So I got my yearly iron panel check, and my ferritin had dropped to 42! even though I eat iron rich foods and take vitamin C with meals!
All my vitamin levels are now optimal I take an expensive powder form of probiotic by Biomel and the Rheal gut feel greens powder, all supporting my gut health and optimising nutrient absorption from food!
I was also taking 20mg of solgar gentle iron to!
So I went back on the 210mg of ferrous fumarate taking just 1 tablet every other day with vitamin C and my ferritin level has risen to 80 in 8 weeks!
If my body struggles to absorb iron, then why does my ferritin rise so quickly!? with only one of 210mg tablet every other day! (Around 70mg of elementary iron)…???
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ThyroidObsessed
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Also, remember that ferritin can rise quickly if you start suffering from inflammation. However, the point in that case is the the ferritin is produced from already-absorbed iron. It appears that the body does this in order to reduce the amount of iron available to the things that cause inflammation like bacteria.
It is very easy to take ferritin as a single factor test that reveals all. It doesn't.
Only low ferritin (below 30 being taken as definitive evidence of iron deficiency according to NICE) or high ferritin (when high enough to raise concerns over haemochromatosis or other causes of very high ferritin) are really helpful. The rest of the time, other iron-related tests are necessary in order to properly identify what is going on.
But, if you then developed inflammation, that could make your ferritin rise. Maybe it reaches 40. It is now over 30. But that does NOT mean you are no longer iron deficient. It just means that your ferritin result alone does not prove beyond all doubt that you are iron deficient.
And this:
Your ferritin is 70.
You then develop inflammation, that could make your ferritin rise. Maybe it reaches your apparent ideal of 100. Which is the value you just quoted. But that doesn't mean your iron level is ideal. Because the rise from 70 to 100 is due to inflammation.
The point is that under 30 is always, categorically and without question indicating iron deficiency. But a bit higher does not rule out iron deficiency.
Hi! So unfortunately there’s no CRP in the above. If there was there would be an actual line item that says CRP, or hs-CRP, or something like that.
It’s the most likely suspect for a fast increase in ferritin, but without the test being done at the same time you’ll never know.
Eyeballing your other numbers, looks like your iron is around 2/3 through range - which is a great place to be. And your transferrin saturation percent is pretty much as high as you’d want it before dialing back on supplementing.
There is no one single iron measure that tells the whole story, and some of the measures move fast and some move slow, and every one of us absorbs iron at different rates.
If you want to provide both iron panels, with dates, and the exact iron supplement regimen you were on and for how long at the time the test was taken, that would give a better indication of what iron supplement decisions you may make now.
You may know this, but it’s worth repeating, your body has no way to excrete excess iron… Any excess iron at any given time accumulates for a lifetime, and settles in your organs and can cause permanent, irreversible damage.
If your saturation percent is 38% right now, and your iron is 21.5, personally I’d recalibrate the iron pill dose.
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