To ask if anyone can interpret these iron/ferritin levels?

[OwlRightThen]

I had a blood test recently as I'm stupidly tired all the time. They've all come back as satisfactory however I'm confused.

My serum ferritin level came back at 19ng/ml and normal results are apparently between 13-150ng/ml in women age 15-60 according to the details with the blood results, but....

NICE guidance says 'In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency' If I convert 19ng/ml to mg/l it comes out at the same (19)

So why do my results say it's normal if it's between 13-150?

Also my mean cell hemoglobin level shows as 26 which is under the reference level.

I think it's considered 'normal' i.e. you're not officially anaemic, but low. It's a bit daft as as 14 is normal, but 13 is suddenly a problem! I was at 21, and was so tired and washed out. I went on ferrous sulphate for a couple of months and feel so much better now.

Your mixing all your units up…. 19ng/ml is 0.019 mg/l. But your are also talking about micrograms??

Your GP or whoever ordered the test will discuss with you?

OP i was at level 16 and our range was 12-300 so my results had an NHS warning alongside to tell the GP to investigate the cause.

I felt like fainting all the time.

Am up to 70 now and feel loads better.

The results on my nhs app say 19ng/ml but the nice guidelines say micrograms per litre.

Nope! I only know the results as they're on my nhs app. GP hasn't made any contact.

It’s different between different labs as well. My lab says under 20 is low for ferritin. Mine was 17 recently. I feel rough. It’s happened before (endometriosis). I’m a nurse so I just went and got some iron tablets and sent a message to my GP to say I had and I’ll get my bloods repeated soon. But you should discuss it with your GP. A lot of them won’t do anything if it’s its ‘normal’ ranges but if you feel unwell with it you should ask for treatment.

Your GP has probably not seen your results. Most only review results if they come back out of range. Yours came back' normal' even though everyone on this thread will probably have stories about how dreadful this level makes them feel. It's filed on your record and no one's looked at it.

I know it's hard but you have to be your own advocate. Ring and get another appointment. Whether your results are'normal' or not you still feel exhausted and you need the GP to offer advice and treatment. Please don't be fobbed off with'normal': go back. If they need other tests to decide on treatment they can order them. But, realistically, those levels are why you are struggle and some prescribed iron will help in time.

Please follow up!

You are correct that it is bonkers.

I think the 'normal' ranges are historic and go incredibly low. In the past we thought it was only an issue if you are anaemic. I think the idea was that ferritin was just an iron store and didn't have lots of important functions in the body.

When in reality we now know that most people with a ferritin of <20 will feel rubbish even without anaemia, and actually >100 is better.

My ferritin level got to 10. Doctors still didn’t want to do anything, ‘it’s in normal range’ - no treatment required. I’ve got it up to 21 over a year through diet and feel slightly better but still feel faint most of the time. At your levels I’d say you definitely need something.

My ferritin was 5 at one point. My GP helpfully suggested that I wouldn’t be as breathless if I did some exercise. I could barely stand!

Discuss it with your gp - my latest ferritin came back as 4 ! My hb is just 9 yet despite my gp pushing for me to have an iron transfusion for three years , haemotolgy refuse it and instead just tell my gp to up iron meds 😖 I feel shocking

Also you should speak to your GP about why it’s low! What was your haemoglobin?
my GP always suggests endoscopy investigations (I know what it entails, I’ve been as a patient and worked on that field!). My previous tests were normal and I usually put mine down to heavy periods and I have an inflammatory arthritis but they should be investigating the why and not just treating the low ferritin.

Mine was 7 in November. Had to have two lots of ferinject

Hmm looks like I should go back to the GP.

@ThisWormHasTurned my mean cell hemoglobin was 26.0 and apparently normal is between 27 - ? so that's slightly low.

Will over the counter iron be as good as what the GP can prescribe?

Have you got a MCV (mean corpuscular volume)?

I take Ferrous Fumurate 210g. It was prescribed by the doctor but it’s cheaper to buy OTC, its exactly the same either way.

My hb was 88 and ferritin was 5, felt like I was dying, ended up in A&E with dvts before they did anything, GP services in this country are appalling!

Over the counter is just as good. Just take one a day of ferrous sulphate or fumerate - higher doses give more side effects. Take with vitamin c for better absorption.
Agree with others although in the normal range you will likely feel better with higher levels

@Woopzies Mcv is 85?

I second getting 210 ferrous fumarate if your GP won't help. They tend to only be interested if your Hb is low too

You appear to be iron deficient without anemia.

Have you had your thyroid tested? Low ferritin can mess that up too.

My hair falls out a lot when my ferritin is as low as yours.