Jean in Newcastle Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I've googled but I get such wildly conflicting numbers on different sites. Does anyone know a trusted source to find out this information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 My dr considers "normal" to be between 60-150. When I started my anemia journey with him he wanted to get me up to 60. (I started at 12 in 2005.) A year ago it hit 92 and he felt that that was a good place to try to maintain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 OK - my Dr. said that my level of 41 was "fine" but I've been feeling like I didn't trust that answer. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 OK - my Dr. said that my level of 41 was "fine" but I've been feeling like I didn't trust that answer. . . Depends on the lab that did the testing. There will be some variation between labs. Lab reports should say what the reference values are for that specific lab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 OK - my Dr. said that my level of 41 was "fine" but I've been feeling like I didn't trust that answer. . . The first time I went to a dr to get my iron levels checked I was told they were "fine." The reality was that they never checked my ferritin, and my hemoglobin was one point above what is officially considered anemic--so I was NOT fine, I was borderline anemic. I would consider 41 to be not terrible, but needing improvement. I would not consider anything below 60 to be "fine, especially if you have symptoms that indicate you are not fine. If I were you I'd go ahead and start iron supplementation and recheck in six months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 The lab I use has a reference range of 10-291. Which is an extremely broad range. I have had ferritin stores as high as 282 (I felt great) and as low as 3(at times breathing felt like too much work). When mine gets below about 50, I can feel it. Below 20 and I'm useless. My PCP says she is useless below about 45 so she is amazed how I can keep going when mine is dropping. So each person varies a bit with what they need but if you are below 75-100 and feel drained all the time, I would be investigating iron suppliments (and of course consulting with a doctor before actually taking them) The number from the lab is only one component because it will never tell the whole story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 The lab I use has a reference range of 10-291. Which is an extremely broad range. I have had ferritin stores as high as 282 (I felt great) and as low as 3(at times breathing felt like too much work). When mine gets below about 50, I can feel it. Below 20 and I'm useless. My PCP says she is useless below about 45 so she is amazed how I can keep going when mine is dropping. So each person varies a bit with what they need but if you are below 75-100 and feel drained all the time, I would be investigating iron suppliments (and of course consulting with a doctor before actually taking them) The number from the lab is only one component because it will never tell the whole story. What complicates things is that I have fibromyalgia which means that I tend to feel drained all the time anyway. But it took Doctors years to test my vitamin D, which was really low and having that supplemented has made a huge difference for the better in my health. Now this time I insisted that my ferritin level be tested as well because I've been having periods twice a month and felt even more drained than normal. She said that my ferritin had dropped much lower than it had been a year ago when I had been tested but that the lab form still showed that it was "fine". She's a really good Dr. 90% of the time but this was one time when a red flag went up for me and I decided to do some extra checking on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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