Fructose intolerance and low ferritin - Thyroid UK

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Fructose intolerance and low ferritin

Jingley profile image
5 Replies

(There's lots of posts here about intolerance to gluten and dairy but I can't really find anything about fructose.)

In an effort to improve my overall health and wellbeing, over the last 18 months or so I've been trying to increase my intake of fruits and veggies. I've been suffering with bloating and lower abdominal aches for a while but never in a million years did I connect it with my health kick. I also use local oestrogen for the "lady bits" so I'd convinced myself i was having a reaction to that.

After consulting Dr Google and reading about FODMAP (and discovering that everything I've been eating is on the no-no list), over the last few days I've cut out all fruit from my diet and the bloating has, if not disappeared, vastly reduced. I'm left with a bit of aching as if I've been punched or had a hard session at the gym. I suppose I'm currently in recovery mode.

I had bloods done last week (before the fruit exile began) supposedly to check my TSH/T4 and a whole host of other things. Thyroid function hasn't appeared on my app yet so would seem it hasn't been done, but my ferritin has dropped from a dismal 27 ug/L (10 - 291) down to a dire 19 ug/L (15 - 200)

So, couple of questions: could this be down to malabsorption and should my GP have picked up on this and be taking some action?

PS had coeliac test and FIT test last year and both were negative.

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Jingley profile image
Jingley
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5 Replies
Bertwills profile image
Bertwills

You may have got a Candida build up in your stomach & possibly “lady bits” if you’ve been eating lots of fruits and underground starchy vegetables, if you’ve been eating lots of green leafy vegtables that can lower ferritin.

I find oregano oil capsules very helpful in settling my stomach after too much sugar. I buy mine from Amazon. It’s strong so don’t take for more than a week without a break. There are helpful probiotics aimed at reducing Candida too.

Jingley profile image
Jingley in reply toBertwills

I've never heard of oregano oil capsules. I'll look into that, thank you. I'll order some probiotics too but am wary about taking them in case they cause more bloating.

Bertwills profile image
Bertwills in reply toJingley

Look for the ones that specify they work against Candida. You’ll never eradicate it but you can reduce it & its effects.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

You need to retest thyroid levels 8-10 weeks after increasing levothyroxine dose back to 100mcg daily

Low ferritin is likely causing big issue ….and likely dropped because levo dose was too low

Are you vegetarian or vegan

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

Serum ferritin level is the biochemical test, which most reliably correlates with relative total body iron stores. In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing.

It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron

Test early morning, only water to drink between waking and test. Avoid high iron rich dinner night before test

Stop iron supplements 5-7 days before testing

Medichecks iron panel test

medichecks.com/products/iro...

Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet

Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption

List of iron rich foods

dailyiron.net

Links about iron and ferritin

irondisorders.org/too-littl...

davidg170.sg-host.com/wp-co...

Great in-depth article on low ferritin

oatext.com/iron-deficiency-...

drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...

This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Posts discussing Three Arrows as very effective supplement

Great replies from @FallingInReverse

re ferritin and Three arrows

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu......

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Great reply by @fallinginreverse

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron patches

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...

Post discussing just how long it can take to raise low ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron and thyroid link

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Posts discussing why important to do full iron panel test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Good iron but low ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Chicken livers if iron is good, but ferritin low

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Shellfish and Mussels are excellent source of iron

healthline.com/nutrition/he...

Iron deficiency without anaemia

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Ferritin over 100 to alleviate symptoms

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Great research article discussing similar…..ferritin over 100 often necessary

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

Low Iron implicated in hypothyroidism

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Really interesting talk on YouTube, link in reply by Humanbean discussing both iron deficiency and towards end how inflammation can also be an issue

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Inflammation affecting ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Updated reference ranges for top of ferritin range depending upon age

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Thank you for your incredible patience while you have been awaiting the outcome of our ferritin reference range review. We conducted this with Inuvi lab, which has now changed the reference ranges to the following:

Females 18 ≤ age < 40. 30 to 180

Females 40 ≤ age < 50. 30 to 207

Females 50 ≤ age < 60. 30 to 264l

Females Age ≥ 60. 30 to 332

Males 18 ≤ age < 40 30 to 442

Males Age ≥ 40 30 to 518

The lower limits of 30 are by the NICE threshold of <30 for iron deficiency. Our review of Medichecks data has determined the upper limits. This retrospective study used a large dataset of blood test results from 25,425 healthy participants aged 18 to 97 over seven years. This is the most extensive study on ferritin reference ranges, and we hope to achieve journal publication so that these ranges can be applied more widely.

Jingley profile image
Jingley in reply toSlowDragon

Thyroid levels were supposed to be done at this last blood test. My god they took enough blood to do every test in the book!!

I'll be on the phone on Monday asking for confirmation they were actually done.

I'll also be asking why my reduction in ferritin hasn't been commented on.

Mind you, when you get GP's advising you to drink Guinness due to the iron content, I think it'll be down to me to sort the ferritin issue out myself.

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