Iron Profile test advice

[HotelHurricaine]

Hello,

On this forum's advice I've had a full iron profile done with Medichecks and these are the results- can anyone advise if these are indeed optimal, as they say?

Iron - 14.5 mol/L (6.6 - 26)

TIBC - 58 mol/L (41-77

Transferring Saturation - 25% (20 - 55)

Ferritin 50 ug/L (13-150)

Thank you so much!

[humanbean]

I've rounded the percentages up or down to the nearest whole number.

Iron - 14.5 mol/L (6.6 - 26) 41% through the range

TIBC - 58 mol/L (41-77) 47% through the range

Transferrin Saturation - 25% (20 - 55)

Ferritin 50 ug/L (13-150) 27% through range

...

Optimal levels for iron and iron-related tests are given here :

rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...

Please note that contradictory results are common.

...

Serum iron

• 55 to 70% of the range

• higher end for men / lower end for women

Your result 41% through the range) is well below optimal suggesting that you need more iron.

TIBC (total iron binding capacity) or Transferrin

• Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron

• High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron

Your result (47% through range) is very close to mid-range, which is good, suggesting you have enough iron.

Saturation

• optimal is 35 to 45%

• higher end for men / lower end for women

Your result (25% through range) is below optimal, suggesting that you need more 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

Your result (27% through range) is in range but low in range. What is classed as optimal for ferritin differs according to source. On this forum a common suggestion is that optimal is approximately 50% - 70% through the range, and yours is much lower than that suggesting that you need more iron.

...

You haven't mentioned taking iron supplements so I'll assume you don't currently take them.

...

In your shoes I would suggest taking iron supplements and then re-testing in 6 - 8 weeks to start with. You need to know how quickly your iron/ferritin go up. It is also possible for your iron to go up and ferritin to go down, or vice versa and these results can be helpful to find out more about your general health. Until you've tested you won't know what will happen. This link is worth reading and it explains what might happen if people over-supplement and don't test regularly :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

For your options on what to supplement with, read this reply to another member :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Please note that the above reply was written a while ago and apparently there are more options for ferritin supplements than there were at the time I wrote the above. (Iron salts like ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate, and ferrous bisglycinate are available very easily in all sorts of places without prescription.) I've never bought a ferritin supplement myself so can't comment on them, or their price, or where they can be bought.

The reference range for your ferritin result is out of date and I wish Medichecks would update their testing protocol and ranges for ferritin. For more information :

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

Please note the text just a few lines below the "Interpreting ferritin levels" link :

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

Some links you might find helpful :

irondisorders.org/wp-conten...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[HotelHurricaine in reply to humanbean]

Thank you! Will investigate iron supplements and re-test in 6-8 weeks.

There seem to be a lot of different types of iron supplements - is any particular one better than another?

I have Solgar Gentle Iron (not started taking yet) which is ferrous bisglycinate 20mg - will this differ greatly from ferrous fumerate for example apart from the actual iron dosage per pill?

[humanbean in reply to HotelHurricaine]

The higher the amount of iron in an iron supplement the more people will struggle to tolerate it. But then taking a really low dose will increase the time it takes to improve levels of iron and ferritin.

Some people do very well with ferrous/iron bisglycinate which is worth a try.

Another option is ferrous gluconate which is available from pharmacies only in the UK. The maximum dose is 6 tablets a day in divided doses e.g. 2 tablets, 3 times a day. However I would suggest that you try 1 tablet a day to start with and raise the dose by one tablet at a time, depending on your tolerance. I would think that three tablets per day might be ample for a lot of people.

Make sure that any iron tablet(s) you take are separated from taking any thyroid hormones by four hours. Iron will reduce absorption of thyroid hormones a LOT.

[HotelHurricaine in reply to humanbean]

Thank you, I'm very grateful for your advice. ☺️