Low ferritin normal folate? Advice needed….

[Downsouthupnorth]

Got bloods back recently and folate is 15.9 ug/L ferritin is 20ug/L. Gp didn’t mention this so I asked as bloods form said ferritin was normal no action required but also said that 15-30 ferritin was consistent with low iron stores and to review to assess response to iron therapy. I asked gp and he said that if folate is normal , low ferritin would not contribute to feelings of fatigue. Have diagnosis of ME however have been feeling extra rubbish and tired recently, could low ferritin be a reason if folate is normal? Also been taking iron so unsure why ferritin is low, any tips on how to increase?

What was your iron level? I had low iron and low folate, folate came back to normal before the iron but I still felt pretty crappy at that point. Ferritin was fine throughout.

Hi there’s nothing that says iron on there, hair been falling out also so I thought it may be low. Is the iron test separate to the ferritin and folate?

My DD had low ferritin (14) and then went lower (11). Her iron was fine, her folate was fine. She had chronic fatigue and could barely cope with life. Eventually saw a doc who quadrupled her iron supplementation and she turned pink and felt better within a few weeks. My takeaway: having low ferritin can really really impact fatigue, and it is possible to correct with supplementation. Ask the GP if you can trial it. Good luck.

Yes it is, normally it would be checked at the same time as ferritin and folate though.

Thankyou, I will get back in contact with my gp

serum iron levels aren't that useful and don't reflect iron stores. A ferritin of 20's a bit low - some people get symptoms from it but others don't. If your GP's happy there's no medical for it that needs investigating/treating then just topping up with oral iron works for many people...you can buy iron of various 'strengths' over the counter - may be worth chatting to a pharmacist about what might work best for you.