My iron panel results are just in. Everything is in range though my ferritin just makes it and is very low.
I eat an iron rich diet and have been for several months, even before the extra focus it was pretty good. I’m also gluten free.
I’d like to raise ferritin and be at optimal levels before exploring a private endo for my poor T4 to T3 conversion.
I’ve looked at other posts and wonder if I should look at taking Three Armour iron supplement, and which is best? If I do this would I need to change / stop my B complex?
Is it worth sharing these results with GP or wait until I’ve made any changes and retest? The GP is ok depending on who I see, a poor experience a couple of months ago has put me off…felt dismissed as older, fat and female and my symptoms should be expected.
Any advice on what I can do to raise ferritin would be appreciated. I’ve read quite a few posts /links but my brain fuzziness means I struggle to make sense of and maintain the info.
My CRP is high and this has shown up on a couple of previous tests since my hypothyroid diagnosis, not every one though. I’ll retest as per medichecks advice in 6-8 weeks.
Hugs thanks as always!
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Slowrunner1208
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Hm, you're in a tricky spot there, because your iron is actually at the high end of the range. You may well have the MTHFR gene, which can cause low ferritin with high iron. And your TIBC and UIBC are near the upper end as well, though your saturation seems good (I believe this is supposed to be around middle of range for women). I'd be very cautious about supplementing, especially since you already have an iron-rich diet, because taking extra iron could push your iron level over range, and excess iron is toxic. I've had low ferritin and raised it successfully with Three Arrows (assume this is the one you mean?), but in your case, it's probably not a good idea. Others with more experience like humanbean will hopefully be along to comment though and might have other thoughts?
Red meat twice a week is only 2/7 so I'm sure you could up that proportion.
Half a pack of chicken liver isn;t much per week so perhaps increase that to one whole pack and make sure whatever vit C you consume is at the same meal.
Ferritin is notoriously slow to raise though so do stick at it.
It is common to have iron-related results that are contradictory e.g. one test might be high in range while another is low in range.
...
CRP or CRP HS - This is a non-specific measure of inflammation. It will tell you if inflammation exists but not where it is. Optimal is less than 1. Just an anecdote to give you an idea of what levels might be found in illness - I saw someone having a CRP test done on TV once by an NHS doctor in an NHS surgery. The patient had a chest infection. Their result was 50. So a result of 6.4, although above optimal, is not life threatening, but it does suggest you have some inflammation somewhere. It could be lungs, muscles, joints, gut, ... Improving nutrients and thyroid hormone levels should help to reduce inflammation. Too much sugar or alcohol in the diet will increase inflammation.
Iron - optimal for this, from the link given above is :
• 55 to 70% of the range
• higher end for men
Your iron result is 81% through the reference range and so is above optimal.
TIBC
• Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron
• High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron
- Your result is 67.5% through the range i.e. above mid-range indicating your body should be able to absorb more iron.
UIBC
I don't have an optimal level for this, but it is explained here :
Ignore the optimal given on that link - it is just a range, rather than an optimal level.
Transferrin Saturation
• optimal is 35 to 45%
• higher end for men
Your saturation is 37.8%, suggesting your level is optimal.
Ferritin : Your level is only a smidgen within the range. Optimal for this varies according to source, but 90 - 110 ug/L is often suggested to be a good result. Yours is clearly much lower than that and you would probably feel better with a higher level.
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So, you have high iron and low ferritin. If you were to start supplementing iron the chances are high that your iron would get higher and your ferritin wouldn't change - and this isn't desirable. For now, it is not advisable for you to take iron.
With high iron /low ferritin the most likely cause is that you have less than ideal MTHFR genes. It's very common. In this situation the person has too few "methyl groups" for processing all sorts of things in the body.
It refers to methylfolate as being a better form of folate than folic acid. And methylfolate has a methyl group in it.
If you need more B12 the best supplement for many of us is methylcobalamin which includes another methyl group.
If your folate and B12 are already optimal and don't need to be increased there are other supplements people can take to increase the number of their methyl groups, but I would suggest optimising B12 and folate first.
People who are short of "methyl groups" who start supplementing with something that increases them often find that their iron drops and their ferritin rises.
Please don't ask me any technical questions about MTHFR. I've already given you the only info I know about it.
If you have high iron and low ferritin for a reason unrelated to MTHFR then I'm afraid I can't give you any practical help.
Thanks so much humanbean I definitely won’t be supplementing iron. I will look back to see what my b12 & folate levels are and look at the links you’ve given.
This thyroid malarkey makes me wish I’d spent more time on science at school, though not sure I’d remember much anyway.
Hi human just reading thru your post here… my serum iron level is 29 (7-26) but my ferritin is 28 (5-204) so looks like my store is low but level is ok is that correctly assumed by me?! The private doctor advised I take iron but when I pointed out my serum iron level she said she’d not seen that and would get back to me (I did send to her 🤨) Reading your post above I’m not sure if iron would be helpful to me or not. I’ve been anaemic usually via haemaglobin most of my adult life but no one has ever got to the bottom of it. 💜
Hi Starseed56 I’m so new to this I don’t feel able to give advice with any confidence. I’ve decided against supplementing iron but have started to take folate alongside the Thorne basic B supplement. I’ll do this for a couple of months, see how I feel and may retest my iron. TBH I was hoping that I’d find an iron deficiency so I could supplement and magically feel much better. As I’m learning though this thyroid stuff means it’s not that simple.
I had this too (fibroids) fixed in 2 months with Three Arrows Iron Repair heme iron. Now maintaining with a vegan gene iron. supplement. There is no way I could eat my way to raising it. Tried liver twice a week and all kinds of supplements. Three Areows is the business. Look up Iron deficiency without anaemia. It’s a thing. 🌱
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