Hello I was supplementing iron myself to get my ferritin levels up but just been warned not to as I am post-menopausal.
My ferritin was 65 (20-300).
My Hb was 126 (114-150).
Thought I had to get my ferritin up higher for my hypothyroidism. How do I do this please if I'm not to supplement iron? Or is this ferritin result ok for me?
Would it be best to get my serum iron checked first? I think I read there are 4 other tests for iron apart from ferritin?
Thank you.
Pinkpetite
An iron panel consists of Serim Iron, Transferrin Saturation %, Total Iron Bindibg Capacity (TIBC) and Ferritin. Testing the complete iron panel will show if you have iron deficiency. If you do not then supplementing with iron tablets may take your serum iron too high.
I raised my Ferritin, but kept the rest of my iron panel within range, by eating liver regularly (maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content). I can't say whether that would be the same for everyone but maybe worth a try.
Your Ferritin isn't dire although it's said it needs to be 70 for thyroid hormone to work properly.
Thank you for this. Just been taking iron (high dose)for about 2 weeks so hopefully it's not done any damage.
I will ask for the iron panel to be added to my soon to be blood test.
Will try liver. Never have before as an adult. Couldn't stomach it as a kid!
Pinkpetite
There's lots of recipes so you might find a way you like it.
I do mine as a sort of stir fry. Onions, mushrooms, mixed peppers, (anything else you fancy) cook till almost done. Add thin strips of liver and cook quicky (only about 5 minutes tops). Add some cooked peas and rice.
Thank you so much for this.
Eat liver (you can start with chicken liver) and chocolate.
Thanks I will try chicken liver, I like chicken! Don't really eat chocolate as mostly dairy-free.
Ok! Fried chicken liver, rocket salad and a glass of white wine is my favourite dinner 😜
Do you not eat carbs?
I do! A lot... but not bread or pasta
Ok, not being nosy, just trying to work out what is best for me. Been reading about low carbs and thyroid issues and read it's best to have moderate carbs - which I was so glad to read!
Fruits and verges are carbs as well as beans etc. You should include them in your diet.
Yes I do 🙂
How about vegan chocolate ?
I can highly recommend taking Spa Tone; available at Boots, Amazon etc. It comes in small sachets and is like a clear mineral water: I drink it in a small glass of orange juice. It does come as apple flavour these days, so it could be consumed as that.
It’s v gentle on your digestive system .
I first came across it over 40 years ago when I was pregnant and iron tablets were unpleasant for me . I have used it ever since when I need to.
I think I'm not supposed to supplement at my age, from what I now understand, so I think I need to concentrate on food sources.
Pinkpetite
I think I'm not supposed to supplement at my age, from what I now understand,
How old are you then?
My surgery offered me iron tablets after my ferritin had dropped, I was 70 at the time. I declined them.
Someone said that post-menopausal you have to be careful with iron supplements as you can't get rid of the excess.
I'm going to try and get a full iron panel test to see what's going on.
I've not heard of that before 🤔
Indeed I do! 😊. Thank you
I managed to raise my ferritin levels simply by abandoning the veggie diet I followed for over 25 years (I became anaemic) and following a meat and fish-based low carb diet instead. It's taken a few years, but last time my ferritin was checked it was around 150. If I'd eaten more offal, especially liver, I might have got there a bit quicker. 
It also helps to take as much ascorbic acid daily as your bowel can stand - good not only for iron absorption, but infection prevention as well.
We eat lots of red meat etc so I wouldn't have thought our levels would be low. I know mine at 65 isn't too low but it should be higher with what I eat. I do take high doses of vit c each day - although gone down to about 2g daily recently. I will try the liver!
Hello Pinkpetite
Asda sell little pots of very clean chicken livers in the freezer unit.
Once defrosted simply flash fry in a little olive oil and whiz down with a dollop of mayo - store in a used jam jar in the fridge and just take a spoonful every day, rather than a spoonful of sugar.
One whizzed down pot of this pate, consumed over a few days should maintain, and build up your ferritin levels, and core strength.
My level was at 22 so no worries, there then !!
Thanks for the tip. May need more palatable ways of eating it.
My daughter's ferritin is 17 so I need her on it too. She does take supplements from the Gp.
Hello I was supplementing iron myself to get my ferritin levels up but just been warned not to as I am post-menopausal.
My ferritin was 65 (20-300).
Your result is only 16% of the way through the range. Many of us on this forum have discovered that we feel best when ferritin is 50% of the way through the range i.e. about 160 with the range you've been given.
In healthy women who have not gone through the menopause ferritin levels are often fairly low because they lose blood, and hence iron, with every period. But once past the menopause doctors assume that women will start to build up ferritin and could end up with far too much iron.
It may be true that women with haemochromatosis might not find out about it until they stop having periods.
But doctors rarely actually do the tests to find out if their assumptions about iron are true once the patient is post-menopausal. The majority of people don't have haemochromatosis - it's a genetic condition and according to this link about 1 in 150 people have the condition.
haemochromatosis.org.uk/wha...
But if 1 in 150 have haemochromatosis that means that 149 out of 150 don't. And they can still be low in iron under some circumstances even if they are post-menopausal. Some conditions can reduce iron and ferritin in the blood, and hypothyroidism is one.
People who are hypo often have low stomach acid - it's one of the commonest symptoms. Low stomach acid causes indigestion, heartburn, and acid reflux. Doctors tell these patients that they have high stomach acid (usually wrong!) and prescribe PPIs like omeprazole and lansoprazole which lowers stomach acid even further.
If there is insufficient stomach acid in the gut then extracting nutrients, including iron, from food is difficult and low levels of minerals and vitamins becomes common.
I accept that there are very real dangers to supplementing iron in some circumstances and it is not something to do willy-nilly, because it is poisonous in overdose. The only way to do it safely is with regular testing (which is probably why doctors don't like people supplementing iron - all that testing they would need to do could get very expensive).
You might find this thread of some interest :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Thank you - I forgot to check the range - silly me :
Thank you so much for this. I do have low stomach acid. And it makes sense if hypothyroidism affects ferritin and iron levels. My Hb has always been on the low side of the range so this must be the answer. I know my zinc was low too years ago.
How do I correct my stomach acid? Or do I just get optimal with my thyroid meds and it corrects itself?
The reason I was taking iron was because I was so fatigued. I have to lie down after everything I do. Even eating! I feel tired after eating! And then when I saw that my ferritin could be higher I thought supplementing might help. I just read the list of symptoms for low iron and I have a lot of them - and of course they mimic hypothyroidism.
It's all starting to make sense!
I am going to ask my Gp for a full iron panel as they are aware I've been exhausted for years.
Thank you for explaining it all so well to me 🙂
You're welcome.
There are various ways that stomach acid levels can be improved. I'll link you to some resources that are worth reading if you have the stamina :
healthygut.com/articles/hyp...
healthygut.com/articles/3-t...
healthygut.com/articles/how...
healthygut.com/articles/4-c...
I tried betaine HCl with and without pepsin as described in the above links, but I couldn't tolerate it. I use digestive enzymes instead. They aren't as good as betaine HCl would be but it is what I can cope with, and it's better than nothing.
....
healthygut.com/articles/thy...
chriskresser.com/the-thyroi...
...
The following links explain how heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux occur and are worth reading, but they aren't specifically related to how the thyroid and the gut interact.
chriskresser.com/what-every...
chriskresser.com/the-hidden...
chriskresser.com/more-evide...
chriskresser.com/how-your-a...
chriskresser.com/how-your-a...
chriskresser.com/get-rid-of...
...
As for supplementing iron...
I can't hang on to iron/ferritin and I'm well past menopause. I keep tabs on my iron levels by getting an iron panel done with a finger-prick test :
medichecks.com/products/iro...
If the test isn't on special offer people can get 10% off the price with this offer :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
I no longer need to raise my iron levels - I've optimised mine as well as I can. I just do my best to keep them where they are.
I use this as my iron supplement (and it is quite high dose), and in the UK it can be bought from pharmacies without prescription (brand isn't important, but the strength and the number of tablets is) :
waltonpharmacy.co.uk/images...
If it interested you, you could print out the picture and take it to a pharmacy with you.
It took me nearly two years to raise my ferritin to optimal (mid-range), but my serum iron always stays low in range, whether I like it or not. But these levels keep me functioning reasonably well. Most people would raise iron much more quickly than I do. Some people are never able to raise their iron/ferritin levels. I now maintain my levels by taking one iron pill four times a week. Everyone has to find their own level of supplementation of iron if they can't keep levels acceptable via diet.
If you want to use food as a means of raising iron then this website is worth poking around in :
There are many different kinds of iron supplement and the higher the dose of iron the fewer people can tolerate it. It is best if people start with lower dose supplements and go up in dose rather than start high and then drop lower.
And regular testing is essential because high levels of iron are poisonous.
Thank you again for this info 🙂
Do you know why eating would make me so tired? Would digestive enzymes help this too? Just wondering....
If my Gp doesn't do the test I will order one.
Sorry, I don't know why eating would make you so tired.
The only possibility that occurs to me is that you could try altering the proportions of carbs, protein and fat you eat, but I would agree that it's a long shot.
Thanks. I may just be under medicated. I'll look into that first then go from there.
By the way I was taking ferrous fumarate 210mg!
I took ferrous fumarate 210mg, one tablet three times a day for nearly two years. (I would consider that to be the maximum dose.)
Absorbing iron is something I do very slowly. My ferritin was bottom of range at the start and I finally managed to get it up to mid-range. I did once overdo it and got my ferritin up to just over the top of range. I stopped supplementing and my ferritin reduced by more than half in just four months.
Hi Pinkpetite
I take undefatted Desiccated Liver capsules, very gentle on the stomach. I take a couple a day and my level has risen from 17 to 70 in a couple of months.
hope this helps
sidd0001
Great! Will look it up. Thank you 🙂
If you can't stomach liver, black pudding is a good way to raise iron. My iron was low during my first pregnancy and the prescription tablets didn't agree with me at all. You aren't supposed to eat liver during pregnancy so I started eating black pudding a few times a week and my levels came right up.
Great! Can I ask roughly how long it took?
I don't remember exactly but it wasn't long, maybe 2 or 3 months.
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