After posting my thyroid panel it was recommended that I get an iron panel and a gluten test.
The gluten test came back negative and my ferritin level has apparently improved from the beginning of July. Can that happen so quickly? Seems unusual.
I’ve stopped taking my high dose iron supplement since my last post, but I’m concerned that after reading my results it’s actually what’s been keeping me going.
I eat plenty of protein, red meat, beans, pulses, leafy greens etc. my diet is very good.
I have heavy periods and after an agonising visit to A&E they’ve found an endometria cyst on my ovary which has become rather large and being removed very soon.
I had magnesium done also which was slightly high, very occasionally supplement with transdermal better you spray.
Do I need to improve my iron levels? How do I do that?
Thank you in advance for reading and helping me!
Olivia
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OliviaJ
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For an iron panel we often refer to the following information from rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_... who say optimal levels are:
Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 54.7% which is just about right.
Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - yours is 30.6% so just short of optimal.
Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC): Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron - yours is 69.72% so over half way but not high in range.
Ferritin: always recommended here is half way through range (about 82 with that range) although some experts say that the optimal level for thyroid function is 90-110ug/L.
So obviously no sign of iron deficiency nor is there any sign of too much serum iron/saturation.
You said you were taking a large dose of iron daily. Exactly how much elemental iron was that?
my ferritin level has apparently improved from the beginning of July. Can that happen so quickly? Seems unusual.
I wouldn't have thought so because it can take a long time to raise ferritin when trying. However, you've used two different testing companies although they may or may not have used the same lab, but we always get anomalies with ferritin between labs so it's difficult to actually get a true ferritin level we can rely on.
As for magnesium, this is an unreliable test. About 99% of magnesium is stored in bone, muscles and soft tissues, leaving about 1% in the blood. So testing what's in the blood isn't giving an accurate picture of our magnesium status.
A red cell magnesium test is the better indicator of magnesium status, not the standard serum magnesium test. The red cell test is expensive and requires phlebotomy which is why it's not included in these bundles.
If you want to read the science, this information is from this article:
If you're taking D3 then magnesium is an important cofactor, it helps the body convert D3 into it's usable form. Personally I wouldn't worry too much but just look out for signs of Hypermagnesaemia:
Thank you very much for such a comprehensive reply. Interesting that you should say that with the labs. I used Medichecks and Blue Horizon. I did notice that I was sending them to the exact same address, which made me wonder if they are the same lab just dressed differently for different consumers. 🤔
I was taking Ferrograd C, one tablet a day which is ferrous sulphate 325mg controlled release equivalent to 105mg elemental iron with 500 mg vit c/ sodium ascorbate.
I have been taking that high dose for over 3 years. Originally given a high dose via my doctor during pregnancy as my ferritin was 10 or 11 and continued on my own after.
I'm inclined to think my high doses have helped me as my symptoms have improved from where I was 5 years ago, still not all the way there but I dread to think where I would be without it.
Not sure where to go now?
Back to the drawing board.
I can't stay sick and fat, but I don't know what if any stones are left to turn!
I used Medichecks and Blue Horizon. I did notice that I was sending them to the exact same address, which made me wonder if they are the same lab just dressed differently for different consumers.
No. BH and Medichecks are different companies, not connected. They are "middlemen" (for want of a better word). They sell the tests then the blood samples are sent to independent labs to be processed. Both BH and Medichecks use Eurofins County Pathology (mostly I think) or The Doctor's Laboratory.
I was taking Ferrograd C, one tablet a day which is ferrous sulphate 325mg controlled release equivalent to 105mg elemental iron with 500 mg vit c/ sodium ascorbate.
So this dose seems to be keeping all your levels reasonable, not too high, not too low. I don't really see any need to change anything. It might be an idea to test 2 or 3 times a year (with an iron panel) just to ensure things stay stable and don't go one way or the other.
Not sure where to go now?
Back to the drawing board.
I can't stay sick and fat, but I don't know what if any stones are left to turn!
I've just read through your previous post, I didn't comment except for iron, many other members had already responded.
TSH: 2.83 (0.27-4.20)
FT4: 15 (12-22)
FT3: 4.67 (3.1-6.8)
I notice that Greygoose commented on your thyroid results and I agree with what she said.
A normal healthy person with no thyroid problem would generally have TSH around 1-2, with FT4 around mid-range-ish. See graph of TSH here:
None of us are tested for a baseline in health so we don't know what's normal for us, but you can see most people are between 1 and 2 although a few are either side of that level.
Your FT4 is just 30% through range so even though we don't know what your normal is it's likely that this is low.
It's very possible that your thyroid is starting to struggle.
Aim to get Vit D up to the level recommended by the Vit D Council, Vit D Society and Grassroots Health, which is 100-150nmol/L, with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health mentioning a study recommending at least 125nmol/L.
You said you were using BetterYou spray 3,000iu daily. Personally I'd increase that for 3 months to 4,000 or 5,000iu and see what happens. You might want to consider changing to a different supplement. I've always used Doctor's Best D3 softgels and been very happy with them. You need to take magnesium daily as this helps the body convert D3 into it's usable form. You also need to take another important cofactor - Vit K2-MK7. This is because D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as calcification of arteries and kidney stones.
For Vit K2-MK7 my suggestions are Vitabay, Vegavero or Vitamaze brands which all contain the correct form of K2-MK7 - the "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form. The All Trans form is the bioactive form, a bit like methylfolate is the bioactive form of folic acid.
Vitabay and Vegavero are either tablets or capsules.
Vitabay does do an oil based liquid.
Vitamaze is an oil based liquid.
With the oil based liquids the are xx amount of K2-MK7 per drop so you just take the appropriate amount of drops.
They are all imported German brands, you can find them on Amazon although they do go out of stock from time to time. I get what I can when I need to restock. If the tablet or capsule form is only in 200mcg dose at the time I take those on alternate days.
If looking for a combined D3/K2 supplement, this one has 3,000iu D3 and 50mcg K2-MK7. The K2-MK7 is the All-Trans form
Aim to get Folate to at least mid-range which with the Blue Horizon range would be 35 plus. Consider Thorne Basic B Complex or one that says "bioavailable" or "bioactive" and has methylfolate not folic acid.
I would retest everything in 3-4 months to see where things are.
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