ferratin blood level

[Lilymayjean]

Hi, I’ve got a ferritin level of 40.5 (30 - 169)

To me this is low isn’t it? Also I have been taking spatone iron sachets for 6 months so would you say I’d need a higher iron supplement? If so could anymore please advise on a decent one ?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

For low ferritin its recommended to increase iron rich foods in your diet to raise your level as its possible to have too much iron. So increase eating things like chicken liver pate, chicken livers etc

Link with ideas for dietary iron:

dailyiron.net/https://three...

Have you had your other vitamins tested - folate, B12 & D3?

[Lilymayjean in reply to Jaydee1507]

Yes, currently take b12 injections vitamin d and also folate

[FallingInReverse]

Chances are the spatone dose is too low to make a difference.

But you should not be supplementing iron without a full iron panel and frequent testing.

It’s common to have low ferritin but high iron. And excess iron over time is toxic and causes irreversible organ damage.

Please let us know if you have ever had a full iron panel.

My guess is the spatone isn’t doing anything but I also would never recommend you take a higher dose without more blood tests.

[Lilymayjean in reply to FallingInReverse]

I’ve just ordered a private full blood test today so should be doing it within a couple of days. Il report back here once I have the results

[Lilymayjean in reply to FallingInReverse]

Hi I’ve just received my results. Could you please advise on them please?

Colour

[FallingInReverse in reply to Lilymayjean]

You are deficient across those measures and can definitely devise a better supplement plan.

Has your GP yet recommended any treatment plan?

Are you a vegetarian?

How frequently can you afford to test your iron overall - every 6-8 weeks? Or will you need to wait more like 12 weeks?

[Lilymayjean in reply to FallingInReverse]

Haven’t spoken with the gp yet, I got this done privately because they always fob me off.

Because I do the tests privately ideally I’d like to leave it 12 weeks before re doing it.

Do you have any suggestions?

[FallingInReverse in reply to Lilymayjean]

You’re going to be playing the long game l. Improving iron is a slow careful process because of the permanent damage excess iron can do in the body over time.

I am personally more conservative/careful than others I think. This is the approach I take for me and for my daughter.

I would recommend getting Three Arrows heme iron supplements.

Taking one per day until your next blood test/iron panel.

Then we re assess whether you increase to more than one a day.

You simply do not know how your body will absorb it. No one can predict that for you, we are all different.

For example - in 5 weeks of my daughter taking 2 Three Arrows a day her iron when from 49 to 210. I then reduced her to one a day.

In the same time period I took zero supplements and my iron when from 70% in range to below range.

So you need to calibrate for yourself, and if testing every three months ( which is fine) just be aware that heme iron supplements can have a strong impact in that time.

Fyi - the trick is to keep your iron within 55-70% in the range. If you do that, then over that time your body will begin to feel comfortable that it has enough available in the blood for essential functions, and will then send some to storage (ie, ferritin). You could be looking at a year until your ferritin improves substantially… but we just don’t really know yet!

[Lilymayjean in reply to FallingInReverse]

Thanks so much for your advice! I will purchase them and then get retested. You’ve been very helpful.