The Dr comment for the result was- You have healthy iron levels. Your ferritin level is actually optimal for hair growth (i.e. above 70). This is a reassuring result.
I’m very confused! Without supplementing my ferritin has risen, it was 20 on August 21st. The only thing that has changed is that my levo dose has been raised back up to 200 a day. Obviously I’m glad I’m not anaemic and so I won’t need to take the iron supplement. Still doesn’t explain the ongoing hair loss and fatigue though.
Hi Ab, yes, your iron is low which makes TIBC higher. Also, from STTM "Chronic inflammation can lower our serum iron levels because it pushes iron into storage, i.e into ferritin. And too many thyroid patients have inflammation. To see if you have inflammation, go here." stopthethyroidmadness.com/i...
Hi Heloise, the Dr comment with these result was - You have healthy iron levels. Your ferritin level is actually optimal for hair growth (i.e. above 70). This is a reassuring result.
Inflammation result was also low. I just don’t understand how ferritin can have raised from 20- to 91.5 in less than a month without any help.
Well, read the article. Ferritin is your iron in storage. It does no good while in storage. My crp was also low but I still had inflammation and it did show up with my ferritin which was OVER range. How about your sedimentation rate? "A high sed rate is a sign you have a disease that causes inflammation in your body. Some conditions and medicines can affect the speed at which red blood cells fall, and they may affect your test results. These include: Anemia."
Low vitamins result from being under medicated
The fact iron has improved suggests that you are back on right dose
That’s such a relief, now I just have to hope Dr doesn’t try to drop my Levo down again when I have thyroid bloods done.
So based on these results would you recommend not taking the Ferrous fumarate 210mg tablets prescribed by Dr since I haven’t started them yet? Since having the iron test done I’ve started taking B12 supplement, B complex & folate.
Iron 21.4 (5.8 - 34.5) 54% of the way through the range
TIBC 70.9 (45 - 72) 96% of the way through the range
UIBC 49.5 (24.2 - 70.1)
Transferrin Saturation 30.18 (20 - 50)
Ferritin 91.5 (13 - 150) 57% of the way through the range
Optimal results for iron are given here :
rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...
Serum iron
• 55 to 70% of the range
Your iron result is so close to optimal I would say it was fine.
Saturation
• optimal is 35 to 45%
Your saturation is also quite close to optimal. You only have very little wiggle room to increase your saturation and I would say it wasn't worth risking it to supplement iron to increase your saturation.
Ferritin
Most people feel at their best when ferritin is mid-range or a little bit higher. This describes your ferritin already, so raising it probably won't benefit you. There are some people who feel best with their ferritin at around 100 - 130 (with the same range that you've given), but I think trying to push it that high could push your serum iron and/or your saturation above optimal, and, personally, I try to avoid pushing anything iron-related above optimal.
If you really feel that you want your iron higher I think supplementing would drive your results too high and could backfire on you - iron is poisonous in overdose.
You could incorporate more high iron foods into your diet once a week or once every two weeks if you really wanted to. See the following website :
But if you try to raise your iron or other iron-related measures higher than they currently are then you will have to test fairly regularly to make sure you don't overdo it. The other thing that you might want to do is get a Full Blood Count done, to see if your levels in that are in tune with your iron and ferritin results.
For future reference you may find the table at the bottom of this link helpful :
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