Ferritin

[Guest guest]

What city are you in? I see a wonderful nutritionist who seems to know more than the drs. as she looks at me as a whole person and not just one medical issue. I run everything the drs. say by her before I make any changes. I am in Houston.

Re: Ferritin

Maty,I dont know which ones are electrolyte tests ?? I see potassium at 4.7 (range 3.6-5.2) and sodium 139 (range 136-146) calcium 8.6 (range 8.5-10.5) I dont see anything for magnesium unless its a name I dont recognize . yes, I am overweight. I was always a very scrawny kid, and thin teen, but when my thyroid went a little wacky I developed endometrial hyperplasia and basically bled to death for 2 yrs, they put me on prgesterone and I gained 100 lbs in the 1 yr I was on the pills. I cried when the weight started and the DRs would pat my hand and say sorry but you have to stay on this indefinately. I gained 17 lbs in 14 days , and couldnt wear my shoes or my jewelry. they would not test my thyroid back then (2001) I requested it several times. they set me up for a uterine ablation to stop the bleeding, then decided I needed a hysterectomy,and then decided I didnt qualify for any of it, and then finally after 2 yrs I said enough and went to a small walk in clinic, got my TSH tests (9.6) and they put me on armour and the hyperplasia disappeared and I have been normal ever since. exept the weight will not budge no matter what diet I try, I am diabetic so this is really hard on me.but since 2001 my iron has been low, one DR was so worried I might not be able to walk to t he car in the parking lot but a male Dr came in and he called me a sissy because I was so weak and tired all the time. he said evertything was fine and thought I was lying. so I've been living with it ever since. but some days I have no strength to get out of bed, I wake up more exhausted that before I went to bed. I have severe leg cramps every hour all night long, I get dizzy easily, sometimes just sitting at my desk doing emails and a wave of dizziness will hit me for no reason. I will check my bp and my sugar and its all fine. I have only a couple of varicose veins but not too bad . I dont know if I have any circulation problems, I dont think so.I was going in for B12 shots every month but they didnt do anything for me, I use to take B12 supplements for years...but it just doesnt seem to help at all. I take folic acid supplements once in awhile.they say my iron and ferritin is in range so not to worry about it.but something is sure keeping me exhausted. if I take a shower, I have to lay down for 30 min to regain some strength just to get dressed. of course the doctor doesnt believe me. on good days I dont have to do that, I noticed too on my bad days (weak and tired) my ankles swell really bad (3x normal size)...but on days my ankles are not swollen, I seem to feel better and have more energy. so I cant figure the connection there, most likely a coincidence.I have been taking ferrous sulfate 325 mg for 2 months now, I saw a slight improvement..but feel I am a long way off from feeling normal again.my Drs all comlpain because I have 'too much' wrong. believe me I didnt ask for any of this. one DR refused to see me because there was just too much wrong. so found a small clinic and they are doing their best.. but most times I need to tell them what I think and what I would like tested.on monday he set me up to have some labs done...he requested cmp, a1c, CBC, lipids, fe, and fe binding , folate, B12, TSH.so I will be getting these done soon. and hoping to find whats wrong and fix it. I have a ton of stuff to do, and not being able to do normal everyday stuff is driving me nuts. I sleep all the time, sometimes I get worn out just walking from the bedroom to the kitchen and have to rest half the day. I was always a very hyper person, in fact when I first gained the weight I was still quite active.. but this has been going down hill since 2001.one person suggested lupus might be a problem, another suggested CFS,fibromyalgia. I am thinking it might be a nutritional thing.I dont know how to find a nutritionist and one trained well enough to look for things that other Drs miss.but was just curious what the ferritin numbers should be at, what most people are dealing with in Iron and ferritin. just in case this is my mystery illness that they overlooked.if I do a load of laundry and then cook a meal, I am shot for the day.I cant do anything without exhausting myself and its plain rediculous.! I cant have my life coming to a screeching halt because of exhaustion (somewhere).would love to hear from others and see if I can get ideas to take to my Dr.Thanks so muchLin>> Support for Texans with Thyroid DiseaseWhat do your electrolytes test at? (Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium?) Are you much overweight, and do you have varicose veins and/or poor circulation to your legs? Your ferritin looks too low to me, but there could be other factors right along side it, also. Just looking at various things here. B12? Folic Acid? Maybe a combo of some or all of these things? Please forgive if you've given all this info, but my memory is sometimes--well--short term, lol.> > > >

[Guest guest]

Hi , I agree with you about nutritionist. I have a friend from a company I used to be with whom I greatly admire. I trust her advice over my doctor at this point. I ask her advice often.

in Lufkin

Re: Ferritin

Maty,I dont know which ones are electrolyte tests ?? I see potassium at 4.7 (range 3.6-5.2) and sodium 139 (range 136-146) calcium 8.6 (range 8.5-10.5) I dont see anything for magnesium unless its a name I dont recognize . yes, I am overweight. I was always a very scrawny kid, and thin teen, but when my thyroid went a little wacky I developed endometrial hyperplasia and basically bled to death for 2 yrs, they put me on prgesterone and I gained 100 lbs in the 1 yr I was on the pills. I cried when the weight started and the DRs would pat my hand and say sorry but you have to stay on this indefinately. I gained 17 lbs in 14 days , and couldnt wear my shoes or my jewelry. they would not test my thyroid back then (2001) I requested it several times. they set me up for a uterine ablation to stop the bleeding, then decided I needed a hysterectomy,and then decided I didnt qualify for any of it, and then finally after 2 yrs I said enough and went to a small walk in clinic, got my TSH tests (9.6) and they put me on armour and the hyperplasia disappeared and I have been normal ever since. exept the weight will not budge no matter what diet I try, I am diabetic so this is really hard on me.but since 2001 my iron has been low, one DR was so worried I might not be able to walk to t he car in the parking lot but a male Dr came in and he called me a sissy because I was so weak and tired all the time. he said evertything was fine and thought I was lying. so I've been living with it ever since. but some days I have no strength to get out of bed, I wake up more exhausted that before I went to bed. I have severe leg cramps every hour all night long, I get dizzy easily, sometimes just sitting at my desk doing emails and a wave of dizziness will hit me for no reason. I will check my bp and my sugar and its all fine. I have only a couple of varicose veins but not too bad . I dont know if I have any circulation problems, I dont think so.I was going in for B12 shots every month but they didnt do anything for me, I use to take B12 supplements for years...but it just doesnt seem to help at all. I take folic acid supplements once in awhile.they say my iron and ferritin is in range so not to worry about it.but something is sure keeping me exhausted. if I take a shower, I have to lay down for 30 min to regain some strength just to get dressed. of course the doctor doesnt believe me. on good days I dont have to do that, I noticed too on my bad days (weak and tired) my ankles swell really bad (3x normal size)...but on days my ankles are not swollen, I seem to feel better and have more energy. so I cant figure the connection there, most likely a coincidence.I have been taking ferrous sulfate 325 mg for 2 months now, I saw a slight improvement..but feel I am a long way off from feeling normal again.my Drs all comlpain because I have 'too much' wrong. believe me I didnt ask for any of this. one DR refused to see me because there was just too much wrong. so found a small clinic and they are doing their best.. but most times I need to tell them what I think and what I would like tested.on monday he set me up to have some labs done...he requested cmp, a1c, CBC, lipids, fe, and fe binding , folate, B12, TSH.so I will be getting these done soon. and hoping to find whats wrong and fix it. I have a ton of stuff to do, and not being able to do normal everyday stuff is driving me nuts. I sleep all the time, sometimes I get worn out just walking from the bedroom to the kitchen and have to rest half the day. I was always a very hyper person, in fact when I first gained the weight I was still quite active.. but this has been going down hill since 2001.one person suggested lupus might be a problem, another suggested CFS,fibromyalgia. I am thinking it might be a nutritional thing.I dont know how to find a nutritionist and one trained well enough to look for things that other Drs miss.but was just curious what the ferritin numbers should be at, what most people are dealing with in Iron and ferritin. just in case this is my mystery illness that they overlooked.if I do a load of laundry and then cook a meal, I am shot for the day.I cant do anything without exhausting myself and its plain rediculous.! I cant have my life coming to a screeching halt because of exhaustion (somewhere).would love to hear from others and see if I can get ideas to take to my Dr.Thanks so muchLin>> Support for Texans with Thyroid DiseaseWhat do your electrolytes test at? (Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium?) Are you much overweight, and do you have varicose veins and/or poor circulation to your legs? Your ferritin looks too low to me, but there could be other factors right along side it, also. Just looking at various things here. B12? Folic Acid? Maybe a combo of some or all of these things? Please forgive if you've given all this info, but my memory is sometimes--well--short term, lol.> > > >

[Guest guest]

The shortness of breath is definitely a symptom of anemia, but can also be due to hypothyroidism. Does your lab report really show a range of 100-291? It is usually more like 10 on the bottom and not at all realistic. I was symptomatic with a ferritin of 35, even losing hair. Most of us need to have our ferritin over 70 to be free of symptoms. We cannot give you any direct advice on the amount of iron to take. You might need more than one tablet. You need to talk to your doc about that. A little vitamin C taken at the same time as the iron will help with absorption. In addition to taking iron, do make a point of

eating meat. My doc's wife was required to eat at least 8 ounces of beef or chicken every day until she could not open her mouth to speak without a moo-ooo or a cluck pikaw! coming out. It does take a long time to get your ferritin levels up, especially since you are hypothyroid and most likely do not process the iron very well. Karma wrote: I had a ferritin test done last week. My level was a 13 on a range of100-291. I am feeling short of

breath or easily winded. It seems my heart beatis a little strong. My feet ache and hurt, especially after sittingor lying down for a while. At times I have all over body aches. Iwas wondering if any of these things can be attributed to lowferritin? Of course I feel extremely exhausted all of the time.I picked up some Feosol yesterday to start taking. What are yourthoughts on taking two pills a day instead of the recommended one orat least every once in a while throwing in an extra? Anything else Ican be doing to raise the ferritin? Any thoughts on how long it will take to get to a reasonable levelwhich might make me feel a little better?Thanks, Karma

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[Guest guest]

Most of the symptoms sound like it could be low ferritin. You labs

certainly show it.

My feet ache and hurt from low thyroid.

I take two of my iron pills...especially since I am not the most consistent

about taking it. I think the pills I take aren't a very high dose anyway.

I'm doing that until the ferritin gets to a somewhat respectable level. My

ferritin was only 12 in June of 06. It had improved in November. I am due

for another lab draw in the next month or so. I'll ask my doctor then about

dropping down to one.

Kim

Ferritin

I had a ferritin test done last week. My level was a 13 on a range of

100-291.

I am feeling short of breath or easily winded. It seems my heart beat

is a little strong. My feet ache and hurt, especially after sitting

or lying down for a while. At times I have all over body aches. I

was wondering if any of these things can be attributed to low

ferritin? Of course I feel extremely exhausted all of the time.

I picked up some Feosol yesterday to start taking. What are your

thoughts on taking two pills a day instead of the recommended one or

at least every once in a while throwing in an extra? Anything else I

can be doing to raise the ferritin?

Any thoughts on how long it will take to get to a reasonable level

which might make me feel a little better?

Thanks, Karma

[Guest guest]

As per your suggestions, we've tested my daughter's ferritin, folate

and B12. I expect the results on Monday. I know sometimes that

published ranges are not the same ones that make sense for real people -

any idea what the ferritin level should be for a healthy 16 year old?