Is my Ferritin level still too Low?

[Mikico]

Hi all - quick question - is my ferritin level still too Low even though am within range?. What is a ‘healthy’ level to aim for?

My other vitamin levels seem to be in good range

Ferritin:

34 (11 - 307)

Thanks 🙏

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Yes, here in the UK NICE say that below 30 is iron deficiency. You are close to that. We always suggest here that ferritin is half way through range although some experts say that the optimal level for thyroid function is 90-110ug/L (ng/ml is the same as ug/L).

As y our serum iron is so high and your saturation is very good, you don't have iron deficiency so iron tablets to raise your ferritin wouldn't be a good idea, it would take your serum iron and saturation levels too high. Try to raise it with diet, eg liver, liver pate, black pudding, and other iron rich foods.

B12: 503pg/ml

According to an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:

"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".

"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."

[Mikico in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for the analysis.

I was also slightly concerned that if I continued with the Iron supplements then it would unbalance the other iron results.

Cheers

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Mikico]

Are you self supplementing with the iron tablets? If so then it's pretty obvious they're just raising your serum iron but not your ferritin level. It's a difficult one, iron is quite complicated. Your GP will say your ferritin is in range so no problem but it's really too low for good health. Do you have symptoms of low ferritin:

drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...

Symptoms of low ferritin include:

◾Weakness

◾Fatigue

◾Difficulty concentrating

◾Poor work productivity

◾Cold hands and feet

◾Poor short-term memory

◾Difficulty remembering names

◾Dizziness

◾Pounding in the ears

◾Shortness of breath

◾Brittle nails

◾Headaches

◾Restless legs

Optimal iron panel levels according to rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_... are:

Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men

Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men

Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) or Transferrin: Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron

Ferritin: Low level virtually always indicates need for iron supplementation; High level with low serum iron/low saturation indicates inflammation or infection; High level with high serum iron and low TIBC indicates excess iron; Over range with saturation above 45% suggests hemochromatosis

[Mikico in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes - am supplementing (Iron + vitamins).Think will stop the supplements for the time being 👍

N/a

[radd in reply to Mikico]

Mikico,

Good explanation from SsS.

Iron goes up & down very quickly, even having an iron rich meal before testing will elevate results quite considerably and not having any reserves (ferritin) will mean levels risk dropping very quickly if iron intake isn't consistently sustained.

Therefore, if these were your levels when you were supplementing you may need to keep supplementing to maintain as ferritin is less likely to raise if you allow these levels to drop. However, I would supplement slightly less as both serum iron & T/S% are really as high as you would want them.

The other iron results only refer to the bound/unbound transport proteins and you will not unbalance them by supplementing iron as they just (inversely) correlate with iron levels. You will need to retest iron levels in a few weeks to ensure they don't keep climbing.

[Mikico in reply to radd]

Good point - will reduce supplement dose. Really appreciate it - thanks 🙏