Iron deficiency? Serum ferritin 16 ug/L only one above low limit

[Cassx]

Hello,

Pls can anyone advise. For context I have been breastfeeding for 2 years now.

For the past year and a half I have been getting very dizzy breathless fatigued achy bones etc. some days I am so tired and feel like I have flu I find it hard to do anything.

They done bloods and a quick ecg last year and told me all was ok.

Just had it repeated and have checked my NHS app and it says my serum ferritin is 16 (anything below 15 is considered low and need supplimenting) I then checked my previous from over a year ago and it was 17. Should I not have been supplemented then?

If the cut of is 15 and mine is so close and with all the symptoms I have why is this not flagging up? I have just read online most people are supplemented below 45. I never checked my last bloods I was just trusting in the doctor giving me results but now I’m concerned. I’m only one above cut off point and have also seen WHO cut off point is much higher than nhs.

On my blood form on my NHs app the doctor has checked and written ‘normal’ even though it’s one above LOW?

Im really concerned as I feel terrible. B vitamins , vitamin D, thyroid etc has all come back as ok.

thanks

Also my brain fog is getting worse than ever! Some days I don’t know how I get from A to B. It’s really getting me down

& to add my iron before having my little ones was always in 300s! I was always higher range

Bump!

That’s low. But I had a ferritin level of 13 and struggled to get any proper advice from the GP. I would go back to them. Two things: you need to work out why it’s so low (diet, heavy periods, make sure you get stool tests done in case you’re losing blood that way), although it hasn’t dropped much in the last year, which is reassuring. And you need to work on getting it up through iron tablets. They should be able to advise you on that. Good luck - I felt awful with only slightly lower ferritin.

Just start supplementing yourself? You can easily get hold of iron tablets. I would think that your symptoms are something other than low iron, my ferritin is regularly at 3 or 4. Above 15 is good, and normal

GPs are shit at iron levels. Menstruating women should be aiming for around 100. You can buy OTC supplements, absolutely do!

15 is not good at all, it's way too low
It needs to be over 75 for hair growth so 15 is absolute bare minimum
The U.K. has a shocking low range for ferritin

This couldn’t be any more wrong.

15 and below is deficient. 16-45 is borderline and needs treating. 46+ is considered sufficient but a lot of people still have symptoms this low.

having ferritin at a 3 or 4 isn’t a badge of honour. It’s fucking dangerous.

we all have different tolerance levels OP, and let’s not forget you’re breastfeeding. I have symptoms below 50, I have friends who feel fine at 10.

and PP, don’t spout nonsense that isn’t true please. And for godsake get your iron up! I’m surprised you’re still functioning.

It’s marked as normal because the options are: below limit or above limit and you are above limit.

why not just take responsibility for supplementing your ferritin? Either buy iron replacement or dietary. Think about your iron loss - although it’s steady in the last year.

have it repeated in 6 months and/or if your symptoms haven’t improved then return for more advice?

You should tell your GP how bad you're feeling and that you think you need iron supplements. They often seem to go by the book - unless you are under the threshold, they say its fine. And the threshold is very low. Alternatively, you can buy ferrous fumarate over the counter. Just ask for ferrous fumarate 210mg tablets. If they ask if its ok with GP, you can tell them you have been tested and your iron is very low. It will start to make a difference relatively quickly. I was very low after breastfeeding and spent a good 2 years or more thinking I was just very unfit with heart palpitations on climbing stairs and very tired. It totally disappeared after taking ferrous fumarate.

Thank you all for the advice, appreciated.

I’m calling to speak with a GP today. I have looked at supplementing myself but what I am reading the high strength iron can only be prescribed by the GP. And obviously taking into account I’m breastfeeding I would like to do it with medical supervision not just take it upon myself and hope for the best!

My diet is rich in iron so it can’t be that. I regularly eat eggs, fish red meat spinach etc! I don’t hold out much hope from the GP so I may go to a pharmacy and see what they advise also.

You can buy the iron, and take it every other day with vitamin C
Speak to the GP but they are likely to say no your ferritin is fine and you don't need it
Mine is 66 and I'm actively trying to increase it

@Sunshiiine where did I say it was my badge of honour you angry little person? I'm pointing out the the OP that she may have other health concerns with those symptoms. If you went to the dr with a ferritin level of 45 they'd tell you to piss off you're fine. How dramatic 🙄

It's not the optimal level though by any stretch
Dizzy, breathless and tired with a ferritin that's nowhere near a good level isn't exactly tricky to see
Get the ferritin up and then see how OP feels as there's a huge range of "normal" but normal doesn't mean good or optimal

It seems that this is a repeated issue and something GPs often don't manage well. My recent blood came back with a ferritin of 9 (cut off for our lab was below 10) I had them done due to dizziness, fatigue and geneally struggling to do anything without almost passing out. GP had marked it as "borderline" and was totally unconcerned till I siad I wanted some iron prescribing!
Ive read up since then and there are lots of studies suggesting you can be symptomatic even below 70 ish and this can happen even withough the presence of anaemia (low heamoglobin) so I dont know why GPs seem so reluctant to treat this.
(you can actually buy ferrous sulphate 200mg tablets without prescription if you ever needed to which is the recomended/prescribed dose)