Low Ferritin

[caroash]

Hi my daughter had a ferritin level of 11 and was given iron supplements from the GP ,they gave her a bad stomach and had to stop taking them.She got some Iron protein plus (life extension) on recommendation.Does anybody know what ferritin levels warrant an iron Infusion,I can't seem to find a definitive answer.I know they say levels of below 10 are critical,but I don't understand why they just prescribe iron tablets with such a low reading.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Has GP done a full iron panel test

How long since she started iron supplements

Levels need retesting regularly…..3-4 times a year when supplementing

What age approx is your daughter

Is she vegetarian or vegan

Any obvious reason for very low ferritin levels

low iron and ferritin common with hypothyroidism

Does your daughter have a thyroid problem

Is she hypothyroid and on levothyroxine?

If yes, what are her most recent thyroid results

Also important to test vitamin D, folate and B12

[caroash in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi thanks for your reply,yes they did a full iron panel test,I'll ask her to get a print off. She is 21 and has heavy periods and doesn't eat red meat,but does eat chicken fish and dairy. She doesn't have a thyroid problem,but I'll get her to get all bloods printed off to post.b12 levels high they said,she had a b12 injections the week before .She had the ferritin of 11 in May and then had blood tes4 week ago and they just said iron results were encouraging .So definitely need print outs Thankyou

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to caroash]

caroash

b12 levels high they said,she had a b12 injections the week before

Presumably B12 injections are prescribed? They shouldn't be testing B12 level when on injections, there's no point, it will always be high after an injection and will drop before one is due. This is in the guidelines:

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

How should I treat a person with vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia?

What monitoring is required after treatment for vitamin B12 or folate deficiency has started?

Ongoing monitoring is unnecessary unless a lack of compliance with treatment is suspected, anaemia recurs, or neurological symptoms do not improve or progress.

[caroash in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi thanks for your reply,no it wasn't prescribed,she has them privately as levels on low side and help her with some health symptoms.It was just that they tested it alongside other blood tests and they commented that it was high,so she informed them she had had an injection.

[humanbean]

Hi my daughter had a ferritin level of 11 and was given iron supplements from the GP ,they gave her a bad stomach and had to stop taking them.

I'm guessing that your daughter was prescribed ferrous sulphate. They are the cheapest, roughest iron supplements that doctors prescribe, and lots of people can't tolerate them. I felt as though I was drinking a glass of acid when I took them (very briefly). There are quite a few other iron supplements to choose from, and they can all be bought without a prescription, so you are not restricted to what your doctor grudgingly prescribes.

See this reply to another member about iron supplements :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

If I had my time over again when I was dreadfully short of iron and ferritin I would pay for an iron transfusion. I absorbed iron so poorly it took me nearly two years to get my ferritin to mid-range, and despite achieving it eventually, my serum iron was still low.

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

This thread could be helpful as well :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[caroash in reply to humanbean]

It was a German doctor that recommended these on a site. She took them daily for a while then forgot ,but she did feel a lot better after about 3 weeks. Did all the vit C with it and no calcium foods ect.

[caroash in reply to humanbean]

Hi thanks for all the info/links wil have a look,yes was ferrous sulphate,you're right awful stuff,she had diahorrhea and cramps and wasn't absorbing it . Someone recommended this Life extension iron protein plus and has been really good,but now needs to know if Ferritin has increased significantly.I did think at such low levels they would give an infusion as is so risky for heart to have such low levels

Iron protein plus

[humanbean in reply to caroash]

I just looked up that product and each dose contains 15mg of pure iron, as far as I can tell.

This probably explains why your daughter could tolerate them - they had very low levels of iron in them.

It is unlikely she will manage to raise her iron and/or ferritin substantially with those pills.

Someone who has low levels of iron or ferritin isn't cured by taking a few iron pills. Whatever the problem that caused the low iron/ferritin is still there when they stop taking them and their levels will just drop again.

It would be worth asking your daughter's doctor to do an iron panel, but if he won't do it then it can be done privately if she is over 18. You haven't said how old she is.

[caroash in reply to humanbean]

Hi I did assume they had done an iron panel,but need to find out what exactly they tested.Hee symptoms did improve with those tablet, notably the fatigue,but I understand what you're saying.She is 21 and has heavy periods and doesn't eat red meat,so GP thought periods were likely cause.Ive asked her to contact them to get results and check was an iron panel.Thanks

th

[humanbean]

I don't understand why they just prescribe iron tablets with such a low reading.

Because doctors are a bunch of cheapskates, the rules were probably made by men, and those men have probably never actually had low iron so think it is no big deal.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at your previous posts ….Do you have hypothyroidism

Has your daughter actually had full thyroid test including thyroid antibodies and folate and vitamin D tested

[caroash in reply to SlowDragon]

I did have borderline thyroid a few years ago,but with advice from here reg iron,vit d ,b12 my thyroid levels are good now.Did take thyroid S for a year around that time,then couldn't get it.But thyroid levels really good Take high dose vitD.Shes now at Uni doctors who are terrible to get through to, but will get her to ask for print offs and more tests Had low D in past ,but supplements line me.Ill get her to ask for thyroid antibody test Thankyou

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to caroash]

Try to get her to increase iron rich foods in her diet

Heavy periods will lead to low iron and ferritin ask for full iron panel testing for Anaemia

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency

Also See page 7 on here 

rcn.org.uk/-/media/royal-co...

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

dailyiron.net

Links about iron and ferritin

An article that explains why Low ferritin and low thyroid levels are often linked 

preventmiscarriage.com/iron...

 

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.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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 and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing. It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron 

Medichecks iron panel test 

medichecks.com/products/iro...

Iron and thyroid link

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Excellent article on iron and thyroid 

cambridge.org/core/journals...

Posts discussing why important to do full iron panel test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Chicken livers if iron is good, but ferritin low

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Heme iron v non heme

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

Ferritin over 100  

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[caroash in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi thanks so much for all these links/info, definitely need all blood results and check if done iron panel.Woukd be better with her doctors at home rather than uni ones. Really good advice for diet/foods too Got her some molasses too,I'll get the chicken liver pate,god I remember eating liver and onions as a child 🙄 probably really good,but couldn't stomach it now. You're a brilliant on here, always there for the best advice Thankyou so much

[csj113]

Hi

Your daughter could try taking one Ferrous Fumarate tablet every second day. She might tolerate that better though be warned it takes months so she needs to stick with it.

My GP would not refer for infusion when my Ferritin was 7. I had to go private and it was the best money I’ve ever spent. I went to the Iron Clinic in London - I live in Scotland and unfortunately no-one does private infusion there. Btw the website had good info on low Ferritin last time I looked. The tablet regime above was what they told me to do if I didn’t get an infusion. Taking too much oral iron each day is a waste of time and is usually intolerable to the patient - your body can only absorb a certain amount in a 24 hour period.

[caroash in reply to csj113]

Thanks for your reply, that's terrible they didn't give you an iron Infusion with such critically low levels.I think it's negligent.Thats Interesting and makes sense,it's like many things they need to build up slowly. Are you feeling better now and did you tolerate infusion okay.

[csj113 in reply to caroash]

I guess it’s cheaper to give tablets and in fairness they do work - eventually! Also current guidelines are extremely outdated with the acceptable range starting at 15 (which my private haematologist described as extremely deficient).

I feel so much better - fatigue, nails, joint pain etc etc all vastly improved.

The newer preparations they use in infusion these days (usually Ferinject) are safe and well tolerated. I felt absolutely fine after mine, and about 3 weeks later the extreme fatigue started to lift.

[caroash in reply to csj113]

Ahh that's good you feel so much better,gish yes 15 , definitely think the point made about men deciding these guidelines have a point I'll get her to get readings and take it from there,I'll look into private infusion if necessary,I think depends on how her level are and get full iron panel done if haven't already Thankyou

[allgaeu-123]

hi, the best way is eating chicken liver two days in the week for 4 weeks. chicken liver noodle soup. you can read this by Hildegard from bingen, but it is easy to try. and the best to fill iron is eisen from espara, nowbody has Intestinal disorders. for peoples where cannot take pills ...can take phönix ferrum spag. 3x20 tr. sorry for my english

[caroash in reply to allgaeu-123]

Hi thanks for this,that soup sounds like a good way of getting the liver without eating liver I'll check out the information regarding supplements.

[allgaeu-123 in reply to caroash]

I'll try to send the ordinal text to the soup

rezept

[jillyana]

Sorry to hear your daughter has low Ferritin. Mine is always low due to hypothroidism. I once dropped to 8 & felt dreadful - my GP laughed at my results & said it was a wonder I could walk! I was only prescibed iron tablets. All GPs are different, so hopefully your daughter's will be more understanding.