What do you think of my Iron levels?

[Emstar1892]

Serum Iron: 15.0 (6.6-26)

UIBC: 43.0 (20-62)

Iron Binding Saturation: 25.0 (15-50)

Ferritin: 21 (13-150)

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Emstar1892 Your ferritin is very low and you need an iron supplement to get that up to half way through the range. Ferrous Fumerate or Ferrous Sulphate is what a GP would prescribe, one tablet twice daily, you can get that from Amazon. If that causes constipation or upset tummy then Iron Bisglycinate is more gentle, Solgar Gentle Iron is one such brand but it contains much less elemental iron at 20-25mg per tablet whereas the FS and FF contain about 65-70 mg elemental iron. Always take each iron tablet with 1000mg Vit C to aid absorption and help prevent constipation, and take 4 hours away from thyroid and other medication, also other supplements, as it affects absorption.

I can't help with the other test results but I'm sure someone else will come along and comment.

[bluebug]

You have missed out your haemoglobin result and information on red cells, white cells and platelets which will be on a full blood count.

Regardless from your other iron test results as they are in range you are unlikely to have iron deficiency anaemia. (Your red cell, white cell and platelets could indicate something different.)

You do have a low ferritin level but as it is in range you need to self-supplement as the NHS will not do that.

Either take one ferrous fumerate twice a day with vitamin C and water. 4 hours away from thyroid meds and 2 hours away from other food drink and supplements. If you have really bad issues with ferrous fumerate then take one of the other types of iron that SeasideSusie has mentioned. These other types are much more expensive.

After you have finished the course of 84/100 tablets you need to wait 7 days and have your ferritin level retested. If you are less than half way in the range you will need to continue supplementing and also look to see if you have anything else wrong with you. (Come and start a new thread if your level is still low.)

If you are half way in the range you need to take sufficient iron, a maintenance dose, to keep your level at or slightly above the half way point. Unfortunately how much iron you need to take as a maintenance dose depends on your lifestyle, what you eat and whether you menstruate. Some people are fine with the RDA amount e.g. 15mg, others need more and others need less. Therefore start with the RDA and if you need tests a few months later see what your ferritin level is.

[Emstar1892 in reply to bluebug]

Thank you for such detailed feedback. Here are my other values:

HAEMATOLOGY (Blood)

Haemoglobin 129 ( 120-150 ) g/L

Haematocrit 0.397 (0.360-0.460) L/L

RBC 4.3 ( 3.8-4.8 ) x10e12/L

MCV 93.0 ( 80-100 ) fL

MCH 30.3 ( 27-32 ) pg

MCHC 326 ( 315-345 ) g/L

RDW 14.4 ( 12.0-16.0 ) %

Platelets 250 ( 150-410 ) x10e9/L

WBC 6.1 ( 4.0-10.0 ) x10e9/L

Neutrophils 3.7 ( 2.0-7.0 ) x10e9/L

Lymphocytes 1.7 ( 1.0-3.0 ) x10x9/L

Monocytes 0.5 ( 0.2-1.0 ) x10e9/L

Eosinophils 0.08 ( 0.02-0.5 ) x10e9/L

Basophils 0.04 ( 0-0.1 ) x10e9/L

ESR 2 ( 0-12 ) mm/Hour

[bluebug in reply to Emstar1892]

No you don't have iron deficiency anaemia but if you supplement iron to raise your ferritin level it is likely your haemoglobin level will rise slightly to be over 13. This is nothing to worry about.

[humanbean]

Some info on optimal iron results :

rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...

Please note you can calculate TIBC if you have UIBC and serum iron.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total...

clinchem.aaccjnls.org/conte...