Does untreated hyperthyroidism cause low iron and low ferritin?

I need to know and I would be happy if to add my labs.

[NIKEGIRL]

Hi. I have Graves and my ferritin is over the range, higher than normal. I do wonder if this is due to inflammation because my haemoglobin is borderline at the bottom of the range.

[Hidden in reply to NIKEGIRL]

I have pancytopenia and my three blood cells are all low. I believe it could be connected to hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism it's just confusing to figure it out.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at previous posts you are hypothyroid

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Do you know if inflammation is connected to hypothyroidism?

[Wolfiesmom08]

I am not sure anybody really knows exactly what causes low ferritin some people think it’s linked to the MTHFR gene and there says it’s due to low stomach acid. I would do a search through old posts. Lots of good info.

[Hidden in reply to Wolfiesmom08]

Thank you, I do have gastritis and esophagitis so I don't know if it's an absorption issue.

[Wolfiesmom08 in reply to Hidden]

My ferritin went from a seven to about a 22 when I started using digestive enzymes with HCl. I take at every meal as well as iron with vitamin C every day.

[Hidden in reply to Wolfiesmom08]

Yes, Vitamin C is wonderful for absorption and my hematologist tells me ”you're not anemic”, then my diagnosis sheet says pancytopenia (low blood cell counts). I do feel better when I take iron and vitamin C but my doctors aren't good about checking. They won't check it every 6 months because it takes 6 months for iron stores to replenish.

[Wolfiesmom08 in reply to Hidden]

Yes it’s confusing and I don’t quite understand it all but you are not anemic with low ferritin.

[Hidden in reply to Wolfiesmom08]

It's interesting then it's something else then?

[Wolfiesmom08 in reply to Hidden]

Yes anemia is low iron not low ferritin. It can lead to anemia. But I’m not a health medical worker so that’s just what I’ve read. urmc.rochester.edu/encyclop...

[Hidden in reply to Wolfiesmom08]

Yes, The ferritin is just how much iron your body stores and iron is the bloodstream. I had low levels with them all.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Wolfiesmom08]

Anemia is not necessarily low iron!

Causes of anaemia

Anaemia can have many causes, including:

• dietary deficiency – lack of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid in the diet

• malabsorption – where the body is not able to properly absorb or use the nutrients in the diet, caused by conditions such as coeliac disease

• inherited disorders – such as thalassaemia or sickle cell disease

• autoimmune disorders – such as autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, where the immune cells attack the red blood cells and decrease their life span

• chronic diseases – such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis

• hormone disorders – such as hypothyroidism

• bone marrow disorders – such as cancer

• blood loss – due to trauma, surgery, peptic ulcer, heavy menstruation, cancer (in particular bowel cancer), or frequent blood donations

• drugs and medications – including alcohol, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs or anti-coagulant medications

• mechanical destruction –mechanical heart valves can damage red blood cells, reducing their lifespan

• infection – such as malaria and septicaemia, which reduce the life span of red blood cells

• periods of rapid growth or high energy requirements – such as puberty or pregnancy.

betterhealth.vic.gov.au/hea...

[humanbean]

I think any kind of thyroid disease can affect iron and ferritin levels and send them higher or lower. They would certainly be worth testing at least once to see if you have a problem that needs fixing. If you did have a problem you would need to test more often as you tried to fix it because low ferritin is exhausting and high ferritin can indicate other problems.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Yes It's frustrating checking iron levels because it fluctuates.

[pennyannie]

Untreated hyper or untreated hypo will both cause changes in one's own metabolism.

Much like a well looked after and serviced car that runs " like a dream " our own bodies need to be as optimal as possible and vitamins and minerals play a crucial role in keeping our core strength strong and solid.

If either hypo or hyper you may well experience high/ low vitamin and mineral levels as your metabolism will be " off " and either running too fast or too slow for complete absorption of the nutrients from food that are needed to support your body and maintain optimum health.

[Hidden in reply to pennyannie]

I do have esophagitis and gastritis, it would interesting to know the root cause. I have rheumatoid arthritis so I don't know if my stomach issues are autoimmune.

[pennyannie in reply to Hidden]

Looking back at your profile it seems you are hypothyroid - were your antibodies ever run when diagnosed ?

[Hidden in reply to pennyannie]

The doctors never check antibodies they do the bare minimum TSH and T4. I have to beg to get them to T3. I don't know why they never do antibody count.

[pennyannie in reply to Hidden]

Well, this post is questioning hyperthyroidism and your previous posts talk of hypothyroidism so if both these sets of symptoms are one person's symptoms, there's the likelihood of there being an auto immune thyroid disease - Hashimoto's.

Hashimoto's maybe confirmed by running full thyroid panel to include the thyroid antibodies, and your results may show over range anti bodies and then you would have a diagnosis and know what you re dealing with.

Stomach and gut issues do seem common with Hashimoto's.

When the immune system attacks the thyroid your levels of T3 and T4 production become erratic and you may experience " swings " of hyper type symptoms but when this swing " swings back " the thyroid is a little worse for wear, and you may become a little more hypothyroid.

Over the years with these phases of " hyper type symptoms " your own thyroid hormone production becomes more compromised and eventually you will need to be increasing up your thyroid hormone replacement to compensate for the loss of your own thyroid hormone production.

You can read up more on the Thyroid uk website and this is the charity which supports this amazing forum and there are also details of private companies where you can have the blood tests necessary should your doctor not oblige.

[Hidden in reply to pennyannie]

Thank you, my doctors just happened too late in diagnosing me with autoimmune disorders. I feel like it's just when a doctor feels as if they know you then they don't thoroughly check bloodwork. I will check out more posts and lookup research on autoimmune conditions.