How much is low ferritin

This includes medicines that don't need a prescription and any illegal drugs you may use. Search Encyclopedia. Ferritin Blood Does this test have other names? Serum ferritin level What is this test? This test measures how much iron is in your blood. Why do I need this test? Signs and symptoms include: Pale or yellow skin Extreme tiredness and dizziness Weakness Heavy menstrual cycles Bleeding in your digestive tract Blood in your stool Shortness of breath or chest pain, especially with activity Brittle nails or loss of hair Pounding or "whooshing" sound in your ears A sudden spinning sensation vertigo Children who eat a lot of ice, and toddlers and babies who drink too much whole cow's milk may also get this test.

What other tests might I have along with this test? Your healthcare provider may also order other blood tests. These include: Serum iron level to measure the iron in the liquid part of your blood. HFE gene test to see if you have hemochromatosis. What do my test results mean?

If your results are higher, it may mean you have: Hyperthyroidism Hemochromatosis Liver disease Inflammatory diseases Cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or breast carcinoma You may also have higher levels if you are getting iron-replacement therapy or had a recent blood transfusion. How is this test done? Does this test pose any risks? What might affect my test results? Iron deficiency anemia may often be asymptomatic and go undiagnosed for a long period of time.

This may lead confusion as the role of ferritin in the detection of iron deficiency is not unequivocal. Then the ferritin can be supplemented with determination of transferrin saturation, soluble transferrin receptor sTfr and the ratio between sTfr and logarithm of ferritin as well as hepcidin 2 , 3.

The question of which ferritin concentration signifies clinically symptomatic iron deficiency has been raised 5 , 6. Iron deficiency in patients with heart failure impairs the quality of life, irrespective of the presence of anemia.

Notably patients with inflammation or clinically significantly impaired liver or renal function were excluded from the trial The patients have often received a spectrum of diagnoses, such as subclinical hypothyroidism treated with levothyroxine alone or with T3 containing preparations , chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic Lyme disease, burnout, and overtraining.

The blood count has usually been normal. Here are two examples. Patient 1. At the first visit, 3 months after start of treatment, the patient was still taking prednisolone 10 mg daily.

At the same time, she reported muscle and joints pains already few years back and restless legs occasional use of pramipexole 0. Her menopause had occurred 6 years earlier, but her menstruation had always been scarce and she had never donated blood or been pregnant.

The patient was considered iron deficient for reasons unknown. Ferrous sulfate mg daily was prescribed. The iron supplementation was continued for another 4 months and then discontinued. Gradually the patient reported reappearance of restless legs and fatigue. Then full blood count and ferritin were determined and the iron supplementation was reinitiated. The same took place when the iron was again withdrawn without any change in the full blood count.

She had had two normal pregnancies and deliveries 10 and 7 years earlier with a history of anemia during pregnancies. The patient was referred because of intractable fatigue and sleep disturbances waking up several times during the night for 6 years.

Sleep apnea was excluded by polysomnography. The thyroid hormone had induced chemical euthyroidism and had relieved her fatigue slightly. The ferritin concentration was only 5. Oral iron was prescribed with increasing doses and from month 7—14 the patient took ferrous sulfate mg three times daily with apparently good compliance.

Iron ferric carboxymaltose, mg was infused i. The patient has no knowledge of the laboratory results at the time, when she reported the reappearance of the symptoms. Iron deficiency is a common clinical challenge 2 , 3 , 4 , but the diagnosis is difficult when blood count is normal. Even if ferritin is the most sensitive method to detect iron deficiency 2 , 3 it may be difficult to determine which ferritin concentration is indicating iron deficiency 5 , 6.

Furthermore, the diagnosis is supported by the ferritin determination and exclusion of other causes of symptoms 16 , Hypothyroidism based on symptoms is indistinguishable from iron deficiency 18 , Fatigue and neurocognitive symptoms often raise a suspicion of depression. Furthermore, headache and muscle and joint pain associated with iron deficiency are repeatedly considered migraine and fibromyalgia syndrome, respectively 3 , The multitude of symptoms is commonly associated low ferritin concentration without anemia 1 , 17 , 20 , 21 , The most common causes of genetic-related elevated ferritin levels is the condition hemochromatosis.

If your ferritin test results are high, your doctor will likely order other tests that can provide more insight into the iron levels in your body. These tests include:. Talk to your provider, however, if you have a bleeding condition or bruise easily. You can expect some discomfort as your blood is drawn. After the test, rare side effects include:. Hemochromatosis is when too much iron builds up in the body.

It can result from external factors, such as diet, or genetic factors. Treatment will…. If you're not getting enough iron, you may develop iron-deficiency anemia. Here are 10 signs and symptoms that you're deficient in iron. The average American gets all the iron they need from the food they eat. Pregnant women and people with certain conditions sometimes need extra iron.

Iron is an essential nutrient that plays an important role in many bodily functions. Here are 21 iron-rich plant foods for vegetarians and vegans. Iron is essential for good health, but many people are deficient in it. The foods you eat can influence how much iron your body ends up absorbing. Iron is an essential mineral, but ingesting too much can cause severe harm. These conditions include:. People who have one of these conditions may require regular ferritin blood tests to monitor their health.

They may test for:. After a doctor takes the blood sample, they will send it to a laboratory for testing. Once the laboratory technicians analyze the blood, they will typically send the results back within a few days of the test.

Ferritin blood test results may come back as normal, low, or high. The following sections discuss what these results mean. According to some sources , the normal ranges for ferritin in the blood are as follows:. It is important that people confirm normal levels with their doctor or the laboratory that tested them. A result of low ferritin is strong evidence of an iron deficiency. The body requires iron to make hemoglobin, which is a protein in red blood cells that transfers oxygen from the lungs around the body.

A result of above-normal ferritin levels will require further testing to discover the underlying cause and help doctors determine the best course of treatment. Doctors treat low ferritin levels with oral iron supplements. For severe cases of anemia, a person may require treatment with intravenous iron. For the best results, people should take oral iron supplements with a source of vitamin C to increase iron absorption. They should avoid antacids, calcium supplements, and tea or coffee within 2 hours of an iron supplement.

Typically, people will require follow-up blood tests to check that their ferritin levels and iron levels have returned to normal. If ferritin and blood iron levels do not return to normal following iron supplementation, a doctor may carry out additional testing to determine the cause of the deficiency and treat it accordingly.