Ferritin for hypo

[terebol]

Hi, I see much information re: the importance of ferritin being optimized for improving thyroid levels. It seems the range to shoot for - via this site - is about 100. Dr. Wentz says 90-100 to optimized thyroid levels. My ? is, what are the ranges this is based upon, & is the optimization for post-menopausal women. Here in states the lab ranges in my area are 11-306.8 Where should someone in my age group fall in this range to be considered optimal? Same w/folate. I take NDT/DTE Thank you!

[humanbean]

I got the suggested optimal levels for ferritin that I use from this link :

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

It's the only link I have ever found with a suggested optimal for ferritin in relation to thyroid function that isn't vague in its recommendations.

Part way down the page it says :

Normal ferritin levels for women are between 20 and 200 ng/mL. According to some experts, ferritin levels of at least 40 ng/ml are required to stop hair loss, while levels of at least 70 ng/ml are needed for hair regrowth. The optimal ferritin level for thyroid function is between 90-110 ng/ml.

Although I don't have the source where I found this I do remember reading a quote from a doctor saying that iron and ferritin reference ranges for women are created on the basis that women are often expected to be "a little bit anaemic"as a result of having periods. (And then they tell us we're mentally ill when we say we are tired all the time.)

When women stop having periods their iron and ferritin levels will usually rise. But while they are having periods the reference ranges are set to take account of the blood loss that women have. Anyone with heavy periods must realise that, unless they are really, really healthy, and lucky, and have an amazing diet, they are probably not replacing all the iron they lose. And over time they become anaemic.

In the UK doctors won't worry about or treat excess iron/ferritin until the ferritin level is approaching 1000 mcg/L, but personally I try and keep mine as close to 100 mcg/L as I can.

Please note that micrograms/L (mcg/L or μg/L) are equivalent to nanograms/mL (ng/mL). So 100 mcg/L = 100 ng/mL.

[terebol in reply to humanbean]

Thank you. Dr. Wentz, aka thyroid pharmacist, laid the groundwork. Not sure she has a Q&A section on her website, but I'll see, if I can get the age ranges for the lab ranges she suggests. I'll post, should I get any info. Thx, again!!

[humanbean]

The problems with setting an optimal level for folate are :

1) The body does not store folate so regular replacement via diet or supplements is necessary.

2) Reference ranges are not standardised at all so they vary enormously from lab to lab and population to population. I've seen reference ranges being something like (from memory) :

a) Greater than 3 and/or less than 999999

b) 3.75 - 15

c) 7 - 60+

d) 3.5 - 26

3) I have read that for the body to make use of B12 it needs adequate levels of folate.

4) Low B12 and high folate can cause cognitive dysfunction.

5) Folic acid and folate are not the same thing.

6) Women who want to get pregnant or are pregnant take folic acid in massive doses to try and prevent Neural Tube Defects (NTDs).

7) It is hardly ever mentioned that low B12 can also cause NTDs, and has been shown to do so in rats. It would be unethical to carry out such research in humans.

8) People taking folic acid ("synthetic" folate first developed in the 1940s) and those taking methylfolate ("real" folate) will have blood test results that are very different depending on their genes. Someone with MTHFR gene problems (about 50% of the global population) might have a hard time metabolising folic acid, so they end up with very high levels of unmetabolised folic acid in the bloodstream, which is not a good thing to have particularly with low B12.

9) Personally, I think I have MTHFR gene issues, but have never tested for it. I take methylfolate to maintain my folate levels. People without MTHFR problems can take methylfolate to maintain their folate levels quite happily too. I avoid folic acid like the plague.

10) My folate levels swing wildly depending on what I've been eating in the lead up to a test. But I try to keep it at roughly 20 micrograms/L. Given how varied the reference ranges are I would agree if someone told me this was an arbitrary level. So I would suggest that people just monitor how they feel while keeping their folate levels at a reasonably good level.

[terebol in reply to humanbean]

Morning - I did not know that folate is not stored; I do take Bcomplex w/L-5-methyfolate 400 mcg. So many needs to keep this body humming along!