I’ve just received my ferritin result from test done yesterday. It seems to me that it’s dropping quite quickly.
26th August 2020
7 [10-300]
After iron infusion 18th October
3rd November 2020
544 [10-300]
26th January 2021
206 [10-300]
26th April 2021
116 [10-300]
Please may I ask for a more knowledgeable opinion
Looking at previous posts your thyroid results show you are hypothyroid with TSH over 6
What are your most recent vitamin D, folate and B12
Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
List of iron rich foods
Links about iron and ferritin
irondisorders.org/too-littl...
davidg170.sg-host.com/wp-co...
Great in-depth article on low ferritin
oatext.com/iron-deficiency-...
drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...
Post discussing just how long it can take to raise low ferritin
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first
Post discussing why important to do full iron panel test
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Why low ferritin needs improving
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Thank you SlowDragon, my vitamin b and folate were good, but my vitamin d was 80, so have been supplementing. I’ve been talking Adcal-D3 750 mg/ 200 I.U. For years, two tablets twice a day.
Do you think I’m right to be concerned about my ferritin? It has dropped rather quickly. I will discuss with my gp.
Am I right in thinking that if I have sub clinical hypothyroidism with symptoms, I should request a trial of thyroid medication?
Thank you as always. You are so knowledgeable.
I don't know why your ferritin is dropping quickly, but it isn't uncommon.
One thing you should look out for is whether you are losing blood in your poo, bearing in mind that it can look bright red, maroon, black, and if it is completely digested then it will look a bit like coffee grounds. It can be difficult/impossible to see, but if you can see it that is bad news. Do you have severe piles, anal fissures? They can all cause bleeding and it could be the cause of your dropping ferritin. Do you have any symptoms of ulcerative colitis, coeliac disease, crohn's disease? All of these could reduce absorption and increase the risk of bleeding.
To investigate many of the above problems you would need a colonoscopy. Another cause of your problem could be a bleeding polyp. Polyps can bleed constantly or intermittently.
Another problem is very heavy periods. If women lose lots of blood it can reduce their body's iron levels. With low iron levels periods get heavier. With heavier periods women lose more iron. And so it goes on in a vicious cycle.
One test you should ask for if it hasn't already been done is a faecal occult blood test. For more info on that see this thread :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....
Another possible problem, common in hypothyroidism, is low stomach acid. This reduces your gut's ability to break down food into its constituent parts and so your body just can't extract iron (and other nutrients) from your food.
Coming back to your iron infusion...
Were these ferritin results from a GP/hospital instigated test? Or did you pay for them privately?
In my non-medical, and completely untrained opinion the cause of your poor ferritin levels should have been investigated before giving you the transfusion. If it wasn't then the fact that your level is dropping shouldn't be a surprise. Giving people with low iron an iron transfusion doesn't actually fix the problem, it just puts a band aid on it.
In your shoes, and with 20/20 hindsight, I would have suggested that you should have started taking iron supplements after the January result.
It can be difficult to tolerate iron supplements, so finding one that you can tolerate is really important. I wrote a reply to someone about what people can supplement with in the UK without a prescription.
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
But before you start I would suggest that you get an iron panel done. It isn't just ferritin that is important, it is essential to know what your iron is too. Get testing done regularly once you start supplementing for the reasons given in this link :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Any iron results you do get, post them and ask for feedback.
Thank you humanbean. The reason that the iron infusion was delayed, was that I had a colonoscopy and apart from a tiny benign polyp, all was healthy and clear. The gastroenterologist ordered the infusion.All of these tests were done through my surgery, as I have pointed out that I’m worried that ferritin is going down so quickly. I had a full blood count at the same time, but all looks normal, will post results.
No further investigations done re low iron results from August. At that time, I was ‘alarmingly anaemic ‘ doctor’ words.
Pastelart,
I agree with humanbean that you need an iron panel to see what is going on. Also haemoglobin so maybe a full blood count if you can persuade your GP.
Iron has mechanisms in place for best usage and to keep us safe from toxicity. Ideally the amount of transferrin transporters (& other) will match the amount of iron we need to function well, with the remaining being placed into storage (ferritin).
My guess is after your iron transfusion your ferritin became elevated because although iron was needed for use in your body there wasn't enough of the mechanisms in place to use it (ie transporters, RBC's). The body protects itself from free iron which is toxic by placing it in storage (ferritin) until needed. As more protein transporters were made in response to your iron stores, iron was taken out of storage and because you were deficient this mechanism gathered momentum reducing ferritin levels quickly.
Iron will also withhold in the presence of pathogens, etc (more ferritin caused by inflammation) and if you have gut issues you will have absorption issues that will not only effect the amount of iron absorbed but could effect VitB12 & red blood cells (haemoglobin) levels. 85% of our iron is in haemoglobin.
I've just remembered Dr P used to say for bone marrow to manufacture new blood cells, our bodies needed the correct temperature & low thyroid hormone often made us cold.
Thank you radd. Have just posted my full blood count in reply to humanbean, all normal as far as I can see. I suspect that my problem is malabsorption. I’m checking my temperature randomly now as it goes down as low as 34.4. It’s 35.8 right now, which is a degree below my normal.
Quick question around Serum Ferritin and B12
Ferritin low end of normal and hypothyroidism
Previous post deleted by me!! 🤔
low Ferritin
