Iron results help

[Nellie2016]

Good Morning, i had these done this week by medichecks as my gp only does ferritin and that goes up and down too much i cant use that to see how im at with my actual iron stores which i believe im lacking as my diet hardly contains iron rich foods especially this year my ferritin test by my Gp June 23rd it was. 84 ng/mL (15-300 ) the Dr at Medichecks said because my ferritin is okay no worries of Iron defeciency but i can see my transferrin percentage isnt that good im not clued up on iron that much can anyone help Please

[SlowDragon Administrator]

will flag humanbean to comment

[Nellie2016 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank You !

[Nellie2016 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi Slowdragon, ididnt get any replies re my iron test should i ask again? I can see a name you mentioned but no reply

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at your low iron and low saturation levels I think you need to increase iron rich foods in your diet and possibly might take iron supplements

Can you discuss with GP or ask for referral to haematology

Low transferrin = iron deficiency

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

But your ferritin is high

High ferritin could be higher due to inflammation

TIBC on lower end of range is also conflicting

webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/wha...

will tag humanbean again

[Nellie2016 in reply to SlowDragon]

My Gp says all is okay my crp suggests no imflammation and nothing to worry about but as i told her many times my ferritin goes up n down to much to go by i cant see how its gone from 84 to 199 in 3 months no iron rich food no supplements and its been going on for ages over a year or so now before when i was low in ferritin like 45. i had to take supplements and it took ages to get it up

[Nellie2016 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for the info

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Nellie2016]

Test early morning, only water to drink between waking and test. Avoid high iron rich dinner night before test

Is this how you do your tests?

Medichecks iron panel test

medichecks.com/products/iro...

[Nellie2016 in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes exactly i just dont understand the results i do know i dont go by ferritin anymore my gp will not do iron panel ever only ferritin do had to go Medichecks i cant put everything down to thyroid as i have been

[Nellie2016 in reply to SlowDragon]

Reading through it it seems that i do have an iron problem it says that haemaglobin can stay normal in some types of iron problems with all the symptoms i have to me does point to iron its very complicated to understand but had a good read but i have many of the symptoms im not going by ferritin anymore all i can do is diet rich in iron which ive started n maybe an iron supplement my diet and stress has been terrible especially last 6 months but Thank You again

[humanbean]

Suggested optimal results for iron testing are given on this link :

rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...

Note that iron results can be contradictory, with one test in an iron panel suggesting that iron should be increased and another suggesting that iron is too high. This is quite common.

For more info on interpreting blood tests this website is helpful :

labtestsonline.org.uk/

CRP - This is a non-specific marker for inflammation and infection somewhere in the body - unfortunately it doesn't tell you where that inflammation or infection is. But the good news is that a result less than 1 is optimal, so yours is fine.

Iron - Your result is 5% through range. Optimal for iron is given as :

• 55 to 70% of the range

• higher end for men

Your result is miles under optimal suggesting that you need more iron.

TIBC - Your result is approx 11% through the range, so is low in range. Optimal is described as

• Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron

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

This suggests that you lack capacity for more iron, even though your serum iron is low too.

Transferrin Saturation - Your result is under range suggesting that you need more iron.

Ferritin (iron stores) - Your result is approx 27% through the range. The lab that did your testing usually sticks to a range of 30 - 150 for women when they are pre-menopausal and we suggest optimal with such a range is 90 - 110 ug/L. But after menopause the lab uses a range suggesting that that women can safely have a ferritin that is massively higher than the pre-menopausal range. Pathogens need iron to reproduce just like human cells do. High levels of iron can actually benefit pathogens, so some of us on the forum have rejected that high range as being unhealthy and dangerous (only one lab uses that range - I can't remember their name though). I would accept that my own ferritin might be slightly higher than it was when I was pre-menopausal because I'm no longer losing iron through menstruation but I wouldn't be happy with a result of 300+. It just sounds dangerous to me - it is almost high enough to trigger testing for haemochromatosis.

Your ferritin being 199 is a result I would be reasonably happy with myself at my age and since I'm post-menopausal. But you might want to do your own research on the subject. In your shoes I wouldn't be happy with an iron level or saturation level as low as yours.

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If I summarise your iron results :

Serum iron suggests your need more iron.

TIBC suggests you have enough iron.

Transferrin Saturation suggests you need more iron.

Ferritin is okay, but in some circumstances may be considered high. It's a difficult subject.

Do you know what your haemoglobin level is? If you've had it tested it would be part of a Full Blood Count (FBC).

If your ferritin is too high for good health then you may have this condition :

irondisorders.org/anemia-of...

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The problem with taking iron supplements is that nobody can be sure without regular testing that the thing they want to raise is what is actually rising. For example, if people take iron supplements to raise their serum iron or saturation then they might find that their iron and saturation don't rise, and their ferritin will rise instead. Or, alternatively, if they want to raise their ferritin and take supplements their serum iron and/or saturation might rise instead. One can never be sure in advance.

Some more links you might find helpful :

See page 8 : web.archive.org/web/2020021...

irondisorders.org/wp-conten...

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When I had below range TIBC, below range serum iron, and bottom of range ferritin I took iron supplements. I tested fairly regularly and my ferritin very slowly went up. My serum iron and TIBC rose sufficiently to get just into range but no higher, so I concentrated on getting my ferritin up to mid-range, then keeping it there. If I stopped taking iron supplements my ferritin would drop like a stone. I was constantly adjusting to keep my ferritin where I felt it was safe. A long time later my serum iron started to rise even though I was taking only about 2 or 3 iron tablets a week at the time. Just because the dosing suggests taking a supplement every day it isn't always necessary, and reducing the days of the week it is taken can save money too.

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You could try taking iron supplements for two or three months then do another iron panel. If your ferritin has shot up or you start to feel worse than usual then it would suggest that you might need to give the iron up.

For info on the most popular iron supplement on the forum now, which is a haem/heme supplement :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Taking vitamin C with an iron supplement can help the body to absorb iron.

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I know that this probably isn't as helpful as you might have wanted, but iron is complicated, and I'm not a doctor, I'm just a patient who suffered with low iron and ferritin for decades and had to learn how to deal with the problem myself in the end.

[Nellie2016 in reply to humanbean]

Thank You very much humanbean for your helpful reply ive read some of the information already but as my Gp my endocrinolgist medichecks dr all say all is okay ive got no idea but go by myself the ferritin results on theirs i cant go by as i said up n down too much i will put my bloodtest results on for you to look at and i do understand you are not a doctor your more helpful tho! Ive just started liver twice a week n try iron rich foods and maybe take supplements for a while i can see my haemoglobin is dropping used to be higher

Latest bloods

[humanbean in reply to Nellie2016]

Your haemoglobin (Hb) is fine. Depending on source you're reading, anaemia is diagnosed as below range Hb i.e. below 115 g/L with the range for your test, or below 120 g/L. The 120 g/L was quoted by the World Health Organisation. To find their info go to this link:

who.int/publications/i/item...

Click on the Download option and then go to page 3 of the document.

[Nellie2016 in reply to humanbean]

Thank You reading some of the info you have sent i can relate to with what might be going on? going by last results but with my Gp Endo and Medichecks Dr saying same thing all okay i wont get much from them if my ferritin wasnt so up n down like has been it was 84 3 months ago and ive had no iron rich foods no supplements my diet has not been good for a long while due to so much stress with losses in family etc my ferritin has been well in the hundreds for a while with negative CRP so i was suprised to see it at 84 anyway i will close off now and Thank You again