Arsed off with doctors ignoring blood results

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…because they are “just out of range” - therefore don’t need actioning

At some point, I presume some very clever people got in a room and decided the “normal” range for every blood test conceivable. So why is it ok for a doctor to look at results outside of the range and say “don’t worry about it”, “it’s only just outside”, Presumably the clever people have already agreed what is normal and what isn’t? So why does Dr Smith get to decide it’s actually ok and doesn’t need any follow up or treatment because it’s “nearly there”

Drives me insane, same here. Iron infusion fixed it. Women's ferritin should really be over 100. It doesn't 'dip' '

You have an iron deficiency (without anaemia) and you’re right, docs don’t care. I ended up paying for my daughter to have an iron infusion, as the docs didn’t care. She ended up with a blood transfusion at 12 when her first period didn’t stop, as she hasn’t been right since. GP tried to tell me she doesn’t have an iron deficiency, and I told him that yes you can have an iron deficiency without anaemia and that hb is often last thing to drop. Your ferritin is very low. There’s a FB group called the Iron protocol. Nothing we did raised my daughters and we tried for 5yrs. Its ruined her teen years.

Had the exact same experience OP, for a decade. Was only prescribed ferrous fumerate when it dropped to 7.

I've spent years and quite a bit of money on expensive iron supplements to get it up to 70. My target is 100.

See also: B12 levels. I also pay for my own high-strength sublingual drops.

Take strong iron + strong vitamin C every other evening with a meal (avoid tea or coffee an hour either side). Request blood test every 6-12 months to monitor, along with keeping a symptom and mood diary/log on an app. Don't give up.

That's how it ought to be done. I had iron infusions summer before last which brought my ferritin levels up nicely. Since then I've had blood tests a couple of times for other reasons and after my most recent one I had a phone appointment and while the doctor was happy about the results in regards to the reason for those tests he said he noticed that my ferritin has been dropping (hb fine) and though its still in range he is concerned so ordered coeliac tests (have coeliac disease but blood markers haven't been checked in a few years) and new hb and ferritin tests for May to see if ferritin has continued to drop and if so further investigations need to be done.

I feel so lucky I had that doctor call me instead of the one that originally was supposed to call as I strongly suspect they wouldn't have been as proactive as this doctor.

Just a general comment - my job involves lab test interpretation and when I was training (granted over ten years ago now) we were taught that reference ranges were designed so that 95% of ‘healthy’ patients would fall in those ranges to allow for statistical variation, meaning around 5% of healthy patients fall outside this.

However, being a patient with low ferritin and thyroid issues myself, I agree with all the PPs about trying to improve your ferritin and pushing for extra tests if you think you need it. My ferritin has been down at 6 with a Hb just about normal. I’ve had to take time off work, absolutely floored. I’m 3 months into treatment and ferritin is now in the normal range (19) but GP wants to carry on until it’s around 70-100. My GP told me that the changes in the normal reference range to 11-300 are reflective of a change in NICE guidelines, but she still treats ferritin under 30 as needs treatment and aims to get to 70-100 (broad rule that i’m sure will be dependent on clinical situation of patient).

DD's ferritin is 6 but for some insane reason (possibly because she's under 18?) The lab has that as within the normal range which I'm really not happy about as she's exhausted (but also she won't take her iron...) the same lab definitely doesn't have 6 as normal when I'm tested so must be to do with her age.

I had a ferritin level of 4, and a serious vit D deficiency. I had a bald patch as a result and was constantly exhausted. High dose iron and vit d supplements fixed both within a couple of months. If doctor won’t prescribe, you can buy both OTC

Did they totly ignore it or did they advise to buy over the counter ferrous fumerate and just refused to do further investigations?

I had low iron all my life at different times of my life when I was menstruating. It stopped after the menopause. I had to medicate at times. This is indeed quite common.

Don’t get me started! I’ve had a situation where my GP believed they were “just in range” or borderline and my consultant at the hospital said they were abnormal.
The GP didn’t want to action anything yet the hospital were adamant that further action was needed. Apparently they can’t communicate with each other via anything but letter, yet the GP said a letter wasn’t enough to make them take further action. Nothing was done.
Ridiculous.

My DD had results that were just outside the normal range for alkaline phosphate so repeated them which showed them going more outside the normal range, repeated again in six weeks with the same result, then in 12 when they were more outside than when we started. Finally saw a Dr who said no action needed as she looked fine!! Waste of time and money.

OP you have my sympathy.

I had a blood test back in January. My ferritin was 5 and my serum iron below range. The GP marked the results as borderline and suggested I eat spinach. I used my private health insurance to get an iron infusion and the haematologist I spoke to said GPs are woefully ignorant about how ill low ferritin can make you feel.

Follow up blood tests were done last Friday and my ferritin is now 113. The surgery don’t know I had an infusion so I expect the poor deluded GP will think his spinach advice worked!

I had regular iron infusions for years.

My ferritin was regularly 2-3. My hgb was always low too.

Infusions take a while to make you feel better. The very obvious point too is that you need to know the underlying cause too.

Same! Horribly anaemic for 30 years now. GP will put me on the ferrous sulphate. Levels go back up. Great, let's take Stephen'sLass off them. I become ill again. Rinse and repeat.

I have spent my whole adult life being and feeling exhausted.As others have said, yes hair loss and poor nail condition too.

YES ABSOLUTELY buy them from pharmacies! Online or in person. It's been a life saver for me, seeing as the GP doesn't think I'm worthy of getting any sort of help, apparently.

I really sympathise. I've had symptoms of iron deficiency without anaemia and it always goes untreated. about ten years ago my hair started falling out and I want to a private consultant and they said that for hair you need levels of 70 (mine was on the border of the NICE guidelines) and I should take an over the counter iron supplement which I did/do. Can you push back at the GP? Fthe 2024 NICE guidelines say ferritin levels should not be below 30 and yours is well below that and your transferrin saturation is also well below the NICE guildenline range. that is true whether or not you're a menstruating woman. I've also had this problem with my thyroid for the last thirty years as I become symptomatic of hypothyroidism at the low end of the normal range (this range in the US would make me officially hypothyroid much earlier). Over the years I've just had to be much more directive at the GP. finally, if you can afford it, and if the GP is useless and won't give you a referral, find a private doctor (preferably one who is a consultant within the NHS as the GPs find these harder to dismiss) get diagnosed there. they then write to your gp and I've found this a very effective way to get proper GP treatment.

Spoke to my GP as I had multiple symptoms suggesting I had an underactive thyroid. He argued that it was very unlikely but eventually agreed to blood tests. All my tests were satisfactory, despite my ferritin level being more than double the upper of the range. Tests also showed I have Hashimoto’s antibodies, this was also ignored. Saw a different doctor and she has put me on levothyroxine for an underactive thyroid!

what a good GP!

I had the same argument ( what's the point of a normal range?) with my GP over my monocytes. They were above range for 9 months (and several blood tests) and I was met with a wall of "doesn't matter". Oddly enough, it matters to me.

Agreed - I was lucky that when I had my iron tested although it was in the “normal” range my fab GP (sadly moved on now) said it still wasn’t optimal, and so treated me for low iron appropriately.

She’s so great and has made such a difference to my life. Helps that she is at exactly the same point of life as me with kids of identical ages, so just gets it.

I think ferritin levels for menstruating women can be lower and no action taken. The last range I saw was 13-150 so my GP would’ve ignored that. For post-menopausal is 50+.

I’d try and eat more iron-rich foods - easy to look up - and a gentle iron supplement.
I’ve often had out of range readings but they don’t seem bothered for some of them 🤷‍♀️ they’re always hot on iron though.

Just a reminder to everyone that it is very easy to move GP's and vote with your feet. I changed from what was a family practice that absorbed 3 other local ones because of very similar experiences which ended up with me being hospitalised. I knew my health was declining and was fobbed off every time despite bloods not being quite right. I am now at a practice with more female Dr's which was recommended to me by friends who had been denied HRT by male GPs. I suspect there is one practice in every town that has likeminded (usually female) GP's who recognise women's issues more than the basic response of "it's because you have periods". You can switch online and no need to explain why. Although sometimes it might be useful for the practice to know IMO!

I had bloods taken due to starting HRT just to rule out thyroid stuff. I am 51 years old.

My ferritin is 24 and I am on iron tablets now for at least 6 months. My GP said although the range is from 30 they want me at 50-60. I still have periods and also endometriosis. They will contact me in 3 months to run another blood panel. They are a great GP practise. You can get in person appointments the same day or a day later, they follow up on things like tests when you start new medication.

Just here to add that I've been here too - stress fracture in my femur last year which was very slow to heal, crutches for over 4 months, and it was put down to low vitamin D and not enough recovery time between runs. But having done lots of reading around the subject, there's a strong link between low ferritin and bone health too, so I've been pushing my GP for a close watch on those levels too. Initially the GP was only interested in keeping an eye on vitamin D, but when I looked back at my ferritin results from that time of the fracture, they were below the lower end of the range, like yours. GP had told me they were fine. It's frustrating. I'm taking a supplement but I'm finding it really hard to raise those levels. And I daren't start running again until I feel I'm in a good range. Which is equally frustrating!

My DH had abnormally raised ferritin results. The GP put “borderline, no further action”. He happily accepted this but I didn’t. I urged him to seek a second opinion, which he did. It turned out that he had haemochromatosis.