Hi all. Further to my other posts, I’ve now had my iron levels back as per below. As you can see they are within range even though my ferritin is crap.
Not really sure how to raise my ferritin level without taking iron supplements- I already eat meat and green leafy veg etc. I could take Floradix or whatever but not sure this will be enough to raise my ferritin. Any advice gratefully received 😀
Sorry your post was missed. Hopefully our iron experts may pop along and comment
humanbean
SeasideSusie
No problem, thanks so much for your help
Chris1802p
Optimal levels for iron panel according to rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...
Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 38.75% so is on the low side
Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - 24.99% so on the low side
TIBC: Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron - yours is 84.15% through range so is at the higher end
UIBC: Low in range indicates that you may have too much iron in your blood which may be due to iron overload syndrome (hereditary haemochromatosis). High in range signifies iron deficiency. - yours is close to mid range at 57.95% through range
Ferritin: Low level virtually always indicates need for iron supplementation - yours is 5.04% through range
Apart from UIBC everything points to you possibly needing iron supplements. I would discuss these results with your GP because if you take iron supplements it's best done under supervision with regular monitoring.
Eating liver, liver pate and black pudding may help, they have a much higher iron level than just red meat.
Thank you so much for your help!
Since all your numbers are in range you might get told that you don't need iron supplements. But as SeasideSusie has pointed out your results are far from optimal and you will feel a lot better if you improve your results.
If your doctor won't prescribe iron supplements for you, come back and ask for help on what to buy and how much to take. The iron supplements prescribed by the NHS are available in UK pharmacies without prescription if the pharmacist agrees. I treat my own low iron and ferritin, and I've only been turned down once when I tried to buy prescription-strength iron supplements without a prescription. I just went to a different chain and got it there.
In the meantime, taking a high dose vitamin C supplement every day should increase your absorption of iron from your food.
Hi, thanks for your reply. I do actually already have some in date prescription iron tablets from the last time I was iron deficient. I was thinking of perhaps taking one a day for a couple of weeks and then maybe one tablet 3 times a week for a couple of months and then retesting?
I would suggest taking one a day OR one pill 3 times a week for, say, four weeks then re-test. If you change your doses between tests you won't know whether you needed one pill a day or one pill 3 times a week to raise your levels successfully. But if you take a fixed amount for a fixed time then retest you will know, from then on, what effect a fixed dose of your iron supplement has and you can use it for reference for years to come. Obviously your absorption of supplements may change over time depending on your general gut health, but at least you'll have a baseline to work with.
(I'm assuming the results you quoted in this post are very recent.)
Don't forget that it is a good idea to come off iron supplements for a while before testing and that iron testing should be done first thing in the morning having fasted except for water overnight. I've seen advice to come off iron for 24 hours, 3 days, a week... But whatever length of time you choose to come off iron, use that length of time consistently for every test if you can, and try to recreate the same conditions each time you test. Personally, I come off iron pills for a week.
Don't forget you can get 10% off the price of the Medichecks iron deficiency test (and any other test) at any time :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Which supplement were you prescribed, and at what dose?
The iron supplements the NHS prescribes can be bought from pharmacies without a prescription (at the pharmacist's discretion so theoretically they could refuse - it's happened to me once - I just went to a different pharmacy and got what I wanted there). If you want a specific iron supplement either keep an old box or print out a picture of the box from the internet and show it to the pharmacist/staff member.
A link you should read before supplementing iron :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Thank you so much, excellent advice. I have ferrous fumarate 305mg. Yes the results are from the other day.
As I mentioned, getting an idea of how well you absorb a fixed dose of iron supplement over a fixed time is well worth knowing - but don't take it too seriously and stop testing altogether. Iron is dangerous in overdose and if I was actively trying to raise my iron and ferritin I would still test fairly regularly just for safety.
Ok. I just read through your linked post about all of this too. I’ll start taking 1 x 300mg pill 3 times a week for four weeks, and then get an iron panel done again in 5 weeks. I do realise iron can be dangerous, I promise to be sensible. 👍
Thanks so much
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