Hi all, I’d love to get your opinion since you’re the most knowledgeable group I know.
It’s been a really long journey and I think I’ve figured out why I’m out of breath all the time and tired (and many other symptoms) and I think it’s down to an iron deficiency.
I thought it was b12 but I’ve been supplementing and my bloods show an increase.
My ferritin levels are 62 (13-150) and were 65 a year ago. I have been taking 18mcg of iron everyday for well over a year but it’s not made any difference. I’ve included other results in case im missing something. These were taken in the morning and no levothyroxine for 24 hours. I take 150 levothyroxine and it seems to work for me.
my b12 is 834 (145-569)
TSH is 0.8 (0.27-4.20)
T4 is 16.5 (12-22)
Folate is 39.3 (8.80-60.80)
D3 is 93 (no exact range but 50> is considered sufficient)
I have been supplementing all of these and my blood is showing I’m absorbing them.
As per most people’s experience my drs have not been great. I’ve recently moved area and that has not improved things which is why I’m trying to control what I can as much as possible.
What I’m not sure of is why I’m iron deficient and what’s causing it. I think I have low stomach acid so I’m taking Betaine and a digestive enzyme which worked before and I took a break and it’s been 3 weeks and no change so far. I get bloated when I eat anything so it’s leading me to think it’s digestive but not sure what exactly or how to tackle it.
Does anyone have any ideas of why I’m not absorbing it, other things I can get my dr to test and any treatments I can try?
Thank you!
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KE12
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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
Stop iron supplements 5-7 days before test. Test early morning and only water between waking and test. Don’t eat iron rich dinner night before test
The dr didn’t request a full iron panel this time but these were my results last time and nothing has changed in symptoms. These were a year ago.
Serum TIBC - 56 (50-72)
Transferrin saturation index 48% (20-50)
Iron level - 26.9 (14-30)
I’ve been on the same brands of levothyroxine, I have 100 with accord and 25 with mercury pharma.
I’m struggling to get drs to take control of the situation and figure out what’s going on which I’m sure would be no surprise to this group. Process of elimination and with corroborating symptoms tells me I’ve got an iron deficiency.
So you don't have iron deficiency, in fact your serum iron and saturation areclose to the top of the ranges and suggest that iron supplements aren't needed, much more and you'll be over range and continuing to take iron may lead to iron overload/toxicity.
Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 80.62%
Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - yours is 48%
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 - yours is 27.27% so at the lower end of the range and doesn't indicate the need for iron supplements.
You just have lowish ferritin and you can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet
Thanks for the interpretation of the results, I assumed that low end meant deficiency.
I eat a varied diet including meat but it’s obviously not enough so I’ll try eating liver and black pudding and in a concentrated form to see if that makes a difference. Thank you.
I completely agree with Seaside Susie. I too have a relatively low ferritin but my last 2 iron panels (I do them annually) have shown my iron is now over range and my TIBC is under range. Also have high over range transferrin saturation 56%. I was so bothered by this that I tested for haemochromatosis and found I carry the main gene for it C282Y. Normally as 'only' a carrier I would not develop iron overload but there are a number of genes that can also contribute and I would only need to be a carrier of another to end up with haemochromatosis. It may be that I am just starting to develop it. You also need to do a full blood count as that can reveal further whether there are problems with iron.
Edit: I don't and have never supplemented iron and don't eat red meat, so you can see why I might start to wonder why my iron is now over range!
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron. It's like a huge container ship! The iron measured in an iron panel is 'free' iron, so not bound to ferritin (or transferrin, an iron transport protein). In full blown haemochromatosis ferritin levels will go up and up to dangerous levels. People have been know to have ferritin values of over 3000! If I were you I would stop supplementing iron for now. Do another iron panel in a few months when you are not supplementing and keep an eye on what transferrin saturation is doing, along with free iron and ferritin. If your FBC is normal for now, that's good.
If you are interested in learning more about haemochromatosis then do visit their website:
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