High ferritin in blood test

[LFE12]

I posted yesterday about my high anti-thyroglobulin abs, but am confused by the high ferritin. Many thanks for all the support you guys give, it has helped me so much 😘😘

Had a blood test with Blue Horizon.

Background

I had a Total Thyroidectomy 16 years ago, removed as the thyroid was enlarged, was hyper and had largish goitre on the side of my neck. At the time there was not a lot of Internet access, never mind info and awareness! There was no cancer at the time and never given any other info by Endo.Been taking T3 for 3 weeks, starting with two 5mcg doses, now on a 10 and a 5. Also taking Levo, reduced from 142.5 to 100 three weeks ago.

Ferritin and anti-thyroglobulin both high and indicated in red on the test report.

Biochemistry

CRP 0.60. (<5.0)

Ferritin 204. (20-150). High

Thyroid function

TSH. 0.31. (0.27-4.2)

T4 total. 87.5. (64.5-142)

Free T4 16.54. (12-22)

Free T3 5.21. (3.1-6.8)

Immunology

Anti-thyroidperoxidase abs. 23.5. (<34)

Anti-thyroglobulin abs 1642. (<115)

Vitamins

B12 355. (Deficient <140; insufficient 140-250. Consider reducing dose > 725

Serum folate 27.71. (10.4-42.4)

Baffled by the high ferritin

Are the FT3 and FT4 OK.? Will increase by 5mcg in two weeks (been doing it gradually and palpitations have totally disappeared)

.... Many thanks

[Kalicocat]

Ferritin is an acute phase reactant, so can be elevated if there is inflammation in the body, however your CRP is low, which says you don't have inflammation. You may want a retest of hs-CRP (highly sensitive CRP) and ESR to determine if you do have inflammation. You may also want to do a liver panel too as the liver may leak ferritin when under stress or fatty. Getting a full iron panel can tell you if you absorb too much iron and actually have hemochromatosis (Sp).

[Hidden]

Are you eating vast quantities of red meat? Just asking because someone once posted a high ferritin result and it turned out she was a post menopausal Texan. Where they eat steaks the size of a small car.

Ferritin often rises post menopause for obvious reasons. You've probably already checked your supplements in case any contain iron. I wouldn't worry about it too much, it's a modern conservative range.

[LFE12 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, I suppose I eat a fair amount, but not huge chunks like the Texan you describe. We also have turkey and fish (chicken allergy) with sheep and goat dairy products.

None of the supplements contain iron, got burned by that one years ago when it prevented the uptake of Levo and I went seriously hypo to the point of passing out by lunchtime.

Thank you.