Hi,
I was just looking at my Ferritin levels and wondered if anyone has an opinion on them? As usual I have been told they are fine. My haemoglobin levels are very good, average around 140. Currently on Vit D. 100mcg levo and 10mcg T3 a day.
Previous ferritin results range from 25ug/L-74 . Ref range 10-291
Please can you type your results or zoom in before creating the image so they are readable.
Hi iron was 16.34 range 6.60-26.00
TIBC 55.44 41- 77
Transferrin sats 29.47 20.00-55.00
Ferritin 44.4 23.00-150.00
Slappiduck
Optimal levels for iron panel are, according to rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...
Serum iron• 55 to 70% of the range• higher end for men
TIBC (total iron binding capacity) or Transferrin• Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron • High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron
Saturation• optimal is 35 to 45%• higher end for men• to calculate divide serum iron by TIBC•
Ferritin• Low level virtually always indicates need for iron supplementation• High level with low serum iron/low saturation indicates inflammation or infection• High level with high serum iron and low TIBC indicates excess iron• Over range with saturation above 45% suggests hemochromatosis
**
Ferritin needs to be at least 70 for thyroid hormone to work. You can raise your level by eating liver regularly and including iron rich foods in your diet.
Thankyou so much! So am I right in thinking I need to supplement/eat iron rich foods to raise my ferritin?
And that my transferrin sats are not optimal?
Slappiduck
Yes you need to raise your Ferritin level and eating liver regularly is a good way to do that, maximum 200g per week.
If your transferrin saturation is measured as a percentage then you are a little bit low.
Brilliant thank. I shall have to find a way to make liver palatable. Possibly a dim question but how do I know why my ferritin and transferrin sats are a bit low?
Sorry Slappiduck, I don't know the answer to that question. My Ferritin is low if I don't work on it and I have no idea why.
This can be caused by low stomach acid which is common with thyroid issues- as a result Iron does not get properly absorbed. Other reason can be internal bleeding (ulcers etc) or heavy menstruations. I myself just recovered from ferritin level of 9. Took two IVs as tablets and injections did not work as well as stopping metformin (linked to low B12 and iron) and introducing meat (used to be vegan). My iron studies are now almost too high and B12 moved from bottom to the top of the range in 3 weeks!
Hi Slappiduck. Please be aware that focusing on only increasing ferritin often lead to toxic levels of your other blood iron components. This is because iron status must be interpreted by all of your iron values, not just ferritin. Ferritin is just a protein in your blood that stores iron. Low ferritin does not mean low iron because all of the other iron values must be considered to establish your true status. Your ferritin is not deficient. It is low in the range. It could be higher, but you can see by your iron values that they are all within a healthy and good range. Increase your ferritin, and all of your other iron values will likely increase, and if they do, this can put you at iron toxicity if you're not careful.
Supplementing iron to increase your ferritin can be very dangerous if not monitored closely. If you are going to start supplementing iron, please be sure to get a complete iron panel every month so you don't do more harm than good. Please be aware that if you are focused on only on increasing your ferritin, this will also lead to an increase in all of your other iron values from where they currently are. If your other iron values increase too much, that will indicate excess iron in your body. Excess iron can damage your organs or lead to organ failure.
This is very puzzling: I have yet to find any legitimate published studies or documents that state that ferritin has to be 70 or any other number in order for thyroid hormones to work. There are studies that state a recommended ferrin is 50, but it does not state that thyroid hormones won't work if ferritin is not of a certain number. Can someone please explain where this idea came from and point me to this study and published literature? If everyone had to have ferritin of 70 in order for thyroid hormones to work, then there would be a whole lot of people running around with iron toxicity, organ damage and organ failure. Since the UK does not typically test a complete iron panel, but only tests ferritin, it would be no surprise that a lot of people who are self supplementing iron based only on only their ferritin levels actually have toxic levels of iron in their bodies. Not to mention that most of these people are probably not testing their iron monthly, let alone yearly.
My sister is a prime example of ferrin not needing to be at any particular number in order for thyroid hormones to work. Her ferritin is 19 and always has been around that number. Low end of the range is 10. She has no thyroid disease and her levels are all great. Then there's me. My ferritin was 23, low range is 10. I have Hashimoto's and I take T3 and T4. With ferritin at 23, my FT3 and FT4 were in optimal range. Neither me nor my sister would ever want our ferritin to be 70 because this would mean that all of our other iron levels would be at sky high toxic levels. A few months ago I did manage to increase my ferritin. It jumped up 15 points in just 3 weeks. It then increased another 16. Along with that ferritin increase came toxic levels of my other iron components. I immediately stopped ingesting extra iron. My iron components eventually went back to a healthy level, and my ferritin dropped down a bit. My FT3 and FT4 remained optimal. My thyroid hormones were not suddenly working any better with my increase in ferritin.
Thank you for such a comprehensive answer, I wasn’t planning on supplementing with iron tablets, but rather trying to increase it through dietary intake. The nutrionist I see has recommended again following a gluten free diet but I really can’t face the through of that
Hi Slappiduck. You're welcome! It's always better to be thorough and safe. Increasing iron through diet or through supplementation is still the same: you're increasing iron. All your levels increase either way.
Do you have Hashimoto's or other another autoimmune disease? If so, gluten free is recommended. Gluten, soy and dairy are all inflammatory foods. It's important to keep inflammation down with thyroid disease and autoimmunity. I felt that same way a long time ago. I didn't think I could be gluten free and I also didn't believe it could really be a problem, so I kept eating gluten. It took me getting really sick to decide to give gluten free a try. It wasn't that hard for me once I put my mind to it. It's now been many years that I've been gluten free and I would not ever want to go back to eating gluten. It's different for everyone. It's recommended to at least try completely gluten free (no hidden gluten, or "just a little bit") for at least three months to see if your body is happier without gluten.
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