Blood results help - low ferritin

[BarbieGirl999]

Posting for traffic.
Desperately feeling rough. Recent blood results show ferritin is 16 but GP notes say 'no further action is needed.'

Just to add you can now get ferrous fumerate 210mg from a chemist, it doesn’t have to be prescribed by an GP anymore, just a short consultation with the pharmacist.

Ferrous Fumarate for low ferritin.

BTW I didn't have any stomach issues or constipation. The worst thing was I'd get cramps from the vit c tablet if I didn't have enough water.

I don't like drinking fruit juice so this was why I went for the vit c tablet.

Also coffee/tea/herbal/decaf teas interfere with iron. Plus dairy.

It's the polyphenols, not caffeine that's the problem.

My ferritin was 14 in January and I felt awful exhausted and so anxious! A couple of months of ferrous sulphate tablets have made me feel better.

Does anyone else find iron tablets make your periods heavier though? I’ve had a couple of heavier months and wondered if it was linked to the iron tablets?

Definitely but I always think it’s how they should be rather than a bit pathetic like how they are when I’m low on iron.

Mine was 6 this time last year.

I felt like I was wading through treacle just sitting up in bed!

I'd ask the GP for advice.

They say over 12 is normal but for most woman they feel the effects if below 50-70. Especially when menstruating still

my ferritin went as low as 6 twice when I was enduring month long periods. My gp prescribed ferrous fumerate which levelled things out at about 18. Heavy bleeding over, it seemed to level out and I haven’t experienced the serious breathlessness, fatigue, lethargy and pins and needles since. I tried the gentle iron solutions (liquid) but the smell and taste was too much for me, so I had to return to the the tablets and regular consumption of leafy green veg. Really hope that you get your levels back in balance - it’s a horrible feeling.

Mine is 23 and marked "satisfactory" Google says otherwise so I'm going to supplement. Thank you OP for starting this thread!

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anaemia-iron-deficiency/diagnosis/investigations/#interpreting-ferritin-levels

Below 30 is iron deficiency according to the NHS's own information for practitioners. I fail to understand why GPs don't seem to know this, especially as iron issues seem to be so common.

@TheOtherHotstepper agree! There needs to be more awareness of the effects of low ferritin and GPs need training in this.

My GP said it was satisfactory at 42 too but my dermatologist (private)

Said it wasn't because I was having major hair loss.

I've gotten mine up by taking 210g ferrous fumerate each night (can buy online really cheap) and a high strength vit c (amazon) to help it absorb and stopped my belly ache from the iron.

Got mine from 42 to 67 in 3 months and went back to gp and they agreed I should continue to get it higher. Dermatologist said needs to be atleast 70 to maintain healthy hair and my hair is growing back in abundance.

Hope this helps

Prescription iron tablets are the same as over the counter ones, you can just ask the pharmacist and take one a day then get retested in 3 months. The ones you can pick up off the shelf like spatone etc have hardly any iron. I find them ok for my stomach but take one a day before bed as they can sometimes give me indigestion in the day.

@Myogapants thanks for the infusion info, I'm not sure about them. If it was safer than supplements I'd go for it but there is a small risk. I've been wondering what real impact it makes to the numbers

Mine has been sufficiently low that two consultants said it's the lowest they've seen.

I usually take ferrous sulphate or gluconate but a GP was extolling the merits of an iron spray last week which I haven't seen.

This is great to hear - I've had a lot of hair fall and my levels are mid 40s. Definitely going to try supplementing.

I fail to understand why GPs don't seem to know this, especially as iron issues seem to be so common.

I honestly think it's because until recently we were taught that if your Heamaglobin is OK, then it didn't really matter what your Ferritin was. No concept that Ferritin might do stuff in the body eg make you grow hair, or feel less tired, I think we thought it just sat there waiting to be turned into blood cells.

Then given how many things you have to keep up to date on, prescribing iron which seems like it's dead easy and not the cutting edge of modern medicine, isn't really up there.

Equally iron infusions used to absolutely never happen. We knew they existed but they were basically mythical. Then a new product came on the market with minimal risk compared to the old one and iron infusions are happening left right and centre. But this has only happened in about the last 5 years so there are probably loads of doctors out there saying iron infusions are rare, nobody qualifies as until v recently this was true.

I literally only found out about the new recommendations for alternate day iron from a Radio 4 programme when I happened to have it on in the car. Went away, looked it up and my mind was blown.

So dug out tests.

Haemoglobin concentration 123.0 g/L (115.0 - 165.0)
Haematocrit 0.36 (0.36 - 0.47)
Serum ferritin level 16.4 ug/L (10.0 - 291.0)

I have an out of reference result for haemoglobin levels,(high) along with the lowish ferritin. Has anyone else got this or know about it?

FBC has been marked normal though. It's only slightly high

It's this one- Mean cell Haemoglobin level 33.3 pg (27-32) Above high reference limit

What was it?

I can't remember the name of the test but would 2 sound the right measure? I think there was reference to most people's being 80 or so.

Do you eat enough foods rich in iron? Do you take a supplement if not? If you do then ask for further investigation for bleeding. If not just boost your intake, it will soon increase. If you’re diet isn’t that great maybe think about a multi supplement as well

An infusion will make you feel so much better. My ferritin was 2.5 last February, my GP had allowed me to carry on with those figures for 2 years, I felt awful. I couldn’t even climb my stairs without feeling breathless and seeing stars. The infusion stopped all of that. However, I did also have to deal with the source of my low iron stores which were heavy periods. I hope the infusion goes well for you.

My ferritin level was 8 and the only thing that worked was ferrous fumarate. You can buy it over the counter at pharmacies so just cut out the middle man and avoid the GP. It's actually cheaper to buy over the counter than get on prescription and pay the charge!

Just make sure you avoid all tea and coffee (including decaf) for at least an hour either side.

I swear by a product called Hema-Plex (capsule form)