iron results

[Dandelade]

I’d appreciate some feedback on my iron panel results please?

I know my ferritin is too low, even if it’s above the bottom of the range. I upped how much black pudding, pate, or liver I’m eating at 5 out of 7 days a week for over a couple of months.

Is my iron too decent enough to be able to take iron supplements?

I’m not sure what to make of the transferrin saturation being under range in the context of iron seeming ok?

Thank you in advance of your time and expertise.

[humanbean]

CRP HS 5.28 (< 3) Over range

Iron 16.3 (10 - 30) 31.5% through range

TIBC 69.1 (45 - 81) 67% through range

UIBC 52.8 (13 - 56) 92.5% through range

Transferrin Saturation 23.6 (25 - 45) Under range

Ferritin 42.3 (30 - 150) 10.25% through range

Optimal for iron and iron-related tests is described here :

rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...

CRP HS - This is a measure of inflammation, but it doesn't give you any clue on where any inflammation is. Just to give you something to compare with...

I once saw a TV program called "The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs" on BBC. It used to be available on Youtube but isn't any more. The doctor met a woman with a chest infection who needed antibiotics and her CRP was 50. So, although your CRP is over the range it isn't catastrophic. Optimal for CRP is under 1. If you can get nutrients, thyroid and adrenal glands optimised and working well your CRP might reduce.

Iron

Serum iron

• 55 to 70% of the range

• higher end for men

Your iron result is only 31.5% through the range so your result is a lot lower than optimal, meaning 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 TIBC is quite high in range which indicates you could do with more iron.

Saturation

• optimal is 35 to 45%

• higher end for men

Your result of 23.6% is substantially under optimal indicating you need more iron.

Ferritin

On this forum the optimal for ferritin is usually given as 90 - 110 ng/mL, taken from this link :

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

Your result of 42.3 mcg/L is much lower than optimal suggesting you need more iron. Note that 1 mcg/L is equivalent to 1 ng/mL.

...

Your results are all in agreement - you need more iron.

You don't need a prescription for iron supplements. They can be bought without one.

The current most popular iron supplement on the forum is discussed on these threads :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

...

The problem with taking any supplement is that people won't know how well they will absorb it. To get some idea they have to test. At the start of supplementing the first test should be done after 4 - 6 weeks. That should give some idea how well someone is absorbing the iron/ferritin. Then depending on absorption the time between tests should be adjusted. It is important not to supplement too much and drive ferritin or iron way above optimal.

Sometimes people can find that their ferritin shoots up leaving iron barely changed, OR iron can shoot up and ferritin hardly changes. If that happens supplementation should be stopped and the problem revisited.

Note that low folate and/or low B12 can reduce absorption of iron/ferritin. Optimising B12 and folate with methylated supplements e.g. methylfolate (not folic acid) and methylcobalamin (not cyanocobalmin or hydroxocobalamin), helps some people to raise their iron and ferritin.

[Dandelade in reply to humanbean]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will start iron supplements.

I presume the crp inflammation is from my 6th infection of covid about a month ago!