Does anyone get iron supplements on prescription?

[Auntbessy]

I was prescribed a couple of boxes but they have run out now. I am going to ask to be retested to see if my stored iron is any better. What figure is a good one to aim for for someone with Hashimotos on Levothyroxine. Thanks in advance for your reply’s.

[Emyloulou]

I get ferrous fumerate on prescription and my most recent ferritin was 114. The gp want to keep it there so he’s quite happy to give me repeat prescriptions. It was 6 in Feb 2017 when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism x

[humanbean in reply to Emyloulou]

Emyloulou

If your ferritin is 114, and assuming the reference range goes up to 150 (a big assumption - lots of ranges go up much higher), then you should drop your iron intake (not necessarily stop it altogether).

Unfortunately, finding the dose you need to maintain your ferritin at the right level is trial and error and you would need to test every few months to find out if your level is rising too high or has dropped too far.

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You may find your body gets better at hanging on to iron once you've got it optimised. It took me nearly two years of supplementing three times a day to raise my ferritin to mid-range. For a while I had to keep it there by taking 1 pill a day. But over time I've dropped that, and I now take one iron pill twice a week.

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Iron can be tested privately with a finger-prick test using this company :

medichecks.com/iron-tests/i...

Sometimes medichecks has special offers on and reduces the price. Check their current special offers here :

medichecks.com/offers

[Emyloulou in reply to humanbean]

I’ve just had a look and the range is 10 - 291. A very strange range if you ask me! I have it tested every 3 months but as soon as I stop taking it it drops so I think I’ll always be on a small dose x

[humanbean in reply to Emyloulou]

In that case, ideally you would get your ferritin up to mid-range i.e. roughly 150. So I would keep taking the tablets for now.

[humanbean]

Auntbessy

What were you prescribed, at what dosage, and how many a day were you taking?

[Emyloulou in reply to humanbean]

I was prescribed ferrous fumerate 210mg, 1 three times daily but I only manage to fit it in twice a day x

[humanbean in reply to Emyloulou]

Emyloulou, I was asking the person who originally started this thread - Auntbessy.

[Emyloulou in reply to humanbean]

Oop! Sorry x

[Auntbessy in reply to humanbean]

I was prescribed 200 mg per day and I was taking 1 tablet per day

[Dewberry1]

My ferritin is 28 (range 15-300) my dr said it was fine . But looking on this thread i think i should go by some ferrous fumurate.

Could this be why i feel so dead even though tsh is around 1?

Thanks

[Hidden]

Ferrous Fumarate is really cheap, so if you can't get your prescription renewed, and you feel you still need it, you can easily get your own.

dontblushpharmacy.com/vitam...

[Angel_of_the_North]

I used to, but now just buy them from the pharmacy or online (same stuff). Better to get a prescription if you are on levo as it is free. If you aren't getting free prescription because of hypo, buying it is cheaper than a prescription

[Kitten44]

I buy mine on eBay, only £5 with free delivery for 3 boxes of 84.

[Grom56]

I am in Tyne and Wear and I get iron on repeat prescription I have been on a couple of years now