (13.0 - 150.0)

6 months ago when it was last checked it was 152 ug/L so quite a significant rise I feel and concerning.

I’m wondering if this might be relevant to my Restless Legs?

Any advice would be appreciated.

TIA

[SueJohnson]

That's not high at all. Mine was over 500 and my doctor just told me to stop taking iron For RLS values up to 200 or 300 are often suggested.

[Maynan17 in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you for your reassuring comments, though I am not taking any iron supplements .

[ChrisColumbus]

While guidelines on serum ferritin levels vary depending on who you talk to, the last printed NHS 'normal' ranges that I've seen quoted up to 300µg/l for men and post menopausal women, and up to 200µg/l for pre menopausal women. Another older female member in the UK was last week quoted up to 291 as normal, and a US source I looked at last week quoted up to 400 for men and 200 for women.

Temporary increases caused by supplementation, infusions or illness are also normal.

But female figures consistently much higher than 300 - particularly if continuing to increase without explanation - would need investigation: if your doctor is concerned they will arrange another test in a month or two to monitor the situation. If they don't say anything but you are concerned do mention it to them.

[SueJohnson in reply to ChrisColumbus]

The Mayo Clinic says for men 24 to 336 and for women 11 to 307.

[ChrisColumbus in reply to SueJohnson]

As I wrote above, different authorities and labs give different guidance.

The NHS figures I quoted above start at 15 for both sexes, and then differentiate between pre- and post-menopausal women; other NHS sources give a 400 maximum but are unclear whether there's a differentiation between the sexes.

While WebMD agrees with Mayo, The Cleveland Clinic writes: 'In general, the normal ferritin level ranges are: For people assigned female at birth: 14.7 to 205.1 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL); For people assigned male at birth: 30.3 to 565.7 ng/mL.'

SelfDecode Labs writes: 'Men: 30 – 400 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL); Women: 15 – 150 ng/mL; Children (6 months to 15 years): 7 – 140 ng/mL; Infants (1-5 months): 50 – 200 ng/mL'

Etc etc.

(BUT of course we know that the minimum numbers given in all ranges are too low for RLS sufferers!)

And, as I've quoted before, Oxford University Hospitals and other sources state that *temporary* figures up to 1000 are OK as long as the reason for elevation is known. It's extended elevations above normal levels without known cause that need investigation.

[ChrisColumbus in reply to ChrisColumbus]

(Of course µg/l, generally used in the UK, is the same as ng/ml)

[SueJohnson in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Crazy isn't it how different they all are. I just wanted to throw another one in the mix.

[Catbennie in reply to ChrisColumbus]

my ferritin level is 75.5 ug/L do you think I need to bump it up with iron supplements?

[Madlegs1]

As Sue and Chri have said, 300 is not high at all.

Each lab has its own range of " normal" and if your result comes outside their normal, they are obligated to throw up a warning flag.

Generally, doctors don't fuss about values up to 1000, especially if you have had some illness- any inflammation will cause a spike in ferritin reading.

However, continuous very high ferritin 1000+ over years ,can cause problems - joint inflammation, heart, liver etc and does need to be watched.

If you need to learn more about iron issues, then a very good site is the Iron Disorders Institute. More than you will ever want to know about excess iron.

BTW-- after a certain age, women (am I allowed to use that word?). Or Human persons born with a vagina will not continue to lose iron at monthly intervals, and so should consider donating blood on a regular basis ( in consultation with their doctor)

Good luck.

[SueJohnson in reply to Madlegs1]

I assume you mean post menopausal women who no longer have periods. If not, I would love to see your source for this.

[Madlegs1 in reply to SueJohnson]

You assume correctly.

I was attempting some form of political correctness.

People have been cancelled for less!😝

[HilsK]

Ferritin levels! Ah now here's a dilemma. We are talking about BRAIN ferritin not blood ferritin for causing increase in RLS symptoms. However as we cannot measure Brain ferritin they measure Blood serum Ferritin but this can relate to so many things. It increases natural and is a blood marker for any inflammatory response so if you have an infection it can increase. Mine has been as low as 7 and as high as 550 when I had COVID. IN both circumstances the severity of my RLS was constant.