Anyone know much about iron?

[Worriedmotheroftwo]

My son has had low iron. He is autistic, has ADHD and severe anxiety. We've worked hard over the summer to get his iron levels up, and we are delighted that they are now higher, following his blood test earlier this week. We will obviously keep giving him iron.

However, I am confused about the 'normal' ranges. They seem completely different to last time. Is it because he is a bit older? (He is 5, and the three tests were each taken 6 months apart). Or have the NHS changed the normal ranges? It's almost impossible to get an appointment with our GP, and certainly not for a question like this when his iron is 'normal', so I was hoping someone on here might know. Many thanks. Screenshors attached.

The lab normal ranges sometimes get updated because of age, sometimes because of a change in analyser. If the number has gone up that indicates his iron stores have increased so that's good news.

DD15 just had her ferritin test and is 28, GP said they change and seen quite high these days but consider throwing extra foods in for iron and absorption to help, said she wasn't worried though

Sorry not sure on your question, but would you mind sharing how you increased your son’s iron please? My son also has low iron and is autistic with anxiety so he won’t take the prescribed liquid

My son is autistic with anxiety too, which was why we were taking the low iron so seriously, as low iron can increase anxiety. I'm afraid my son just took the liquid though so I don't really have another method!

@Worriedmotheroftwo - I've also got two autistic ADHD complex children so feel your pain.
Try getting him to take something with vitamin C such as citrus fruit orange juice etc when he's eating iron as vitamin c helps absorption, iron is notoriously awkward in being absorbed

@Worriedmotheroftwo I’ll keep trying with the liquid. I didn’t know low iron can increase anxiety.
I saw a video by an nhs doctor (Dr Karan) who said iron supplements every other day is more affective than everyday. I can’t remember the reasoning behind this but could be worth looking into x

Thanks - this is interesting! I'll look into!

Yes - I think that was what did the trick actually, as we didn't use OJ at all but after the second poor iron count we did and then his iron shot up! Though we also doubled his dose so that too.

Was it a different lab? They often use different scales.
On a different note, has your son been tested for Coeliac disease? It’s a common cause of low iron and is often missed (you don’t have to have bowel symptoms ).
I appreciate there are other causes ( including a restricted diet which I am aware may be the case for some children with autism) but only about 1/3 of people who have Coeliac disease are actually diagnosed and it takes on average 13 years for people to be diagnosed. It’s always worth excluding if there is low iron (or raised liver function tests) on a blood test.
https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/your-gluten-free-hub/home-of-gluten-free-recipes/healthy-eating/iron/

I don't know if it was a different lab, as it was just done on thr NHS. Actually, it was done in a different hospital, so I guess that would mean a different lab? Do they really use different scales?? How annoying! So I can't directly compare?? So is the 38 really even a 38...?

Interesting re coeliac. We did get him some allergy testing when he was a baby (he seemed to have cmpa but even dairy-free didn't work)... I will dig out the old paperwork and see if he was tested for coeliac. If not, I will look into getting a test. Thanks v much for the suggestion.

My understanding is that a lab range is not the lower-higher of optimal level range, but the range of the people they test.

Thanks... so the 38 is still 38 (in comparison the previous 25)? It's just the normal range that's shifted? I was so excited to see that his iron levels had increased massively, but now I'm questioning it! Wish I'd had it done at the same hospital now, but didn't think it mattered!

His levels have improved, that is what counts.

Well, that's what I'm questioning now. If the ranges are different, I'm not sure if a 38 is a 38 (in comparison to the old 25) so are the new results at all comparable to the old ones? Is it 100% definite based on this that his levels have improved and are now 'normal'? So annoyed that it's a different system, and really wish we had the blood test at the same place!

38 is 38. Different labs make different assumptions about what counts as "normal" (which is usually based on the lowest 5-10% of some reference population of well people, ie many people with "low" numbers aren't actually deficient in a clinically meaningful way). I would stop worrying about it in your position.

Great, many thanks.