Guest guest Posted September 3, 2010 Report Share Posted September 3, 2010 >Great info on iron here. It seems that my ferritin fluctuates so much with my periods along with my low thyroid. My ferritin was 86 back in April then down to 20 again in June. My next question is how long do we normally need to take iron or should we continue to take it as long as our levels do not go too high? I am wondering if this a " for life " thing for me now.. My hemoglobin has always been in normal range, but just one time this year I had low RBC. I had never had that before. Does that correlate with low iron? Thanks . > > What do I look for on the CBC and Iron panel? > > > > My ferritin is 54. > > Ferritin is the first indicator of iron deficiency, so hemoglobin and hematocrit may be normal. TIBC would be in the lower levels of normal range. I haven't looked at that many so am not an expert here. But I am not aware of anything that would cause a false low ferritin. > > You need to take iron. > > Dorothy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2010 Report Share Posted September 3, 2010 I understand there are possible " false high " ferritin results, but not " false low " . If ferritin is low, iron is low. Things which may cause false high ferritin results are inflammation and infection, among others. Along with a ferritin, we now also recommend an iron panel showing a % saturation. For best thyroid utilization, % saturation should be 35-45. How long we take iron varies. Raising iron takes a lot more than maintaining it; for example someone who took 200mg for a few months and successfully raised iron may find, afterward, that they need only 50mg a day or less to maintain the healthy levels. Ferritin and iron panel test results are the guideposts for this. There are several causes of low RBC; yes, low iron is one of them. > >Great info on iron here. > > It seems that my ferritin fluctuates so much with my periods along with my low thyroid. My ferritin was 86 back in April then down to 20 again in June. > > My next question is how long do we normally need to take iron or should we continue to take it as long as our levels do not go too high? I am wondering if this a " for life " thing for me now.. > > My hemoglobin has always been in normal range, but just one time this year I had low RBC. I had never had that before. Does that correlate with low iron? > > Thanks . > > > What do I look for on the CBC and Iron panel? > > > > > > My ferritin is 54. > > > > Ferritin is the first indicator of iron deficiency, so hemoglobin and hematocrit may be normal. TIBC would be in the lower levels of normal range. I haven't looked at that many so am not an expert here. But I am not aware of anything that would cause a false low ferritin. > > > > You need to take iron. > > > > Dorothy > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2010 Report Share Posted September 4, 2010 You meant that TIBC would be low-normal if we had enough iron, correct? Because if our body wants and needs more iron, the capacity to bind it goes up. Kathleen > > > > What do I look for on the CBC and Iron panel? > > > > My ferritin is 54. > > Ferritin is the first indicator of iron deficiency, so hemoglobin and hematocrit may be normal. TIBC would be in the lower levels of normal range. I haven't looked at that many so am not an expert here. But I am not aware of anything that would cause a false low ferritin. > > You need to take iron. > > Dorothy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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