Hi all, I have low ferritin which I have supplemented using a sachet of spatone a day and brought up from 13 to 26 with the range of 23-300. It is the only vitamin/mineral that's crucial for thyroid function that I'm low in and as I'm still having issues I'd like to try to raise it higher. However, I don't like taking things that are too unnatural or full of too many fillers. That's why I was using spatone as it's simple and gentle. The high strength ferrous fumarate tablets I've had before contain SLS which I would rather not take, ferrous sulphate seems to have lots of lactose and other fillers which I'd rather avoid. Are these the only real options? Has anyone used solgar gentle iron? Any other ideas?
Many thanks
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foxrabbit
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I've raised my ferritin level solely by eating liver. I couldn't tolerate iron supplements so I starting eating liver once a week. It took me a while to take the plunge as I'd been a demi-veggie for many years, eating no red meat at all. However, needs must! My ferritin was 35 originally, now it's 91 (20-150).
Thanks for your reply and for the link, much appreciated. Do you incorporate it into many different recipes or just have it fried once a week? I have to cook for my family so making them the same thing too often will probably make them complain! I'll certainly try to introduce it as often as I can
I just have mine fried, with onion, but you can incorporate it into any meat dish you make such as cottage pie, casserole, curry, bolognese, etc. But there will be lots of proper liver recipes on the internet.
When I had family living at home, I often cooked something different for me, never found it a problem.
Apparently the maximum amount should be 200g a week, I tend to have about 140g and that makes a good sized individual meal, and leaves some for adding to something else.
I've always used lamb's liver but you can use others.
This is a comment SeasideSusie posted to my query some months ago re iron supplements, very useful:
ColinK Boots iron + Vit C contains 14mg iron. Spatone contains 5mg. Neither of those will boost your ferritin level much. If you were prescribed Ferrous Fumarate each tablet would contain 65mg and you would probably be prescribed 2 a day if your ferritin level was low (lower than yours).
You could buy Ferrous Fumarate from Amazon and take 1 or 2 a day. If you found that caused constipation or tummy upset you could get iron bisglycinate which is more gentle but has less elemental iron - Solgar Gentle Iron is one brand and contains 20 or 25mg iron. You have to take iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds (also other supplements and medication) as it affects absorption.
How are you getting on with Beet It? I used to take it but always did it half and half with sparkling spring water and some OJ, made it more palatable.
Blackstrap molasses is a source of iron so you could see how you could possibly incorporate that into your daily diet. But liver is the best source. Liver and onions as a meal, mince it and put into casseroles, cottage pie, curry, bolognese sauce, etc. Do you like pate? I do a meal of liver and onions using 120-140g lamb's liver. Once a week raised my Ferritin from 35 to 85, I have it about every 10 days now. I think it's recommended not to have more than 200g a week because of the high Vit A content.
I'm not Hashi's nor am I gluten free but many members have found great success but some find it helps quite quickly, others it takes more time.
Joint pain - have you had Vit D tested? Vit D level will drop during the winter as there's not enough natural sunlight for our bodies to make it naturally. If you want just Vit D tested then City Assays do a fingerprick blood spot test for£28 vitamindtest.org.uk/index.html . Ifnit's less than the recommended level of 100-150nmol/L then you need to supplement, even if it's only a maintenance dose during the winter.
Can I just make a comment about supplements. Don't bother with Boots, supermarket or Holland and Barrett own brand. They are cheap and use cheap ingredients, usually the wrong form, and generally contain lots of fillers we don't need. Lots of good quality ones available easily online, more expensive but money well spent because you'll get the correct and most bioavailable form, happy to make suggestions if you wish .
Have you had it confirmed with a full blood count that your only problem is low ferritin?
Sometimes if you have low ferritin for a while it affects red cells, white cells and/or platelets, and it needs to be recorded on your medical notes. In theory it should make your GP be more wary if you have low iron again but in practice most GPs don't recognise low iron as being a problem.
I've had low platelets flagged up in the past, I think it was when I was initially diagnosed with hypothyroidism, but the doctor at the time didn't see any problem with that despite my very low ferritin levels. I was put on a short course of iron supplements at the time but that was all they did. I've continued iron supplements myself since. I looked up low platelets on the internet back then too and couldn't find any information as to the cause or significance of it.
I think there was more of a full blood count on my blood test 2 months ago but all were in normal ranges then. What is the link between iron and platelets? I always assumed it would be the red blood cells which would have problems if iron was low so it's very interesting to hear you link it with other blood cells etc too. If you have any website links you could direct me to I'd really appreciate it. Many thanks
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