Please see above - seems the Transferrin Saturation has gone out of range...haven't done a full iron panel for over 6 months, didn't realise it was that long!
I'm taking 2 x 20mg Thorne Iron Bisglycinate 25mg tablets on alternate days.
Looking at my last results, things were going in the right direction then (having changed brand of iron and taking alternate days)...however does this result show I am now over supplementing? Or is it a situation where one result says I'm having too much and another saying I have scope for more...as I have had previously??
Would appreciate some advice. Many thanks x
(Will be posting advanced thyroid results shortly too)
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Molly161018
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I think it means your capacity to utilize more iron is limited as the protein that binds to it is already above range Transferrin Saturation... though your iron levels in themselves aren't high, it would suggest you are over supplementing, uptake restricted possibly due to large red blood cells? It takes something like 150 days for red blood cells to regenerate....
humanbean is the real Iron Guru, lets see if she can interpret
I'm thinking 2 x 20mg is twice the daily dose even though you are doing alternate days... suggest you halve the dose
Normal ferritin levels for women are between 20 and 200 ng/mL. According to some experts, ferritin levels of at least 40 ng/ml are required to stop hair loss, while levels of at least 70 ng/ml are needed for hair regrowth. The optimal ferritin level for thyroid function is between 90-110 ng/ml.
CRP HS 2.910 mg/L (Range: < 3)
This is a non-specific measure of inflammation or infection. It's non-specific because it doesn't tell you where the inflammation is occurring. Common places would be lungs, gut, joints, and for this forum - possibly thyroid. But really the inflammation could be anywhere. The optimal level for CRP is 1 or under. Your result is within range which is good, but hopefully you can improve it with optimal treatment for your thyroid condition and any other health problems you suffer from.
Just to give you something to compare with, I saw a program on TV a few years ago in which a woman with a chest infection was seeking treatment for it from her GP. Her CRP was mentioned as being 50. (These were real people not actors.)
Iron 25.9 umol/L (Range: 10 - 30) 79.5% through the range -
This is a measure of the iron in your bloodstream. Optimal for this is, according to the first link I gave :
Serum iron
• 55 to 70% of the range
• higher end for men
Your level of iron is quite a bit higher through the range than the optimal suggested for women. I notice that you are taking iron supplements. It would be a good idea to reduce your dose and test again in a few weeks to see if your serum iron has dropped a bit.
TIBC 49.1 umol/L (Range: 45 - 81) 11.39% through the range
Your TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity) is in range but low in range. I think this means that your body is unable to absorb much more iron because you already have more than you need. If you reduced your supplements this result might increase.
UIBC 23.2 umol/L (Range: 13 - 56)23.72% through the range
For more info on TIBC and UIBC please read the wiki page on TIBC :
Transferrin Saturation X 52.7 % (Range: 25 - 45) -Over range
Saturation
• optimal is 35 to 45%
• higher end for men
With your result being over 50% and the optimal being 35% - 45% your result is showing that you have too much iron. So this is another indicator that you should reduce your iron intake.
According to the wiki page on transferrin saturation :
Studies also reveal that a transferrin saturation (serum iron concentration ÷ total iron binding capacity) over 60 percent in men and over 50 percent in women identified the presence of an abnormality in iron metabolism (hereditary hemochromatosis, heterozygotes and homozygotes) with approximately 95 percent accuracy.
Your results are unlikely to be showing signs of haemochromatosis, particularly since your ferritin was at one point only 10. They are just showing that you have rather over-supplemented.
Ferritin 72.10 ug/L (Range: 30 - 180) 28.07% through the range
Please note that ug/L (used in your results) and ng/mL (used in the thyroidpharmacist link) are exactly the same i.e. 1 ug/L = 1ng/mL.
The thyroidpharmacist link suggests optimal ferritin for thyroid function is 90 - 110 ng/mL, so your ferritin could do with being a bit higher, while your serum iron (mentioned earlier) could do with being a bit lower, but neither of them are worryingly far from optimal.
I would suggest reducing your iron supplementation from 2 tablets down to one every other day but not changing anything else iron-related.
In about three months do a re-test of an iron panel and see what has happened to your results. You might be one of those people who needs to take a maintenance dose of iron all the time.
While trying to find your sweet spot with respect to your iron supplementing, something you should also be doing is optimising your vitamin B12 and your folate. Although it isn't obvious, having good levels of folate in particular can change the ratio of iron and ferritin to something closer to the desirable results. This is explained in this reply to someone else's post :
If you could post your most recent B12/folate results it could be helpful. And if you have been supplementing B vitamins could you say what they are and give a link to a description of them.
Thank you, very much appreciate your reply 😊 I will reduce my dose to 1 tablet and retest in a few weeks.
My latest B12 and folate levels (taken last week) are as follows:
Folate - Serum >45.4 nmol/L (Range: > 7)
Vitamin B12 - Active 71.2 pmol/L (Range: 37.5 - 188)
I have been taking 2 x Thorne Basic B and 2 x Jarrow Folate, links below. I am going to cut out the extra Folate however, due to levels having gone rather high.
Not sure if I mentioned on my original post, but we are TTC currently. Not sure if that makes any difference to what you might recommend.
Hope I've answered all your questions. Thanks again for your help and advice x
The only one of your results I would comment on is the Active B12. Your folate is fine. I think raising the Active B12 to about 100+ pmol/L would be a good idea, but depends on how you react to it.
I don't think you are suffering from B12 deficiency. I just think your level is lower than optimal.
I notice your levels of B12 are going up and down like a yoyo. It would help if you could find out how much B12 you need to keep your level optimal, and not let it drop dramatically or raise massively.
What would you think about taking a separate B12 supplement and see if that helps at all? Currently getting it in Thorne Basic B 400mcg x 2...is that a decent dose?
Another possibility would be to try a different brand of supplement I suppose...there was another brand recommended to me at one point, but can't remember what it was...will have to look back.
Saying that, it's probably better not to change brands at this point when trying for a baby in case they're worse for absorption!
Taking two of those a day is very expensive, and unlikely to be necessary.
I've taken the Thorne Basic B I've linked, just one a day. I do find that my B12 and folate stay lower than I like, so I take a separate methylfolate and a separate methylcobalamin with the Thorne Basic B. I don't need to take the separate supplements every day of the week - I only take them, perhaps, 3 or 4 days a week, depending on my results and the dose of the supplements. It's trial and error.
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Note that both deficiencies and excesses of vitamin B6 are not good for people. So, taking two of the Thorne Basic B might introduce a problem you weren't expecting. Vitamin B6 is the only B vitamin I'm aware of that can cause problems in excess.
Thanks humanbeanYes that is the complex I'm taking.
That's slightly scary re b6 - I wasn't aware of that. Fortunately I don't have any symptoms of overdose and looks like recommended max dose varies depending where you look...but all the same, I will definitely be going back to one a day.
The cost has always made me wince, and one day I'm going to try another brand of b complex, but not right now...
Do you have any recommendations in on brand etc for b12 supplements?
Again, I greatly appreciate your responses thank you 😊
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