Best way to get feritin up quickly?

[MidnightBlue]

Hi, thanks to the information I have found on this site I asked for some blood tests, and it turns out I am a little low in calcium, but I was very worried by how low I was in feritin

11 (15 -150). I have hashimotos, and am now on 100 mg of thyroxine. I have been feeling unwell, and so had my antibodies checked too, and was very disappointed to see they were high (after having come down to normal). Could the low feritin cause the anti bodies to increase? How do I get feritin up quickly? I have started taking 20 mg 'gentle iron' with a vit c tablet. Sorry for spelling of feritin, it doesn't look right but it is late and I am too tired to google the word! Thanks for any advice.

[Inna]

Hi, MidnightBlue. Your ferritin is pretty low, however, raising it quickly is not safe. It takes months, sometimes years of iron supplementation in order to raise ferritin levels. For me, 3 months of supplementation raised my level from 27 to 43.

[MidnightBlue in reply to Inna]

Thanks, could I ask how much iron you took? Do you think 20 mg a day is enough?

[Inna in reply to MidnightBlue]

Hematologist prescribed 50-70 mg depending on how well I'm tolerating it. Am taking 50 mg + 18 mg in a multivit. daily. Plus 1g Vit C for better absorbtion. The dose also depends on the form of the iron supplement you are using. Some absorb better.

[gabkad in reply to Inna]

Inna, if you eat meat, then eat liver, lots of beef steak. That stuff boosts ferritin way better than any pill. If you don't like the stuff, then yes, it takes a long time to get ferritin to rise with pills.

Heme iron is the best absorbed. There are expensive iron supplements on the market that contain heme iron. They are at least 4 or 5 times as expensive as the other ones. Proferrin contains heme iron. medicinenet.com/heme_iron_p...

Queen Elizabeth I ate a pound of beefsteak for breakfast. It must have contributed to her being one of the most powerful warlords in history. She washed it down with a pint of beer. What a way to start the day! LOL.

[Inna in reply to gabkad]

Thanks, gabkad. I do eat meat, but read meat is rare for me - not a big fan. So my only option is supplementation.

[gabkad in reply to Inna]

Then one of the products like Proferrin will give you the best results. Just it's more expensive. I suppose you get what you pay for.

[Inna in reply to gabkad]

I dont think its available for me to purchase.

[gabkad in reply to Inna]

You can get it online. Over here the pharmacy shelf has it along with the usual types. So probably the pharmacist has it behind the counter over there as well. The ferrous fumarate, sulphate and gluconate are the usual things people take but they are not efficient at elevating ferritin. As others mentioned, it takes many months. Most of the dose passes straight through the digestive tract.

[Inna in reply to gabkad]

Mine is bisglycinate.

[Clutter in reply to gabkad]

Gabkad, the water was so toxic that most people drank beer instead of water back then. I'm not sure I could eat a pound of beef in a week

[MidnightBlue]

Sounds like I should increase the dose, thanks

[Londinium]

I think figs, chicory, etc are high in iron/minerals. Google it.

[Heloise]

FERRITIN test: Measures your levels of storage iron, which can be chronically low in hypothyroid patients. If your Ferritin result is less than 50, your levels are too low and can be causing problems…as well as leading you into anemia as you fall lower, which will give you symptoms similar to hypo, such as depression, achiness, fatigue. If you are lower than the 50′s, you are scooting by. Optimally, females shoot for 70-90 at the minimum (Janie’s is 80 when her iron is good); men tend to be above 100 and optimally close to the 130′s. If your ferritin is much higher, you have INFLAMMATION–the latter causes iron to be thrust into storage and inflammation is common with thyroid patients for a variety of reasons. In less common cases, higher ferritin can be from liver disease, alcoholism, diabetes, asthma, or some types of cancer. Men are generally higher than women without having the above problems. If ferritin is high along with a high % Sat and Serum iron, you may have hemachromatosis or a MTHFR defect. You should be off all iron for at least 12 hours before testing to see what your body is hanging onto, and 5 days to see your true iron levels.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...

Another dose of vitamin c at another time may help.

youtube.com/watch?v=14aoImF...(Not working as expected?)

[MidnightBlue]

Might it be better then if I split my vit c dose, and take 500 mg vit c with the iron in the evening, and 500 with lunch?

[MidnightBlue]

Just seen, the iron I am taking is Bisglycinate, so hopefully that is the right one. I am just worried that being low might interfere with the thyroxine.

[Mindy76 in reply to MidnightBlue]

I know this is old however you can not take iron and thyroid medicine together! The med bonds to the iron and isn’t absorbed!

[MidnightBlue in reply to Mindy76]

Hi, yes I know, iron should be taken at least 4 hours away from thyroxine.

[humanbean]

Is Iron Bisglycinate available without prescription in the UK?

[MidnightBlue in reply to humanbean]

I just bought it from my local health shop.

[humanbean in reply to MidnightBlue]

Thanks.

[Londinium]

Google it and you'll see.

[humanbean in reply to Londinium]

Thanks.

[sued007]

hi i too had extreemly low ferritin 17 (30-300) was prescribed ferrous glucanate 350mgx 3times a day but little improvement so have just had 2 iron infusions at the hospital 1month on my ferritin is now 220. My hair is not dropping out im not tired and my nails are great as is retless legs i usedto get at night. i seem to now be absorbing Levothyroxine 175mg on alternate 150mg which i now take at night. But now get water retention and have kancles! so taking 60mg feursomide daily. ferritinis best absorbd from grapefruit dried apricots and taken with vit c. i also had a course of vit d injections at gp and this has heped bone pain lots. eat lots of dark green leafy veg moreso for ferritin rather than meat .this is more for your iron hb levels (mine have always been good and around 11-and are currently 13.5 and have no bearing on the ferritin store which is a bit like a larder that stocks up your blood count and supplements this level -problems start like mine did 4yrs ago whendue to excesive periods my hb was 8.5 and my ferritin 10-i had a hysterectomy but things never really picked up ferritin wise.when i had a TT in jan 14 it affected how i bsorbed the Levo. since the infusions i have had to lower from250levo as i became hypo and had panic attacks as i have been absorbing am great now

[MidnightBlue in reply to sued007]

Thanks for your reply. My GP has not prescribed anything, just told me to supplement 'a little', as to her eyes 11 is only a little under the bottom range of 15 - 150. Do you think it will be ok just to supplement?

[sued007]

you can give it a try and take vitc at same time( i drank redoxen fizzy drink type and was okay) and eat plenty of fruit type iron. also dont drink cups of tea straight after a meal as it doesnt help food absorbtion. Give it 3 months and get retested unless you become symptamatic in the meantime-its no quick fix. let me know how you get on or if you need to chat suex

[MidnightBlue in reply to sued007]

Thank you Sue, and glad to hear you are doing well now, it must have been quite a frightening time for you.