What is the most effective to rise ferritin level?

[Gal_Ka]

Hi guys,

Could you please advise me any effective supplaments/diets to rise ferritin level?

Thanks

[Hidden]

I've increased my ferritin using 2 sachets of Spatone per day. It's gone from 35 - 60 in about 4 months, which isn't fantastic but better than I've managed on any other iron supplement.

[Hidden]

Iron injection or iron infusion in my personal experience, but if you want either on the NHS get ready for a battle. You can buy iron shots over the counter in South Africa so if you know anyone going there on holiday............

[Gal_Ka in reply to Hidden]

Iron injection sounds interesting...in case you inject yourself...intravenous manipulation it is a bit complicated...

Thanks

[helvella Administrator]

In general there are three forms of iron supplement -

• The simple substances like ferrous sulphate through ferrous fumarate, ferrous bisglycinate, and so on

• Various forms of haem iron (also spelled heme)

• Ferritin

The simple substances do vary with the more complex molecules often being regarded as being gentler than the basic - that is, bisglycinate is usually preferred to sulphate.

Haem iron and ferritin both wrap the iron up in more complex molecules and they have much less impact on the gut.

Haem and ferritin will be more expensive than the cheapest supplements but compared to some, such as Floradix, they are not particularly expensive. Don't forget that black pudding is still available.

Simple supplements, haem and ferritin are each absorbed by different mechanisms. These three mechanisms appears not to interfere with each other at ordinary dose levels.

As I do not need to take iron, this is all based on reading and not personal experience.

Sources:

Haem - iherb.com/search?kw=heme#p=1

Ferritin - iherb.com/search?sug=ferrit...

Results may vary over time.

A snippet about why ferritin might be particularly important:

Ferritin iron is absorbed by a different mechanism than iron salts/chelates or heme iron. Recognition of a second, nonheme iron absorption process, ferritin endocytosis, emphasizes the need for more mechanistic studies on ferritin iron absorption and highlights the potential of ferritin present in foods such as legumes to contribute to solutions for global iron deficiency.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/222...

[Angel_of_the_North]

On 210mg Ferrous Fumarate x 3 per day for a month my ferritin went up 12 points. On Spatone x 2 or3 for 6 months it fell to below range. On Floravital 40mg per day for 3 months it rose 5 points.

[Gal_Ka in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Well not sure 5 and 12 points is a lot...at least somethging...as to Spatone - it sounds that it makes things even worse for some who tried it.

I have tried 210 mg Ferrous Fumarate 2 tablets per day for about 2 months or so and improvement in points was also minimal however, my hair loss improved.

[missymystique]

isn't 210*3 overdose? what was your ferritin level? also when do you take it, morning/night , empty stomach etc? thanks

[humanbean in reply to missymystique]

210mg ferrous fumarate x 3 per day is what my doctor prescribed for me. I think it may be the maximum dose but it isn't an overdose.

[milkwoman in reply to humanbean]

This is because 210mg of ferrous fumarate is only 60mg of elemental Iron (EI), so at 3 doses per day, it is only 180mg of EI which is fine since you can safely take 300mg EI per day.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to missymystique]

My Ferritin was 10, after Floravital it was 15, after Ferrous Fumarate it is 27 so "Normal" and discharged by gastro *sigh*.

[milkwoman]

I have found this to be a trial and error thing depending upon what supplement your body responds best to. Most of the "cheap" iron supplements that doctors order do nothing for those suffering with low ferritin levels.

I have tried several kinds - many did nothing and many do not contain either the "right" kind of iron or, they don't contain enough. I also have to be careful of stomach/constipation issues.

I have had good results with Ferrex-150 (150 EI in one capsule) and Ferritin Bioavailable Iron (5mg). Both can be found on Amazon. When I was taking these last year - (1) each, 2 x day, along with VIt C for absorption, my Ferritin levels rose from 19 ng/dL to 47 ng/dL in 12 weeks. I was ordered to stop by gastro because they wanted to see if my levels dropped and if I needed to be scoped. I've only started supplementing again on February 2. On that date, my Ferritin result was 39 ng/dL.

I just had blood drawn this morning to check my thryroid numbers and also, Vit D, Folate, B12, Ferritin and iron levels. Should have results back in a few days so I can update this thread when I know.

[Gal_Ka in reply to milkwoman]

Thank you very much milkwoman .

Nice to hear these supplements worked for you.

I did not get one thing - were you taking both supplements at the same time or you finished one and then were taking the other?

[milkwoman in reply to Gal_Ka]

I took both together. I started out with (1) each per day - around noon-time so as to not interfere with thyroid meds - along with Vit C (aids in absorption). Once I knew I wasn't having any stomach issues, I went to (2) each per day (sometimes I'd take at noon, sometimes I'd split, noon and late afternoon).

[milkwoman in reply to milkwoman]

I got my ferritin result back today - it is 47 ng/dL.

Now realizing that my last test was on Feb 10th (not Feb 2nd). So, 11 weeks to raise 8 points. Not as high as I would like BUT I do recall that I didn't stop the supplements for a few days prior to the Feb 10th blood draw (which you are supposed to do to get an accurate reading) so it is likely that the 39 ng/dL result was slightly elevated (prior to this mornings draw I did stop supplementing for 3 days). In addition, these last 2 months my thyroid meds have been completely out of whack (which affects absorption) and I did have heavier-than-usual periods. So, all explainable but I cannot wait for the day when my results are in the 80 - 100 range. Keeping fingers crossed (and keeping with the supplements)!

[Gal_Ka in reply to milkwoman]

Yes, it gradually goes up...nice

Good luck

[Hidden]

Spatone and eat a jar of cockles everyday. Sounds daft but cockles and clams are extremely high in iron. I did it myself and it worked!

[Gal_Ka in reply to Hidden]

Lol...Coockies? what sort of cockies? what about weight gain? A jar of cookies is not just one coockie...Clams are a better choice indeed.

[humanbean in reply to Gal_Ka]

Cockles, not cookies. Cockles are a type of shellfish.

[Gal_Ka in reply to humanbean]

Oh lol...clumsy me...thanks

[helvella Administrator in reply to Gal_Ka]

joesmum wrote "cockles" not "coockies" (or "cookies")!

Cockles are small clams.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockl...

A link to some jars of cockles:

parsonspickles.co.uk/produc...

[Gal_Ka in reply to helvella]

Oh thanks a lot for the link...I shall give it a try indeed...