Ferritin results

[R7vfmbroadway]

i have just received my ferritin results along with iron panel. Slow Dragon had said my results were a little low from my last results. I would appreciate if anyone could advise, apart from eating red meat etc, if there is any medication i can take , and dosage . Thanks ever so much

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Iron still on the low side with ferritin nearly bottom of range, we had a good chat about things in this thread... healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you

[SlowDragon Administrator]

GFR also low - kidney function

Low GFR linked to thyroid levels still being too low

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

What thyroid hormones are you taking

When did you last test Ft4 and Ft3

Also vitamin D, folate and B12

What vitamin supplements are you taking

Is your hypothyroidism autoimmune.

If yes, are you on gluten free and/or dairy free diet

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for replying again

I am currently taking 125/100 alternate days of Thyroxine + 15 Lio daily.

The FT4 results are from this week, but unfortunately they did not test T3 although i did request it! 🫤

i am taking Vit D,3/K2 & Thorne Basic B,

I’m not auto immune

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to R7vfmbroadway]

Was test early morning, ideally before 9am, only water to drink between waking and test and last dose Levo 24 hours before test

Was last dose 100mcg or 125mcg

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

Free T4 (fT4) 16.2 pmol/L (10 - 20) 62.0%

you need to test TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 together

Day before test split T3 as 3 x 5mcg with last 5mcg approx 8-12 hours before test

Remember to stop vitamin B complex 5-7 days before test and take separate methyl folate instead that week

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to SlowDragon]

My appt was 10:15, couldn’t get one before that this time. My last dose was 100mcg, but don’t always receive same brand although i have requested Teva for next time. i had stopped B complex 7 days before but hadn’t taken methyl folate, I’ll get some for next time. also i had taken 10mg litho on waking day before test and 15mcg 12 hours before test

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to R7vfmbroadway]

i had taken 10mg litho on waking day before test and 15mcg 12 hours before test

If they had tested Ft3 it would perhaps have been over range

Next test ….day before split as 3 x 5mcg with last dose 8-12 hours before test

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to SlowDragon]

sorry i meant 5 mcg not 15mcg

[McPammy]

I take ferris fumerate 210mcg for my low ferritin. Your kidney function is quite low too eGFR. Maybe speak with your GP about that.

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to McPammy]

GFR is known. i donated a kidney 15 years ago. thanks for the suggestion. of ferris fumerate.

[posthinking01]

Hi there - as someone who has renal issues - you can suffer from low iron because of kidney function - but you also have to be careful in taking iron as it can overload the liver and cause organ damage - you will have to be kind to your kidneys obviously - and looking at your Ferritin which is 'stored' iron - it might be a bit on the low side - in other words your whole body iron levels will take from the stored iron levels if needed. But if you look at your iron saturation levels is shows you have 33% within the blood stream itself - so not as bad in my opinion as it looks.

Iron saturation is a measure of how much iron you’re actually absorbing1. It is calculated by dividing the amount of serum iron by total iron binding capacity (TBIC)23. Iron saturation is the amount of iron in a person's bloodstream, and is calculated by measuring the transferrin-iron saturation percentage or TS%4. A low transferrin saturation percentage may indicate low iron or iron-deficiency anemia

I don't know what symptoms you are suffering from and how are your thyroid type symptoms - your levels look OK and your TSH is 0.2 which is Ok too in my opinion.

I cannot tolerate too much iron - but have got my Ferritin levels up to 78 this time by diet alone - don't forget that Vitamin C is needed to promote iron absorption and I have been taking some C lately by supplement which is a really good product. I wonder if that has helped. Well I hope all this helps !

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to posthinking01]

thank you so much, for your reply. Think it might take me a while to get my head around it though!🤭. i didn’t realise that my having only 1 kidney might affect my iron levels. i don’t eat red meat so find it difficult to get enough iron by diet. i will start Vit C to see if that will help me. Thanks again

[posthinking01 in reply to R7vfmbroadway]

Only drawback with C is don't take too much for kidney stone issues - same as with Vitamin D - that does the same.

Vitamin C is an important nutrient for the body. However, getting high doses of vitamin C from supplements could increase your risk of kidney stones.

• Reducing inflammation and oxidative stress

• Lowering blood pressure

• Improving blood flow throughout the body and to the kidneys

• Improving endothelial function

• Reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors

I would suggest no more than 500 mg maximum and not one that contains calcium (i.e. calcium ascorbate).

Hope this all helps you.

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to posthinking01]

oh gosh this is a minefield isn’t it. Thank you for your advice. I have been taking vit d for quite a while maybe i should reduce that too?

[posthinking01 in reply to R7vfmbroadway]

Please don't worry - if you can find out what your levels are then you can ensure you don't go too high !

[R7vfmbroadway in reply to posthinking01]

Thanks for that, i have just checked my results, they are well within range