Low Ferritin High Serum Iron

[ilyfunnybunny]

Hi all.

I've been trying to get my ferritin levels up, but I've hit a snag. Latest ferritin level is still only 41 but serum iron is 202 — too high. So I've stopped all iron supplementation, but find that even eating meat now results in flares of joint pain. I'm wondering what's preventing the iron from being stored as ferritin, and what I can do about it.

Already taking activated B12 + Folate + B6 lozenges. My doctor did not test my B12 level like I asked for, but instead tested Methymalonic Acid (128) and Homocysteine (11.8). Thank you in advance, feeling a bit desperate about what to do.

[LAHs]

This is an interesting and important question. Unfortunately, I do not know the answer! Generally speaking if the body makes a chemical (in this case Ferritin) from other chemicals it gets externally (i.e. food) then a catalyst is needed for that reaction to take place. The answer is to find out what is the catalyst or enzyme that facilitates the conversion of Iron to Ferritin. I will research this problem and if no one else has answered it already, will post my findings.

[ilyfunnybunny in reply to LAHs]

Absolutely, it makes sense to me that there must be some chemical ingredient or condition that is a prerequisite to ferritin, that I'm somehow missing. Searching online hasn't turned up anything for me, but I'll keep looking as well. Let me know if anything turns up for you. Thank you!

[LAHs]

OK, well, that was an eye opener! Iron in the body is more difficult to understand than thyroid hormone chemistry! I tried my best to get an answer for you but I think it would be a lifetime study.

HOWEVER... I did find a most interesting and understandable explanation here:

selfhacked.com/blog/ferritin/

and I think it will give you some insight into how you might reverse your problem. It is very easy to read and very enlightening. It not only tells you how to increase your iron intake it also tells you how not to prevent the absorption of the iron you are ingesting. I didn't realize that low ferritin (<30) can cause hair loss, I am at 36 and have very thin hair. I was also happy to read that wine can improve absorption of iron. But those are just two trivial points which stuck in my mind. Oh, a not so trivial point was that hypothyroidism can cause low ferritin - I thought it was the other way round. Anyway I think you will find this article a great starting point.

[ilyfunnybunny]

Hey there! Thanks for looking into it — and yes, seems like iron is very complicated!

Unfortunately, my problem is that I am already absorbing plenty of iron from my food, but for some reason my body isn't storing it as ferritin, so it stays in my blood as free iron, floating around and causing trouble. So even though my ferritin is on the low side, I'm having to follow tips for avoiding iron absorption.

It's been suggested to me that my body isn't able to use the free iron I absorb because of poor methylation, such as that caused by a MTHFR mutation. And I am low in B12, so I'm working on supplementing that. Hopefully it will help the ferritin issue.

Do let me know if you run across a solution anytime soon!