Ferritin levels

[FairyfeetX]

Scored 12 - range is 10 - 42. Daughter exhausted, v heavy periods, weepy and always tired out.

Lab comment 'NO FURTHER ACTION' and GP has passed it!

Your opinions please.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

NICE state that a level of 30 or under for ferritin is deficiency.

If GP won't treat you can buy supplements over the counter.

Many members do well with this product. threearrowsnutra.com/en-uk/...

Take iron with orage juice or anything containing vit C to help it absorb better.

How are her other vitamin levels?

[FairyfeetX in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thank you and apologies for late reply - I don't find site navigation simple!

She has taken Spatone on and off over the years with no probs but this time lingering headaches. Thanks for the link, which I've just looked at - I think she, and her sisters, would be unlikely to enthuse - even their dogs are beef-free. All four are life-long V people but only the youngest has this problem. btw we are all fed up with gelatine, even paracetamol is pre- gelatinised. Haribo can do it,, why not the drug industry?

GP appt later today - I'll wait and see what's suggested....

[helvella Administrator in reply to FairyfeetX]

Pre-gelatinised is a process. It does NOT in any way mean it contains gelatin.

This Wiki article is a starter:

Starch gelatinization

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starc...

[RedApple Administrator in reply to helvella]

Pre-gelatinised is a confusing term. Even that Wiki article points out:

Not to be confused with gelatin, which consists of protein instead of starch.

[FairyfeetX in reply to Jaydee1507]

flat refusal by a GP/ogre to treat as within 'NHS rules', not one to give up she went thru' her symptoms again and GP conceded that 'clearly that level isn't adequate for you'. Still no treatment. We think she would have been spoken to with more kindness and sympathy by the male doctor who arranged the blood test.

Back to Spatone..

[re other levels I don't know if she got a full report, will ask. Other probs this week -she pulled up to allow a large vehicle . It wrote her car off whilst she was sitting in it. SO much to deal with....]

[helvella Administrator in reply to FairyfeetX]

Several iron medicines other than the very low dose Spatone are available without prescription. You can search or ask in a pharmacy.

helvella - Iron Document

This is a summary of what I have read up and found out about iron supplements over the past few years. I am not in any way medically trained. You are strongly encouraged to check every detail before making any decisions for yourself.

Last updated 02/04/2024

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[Hay2016]

Dreadful. Have a bit of a word. Daughters in same boat, her gp suggested she lose weight!!! She’s 21 and away else I’d go to her appt with her. X

[FairyfeetX in reply to Hay2016]

Thank you, same boat except told to eat cream cakes - she's 'petite' and can't gain other than holidaying on a cruise ship!

[nausicaa98]

look for eisin aktiv on ebay. I use it when I'm anaemic. its 50mg iron bysglycinate ( non constipating) and 25 mg vitamin C. its from germany but a real life saver for me

[helvella Administrator in reply to nausicaa98]

This is a description of the product (in English) but is unavailable in Germany at present. And no idea how they would translate the name - it is just German for Iron Active.

LINEAVI Iron Active, Iron, Vitamin C and B Vitamins, Supports the Immune System and Helps Reduce Fatigue, Made in Germany, 120 Vegan Iron Tablets (4 Month Supply) : Amazon.de: Health & Personal Care

Ingredients:

L-ascorbic acid, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, filler corn starch, iron fumarate, nicotinamide, calcium D-pantothenate, release agent silicon dioxide, maltodextrin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, pteroyl monoglutamic acid, D-biotin, cyanocobalamin.

There are many ferrous bisglycinate products available from the usual supplement suppliers.

[nausicaa98 in reply to helvella]

But only this one has such a large iron content

[nausicaa98 in reply to nausicaa98]

ebay.co.uk/itm/335417027177

[nausicaa98 in reply to helvella]

this isnt the one. what I take has bisglycinate in it, not iron fumerate.

[humanbean]

Spatone is not useful to many people. One sachet only contains 5mg of iron.

If you were to get a prescription of iron salts from a doctor (which is still the only kind that the NHS prescribes as far as I know, and contains far more iron per tablet than Spatone ) many people struggle to tolerate it. As a general rule of thumb, the higher the level of iron in a supplement the fewer people can tolerate it.

.

Ferrous fumarate is one of the commonly prescribed iron salts tablets the NHS prescribes.

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/ferro...

Tablets contain ferrous fumarate 210 mg (equivalent to 69 mg elemental iron) or ferrous fumarate 322 mg (equivalent to 106 mg elemental iron).

.

Ferrous gluconate isn't prescribed often but is one of the iron salts :

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/ferro...

Ferrous gluconate 300 mg is equivalent to 35 mg elemental iron.

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Ferrous sulfate is prescribed quite often by the NHS because it is the cheapest supplement available. Sadly it is also the least likely to be tolerated. It's another one of the iron salts.

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/ferro...

Ferrous sulfate 200 mg is equivalent to 65 mg elemental iron.

Ferrograd® tablets contain ferrous sulfate 325 mg equivalent to 105 mg elemental iron.

Oral drops containing ferrous sulfate 125 mg/mL are equivalent to 25 mg/mL elemental iron.

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The links above give you information about dosing. Note that the prescribed iron salts can be bought from pharmacies in the UK without prescription, but you do need a pharmacist's approval. I've only been denied once, and I've since wondered if the pharmacist might have been at lunch! I just went to another pharmacy and got what I wanted there.

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The other major iron tablets that are popular on this forum are the heme iron supplements which can be bought online.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

threearrowsnutra.com/en-uk/...

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It is very common for doctors to rely on one of the following to decide whether a patient needs an iron supplement.

Ferritin, Haemoglobin, Red Blood Cell Count (RBC), Mean Cell Volume (MCV)

If the patient is iron/ferritin deficient then MCV will be low in range or under the range. (Ferritin is a measure of one's iron stores.) If patient is B12/folate deficient MCV will be high in range or over the range. If iron/ferritin and B12/folate are deficient or low in range there is no way to know for sure what the MCV is telling you. The patient would need to test iron/ferritin/B12/folate separately from an MCV, which is tested in a Full Blood Count as are RBC and Haemoglobin.

In my personal experience doctors would use Ferritin as the trigger for a prescription for iron. Then they moved on to using Haemoglobin. Nowadays (based on posts on this and other forums) some of them appear to be using RBC. And of the ones which are most likely to be out of range Ferritin is the most likely followed by Haemoglobin and then RBC. People can become iron deficient long before they become anaemic. So people can become unwell and stay that way for years just so that doctors can save a tiny amount of money (iron supplements of the kind doctors prescribe aren't expensive).

.

There is another way to improve iron and that is with an iron infusion. They are expensive compared to tablets but they improve iron/ferritin levels at lightning speed compared to tablets. I have no experience of getting an infusion but there are companies that advertise them around the UK. I don't think they ask for a referral from a GP.

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I have had low iron most of my life. When I found out that I could get an iron panel test without a doctor getting involved, and I could buy prescription strength iron supplements I decided to fix my own iron. Doctors, when they prescribed for me, would usually only supply enough pills for 2 or 3 months.

When I regularly tested and treated myself, I spent nearly two years taking prescription strength iron pills at maximum dose to get my ferritin up to mid-range. My serum iron stayed low, and has never actually been above mid-range. After that I went on to a maintenance dose of iron and kept that up for 5 years. It was only then that my serum iron started rising, and I decided to stop taking iron all the time. I now take one or two tablets a week but only when my ferritin starts to drop.

So, in some people, iron absorption is extremely poor. Please don't assume that supplementing iron will fix everything in a couple of months. And since excess iron is poisonous keep testing an iron panel regularly.