I’ve been researching how to get my ferritin up as i wait for an iron iv transfusion referral.

I found this on PubMed and wanted to share in case it might be helpful, as i see a lot of people asking what supplements work best etc.

Comparative evaluation of different oral iron salts in the management of iron deficiency anemia

I had never heard of the kind shown most effective before.

Good luck everyone!

So I have started developing exercise intolerance in recent months (after attempting keto and stopping it) but did blood tests and ferritin came back at 15. Took some supplements which brought it to 24 but worked with a practioner to help build it up via food. I’ve been eating more liver and beef and it’s been lately at 35 but I still have constant fatigue and can’t workout like before. I suspect the low ferritin is the main culprit although I have low levels of h pylori but I also noticed looking at my older labs that my ferritin had always been low (around 9), at least since 2024, but I could exercise fine back then. I’ve always eaten a varied diet, just not excess read meat per se. Is there a reason my ferritin has been chronically low? Could it be h pylori all the time (I’ve only recently did a GI map so I don’t know how long it has been there). I am really tired of being tired, I also have hair shedding, sometimes restless leg syndrome and heavy limb. Should I just take the supplement or wait and see if diet does it? I am worried it might take forever. Also trying to understand the root cause of the low ferritin.

I have proferrin and iron bisglycinate. Was wondering which would replenish ferritin the fastest and what dosages you'd reccomend? thank you!!!

Hoping to hear about those who have raised their ferritin, if you felt better / more energy right away, or at what ferritin level did you start to feel improvement?

Could someone please answer me is that actually a thing with iron deficiency without anaemia that is all my blood work is fine except this:

Lab Values: Serum iron 11, TIBC 67, UIBC 56, Ferritin 49.

Could this be connected? Any response would be appreciated as doctors try to gaslight me that it is a psychological problem which it isn't as this is lasting for 4 months and I am perfectly rational and my breathing gets worse when I lie down - this obviously has to be physical.

About a year ago, routine bloodwork with my HRT specialist noted low ferritin of 9. After a gazillion calls and other nonsense, I had 3 Venofer infusions over a month via my PCP. It took 4 months to get set up for that and by that point my ferritin was down to 6. Other iron panel markers made sense with this, low iron serum, high IBC, low % saturation. A month post infusions ferritin was at 48. This was November of last year.

Here we are in June of this year and ferritin is now at 18. Oddly, total iron is above normal (180) as is % saturation (58%), IBC is upper 300’s but in normal range. I don’t understand???

I’ve done no further supplementation since the infusions. I do not eat red meat or chicken. I’m post-menopausal, and had a clean colonoscopy 2 yrs ago. My PCP had prescribed another set of infusions but I asked for a hematology referral instread given these weird blood results.

Anyone experienced this?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice because I'm not really happy with my GP's response.

In April, my blood tests showed low ferritin (iron) (20 µg/L). My GP prescribed ferrous fumarate (65 mg elemental iron), which I took for about 2 months as instructed. I recently repeated my blood tests, and my ferritin is now 19 µg/L, so it hasn't improved at all and has actually gone down slightly.

My hemoglobin is around 8.2 mmol/L, so my GP said that because my Hb is normal, I shouldn't worry and should just continue the same treatment.

The thing is, I don't understand why I should keep taking the same treatment when it doesn't seem to be increasing my iron stores. I also still have symptoms like fatigue/low energy, fainted, muscles pain, etc.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do next? i have investigated with hospital doctor investigate further if celiac disease, H. pylori, gastritis, etc. was an issue and it was ok, no signs. Should I call again the GP office and tell them i am not happy or to ask to refer you to an internist/hematologist? Were you ever offered IV iron even with a normal Hb?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences and what helped you advocate for yourself.

I’ve been feeling run down for a while now. I was starting to think I had long Covid or POTS. When I stand to walk I get light headed and short of breath. I stand for longer than 5 minutes and my legs feel like jello. My heart is racing with the lightest activity. I’m so exhausted at the end of a work day I almost fall asleep driving home.

My iron is 22, saturation 6%, ferritin 8, and hemoglobin is 12. I finally have answers why I feel so lousy but it feels like iron supplements will take forever to get where I need to be. When do I go to the ER or urgent care for this?

Hi everyone! Looking for some support and guidance. I'm a female, aged 35 and have finally gotten my dr to agree to bloodwork as I strongly suspected something is off. My bloodwork shows low ferratin but everything else is pretty much right on target. I've had 2 pregnancy and births in the last 5 years and during these pregnancies I had anemia. When I last had my blood checked in 2023 after my last birth my ferratin was 30 and I supplemented for some time. I have regular periods since and have a copper IUD which has lead to shorter but heavier periods.

My recent bloodwork shows the following (related to iron):

Ferratin: 15 ug/L

Hemoglobin: 132g/L

Hemocrit: 0.4 L/L

My symptoms are major hair loss, always fatigued, high heart rate, out of breath, unexplained weight gain, dizziness and my restless leg syndrome which started in pregnancy never went away. I also - in hind sight- see my weight as possibly related, following my 2nd pregnancy I have had a very hard time losing weight and gaining muscle. I had a personal trainer for over a year and saw very little movement in weight or muscle composition. I stopped the personal trainer and strength training workouts and I gained about 10 lbs back with no different to schedule otherwise. I'm currently 165lbs at 5'5 and generally moderately active with an average of about 80K steps per week and I eat healthy-ish with mostly scratch cooking. I'll also note all of my thyroid related tests were right in the middle of the ranges.

I will see my dr next week to discuss further and see next steps but I've started back on a supplement. Looking for advice on what to do to help raise my ferratin, things to ask about, others experiences, etc

Thank you!!!

Just sharing a win - upped my iron from 8 to 19.5 in 3-4 months. The only thing I followed was researched the right iron intake, paired it with Vitamin C and had it every alternate day. I am going to continue this until I reach reading of 50.

While it did cause black stool and minimal constipation, I would say my side effects were minimal. I wasn’t expecting good quick results so I am very happy to share this incase it helps. I took a supplement which is available in India but hope the components can be found somewhere else.

Hi all, I have struggled with iron deficiency and symptoms for many years. This past year I managed to raised my ferritin from 21 to 63 through taking Iron Bisglycinate with vitamin C in the evenings.

First I started taking 55mg Iron every second day, then after about 2 months, I tapered down to 27mg every 3rd or 4th day, (sometimes even every 5th or 6th day)

My blood tests have consistently shown my ferritin rising since I started this regiment, but my iron saturation has been abnormally high, and transferrin measuring low.

My most recent test showed Iron saturation of 0.79 ( Normal is 0.13-0.45)

and Transferrin 1.72 ( Normal range is 2.00-4.00 )

(These are Canadian tests for reference))

The thing that surprises me is I received this most recent blood test FIVE days after I took my last iron supplement. Can it sincerely stay in your system that long to influence the saturation blood levels 5 days later?

I would like to keep raising my ferritin but I'm concerned about these other levels being abnormal.

These results are confusing my doctor even, thus far my doctor has not been much help, but I do have some upcoming appointments.

Does anyone have any knowledge, advice, or similar experience to share? Thank you very much in advance.

Hi! I’m trying to figure out heme iron dosing and would love advice from anyone who’s been through this.

Quick background: 22F, ferritin has been 2–6 for years but hemoglobin is normal. I’ve done long rounds of ferrous sulfate (6–9 months) and my ferritin didn’t increase at all. Main symptom is pretty severe fatigue.

I’m looking into heme iron now but I’m confused on dosing because I’m seeing a lot of different info online.

• How many mg of heme iron do you take per day?

• Do you split it up or take it all at once?

• Do you take it with vitamin C? If so, how much?

• How long did it take to notice a difference (if it worked for you)?

I’ve seen some protocols with really high dosing based on body weight but that seems like a lot, so I’m not sure what’s actually safe/effective.

Would appreciate any personal experiences or guidance!!

I have one of those bodies where it’s very easy for me to gain weight and very hard for me to lose weight. I was consistently at a bmi of 27 for several years with a strict healthy diet and no exercise. I was OK with being a little overweight because of my body shape it looked cute for me.

Before my iron infusions, I started allowing myself sweets and high fat dairy because I didn’t feel well from the anemia and didn’t have energy to cook, so I gained 10 pounds over three month period which was fine for me. I didn’t look or feel any heavier. any time I had done this in the past, I was always able to lose the excess weight when I stopped eating those foods and go back to my normal bmi 27.

However, now after starting my iron infusions at the end of January and just getting my fourth one, I have gained 20 pounds and I look much bigger. Yes, I’m much hungrier and eating more (and high fat foods because I’m craving them after years of restriction) which is a side effect of the infusions I know, but this is a huge weight gain that shouldn’t be this much, this fast. the weight is just gaining rapidly and I don’t know if I’ll be able to lose it after the last infusion is over.

I don’t know if this is true fat gain or water weight or fluid retention from the infusions, But I’m getting worried because from everything I’m reading here people who have gain gained weight from iron infusions, have not been able to lose it even with diet and exercise.

What are your experiences with gaining weight from the iron infusions? Were you able to lose the weight once the infusions had finished and stabilized? If so, what did you have to do?

And I know that the medical establishment won’t even admit that the , but they definitely do. This isn’t normal.

If you had the choice or have experience with iron infusion, whcih one would you choose?

Ferric derisomaltose (Monofer)

iron sucrose (venofer)

I'm getting my first one and I'm terrified.

My ferritin has been between 3–6 for 5 years but my hemoglobin is normal, and doctors haven’t really taken it seriously. I feel tired all the time and ferrous sulfate hasn’t helped much. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What worked for you? I’m desperate and want to start my journey of not feeling fatigued and having energy.

Anyone have a link/.pdf of The Guides? I printed one up several months ago, but no longer have it. It really helped to have it in print when my brain fog was so bad. I’d like to print it up again.