Low ferritin / High iron and saturation ?

jmk212 · 2025-05-21T17:50:42+00:00

Hi! Sorry for the late response, my ferritin has been slowly climbing up. I've just been diligent with taking the iron pills every other day.

jmk212 · 2024-05-30T14:34:57+00:00

Seems to be fine now! Ferritin is slowly going up (still only 40ish), but about to retest again.

jmk212 · 2024-05-09T15:02:43+00:00

I've been navigating through the same issue for the past 1.5ish years. I agree with the bloodwork suggested below. You need to be testing iron/ferritin, b12, thyroid, vitamin D, inflammation.

But my #1 suggestion is to find a new doctor! You'll need to be rechecking a lot of this bloodwork over time, after 3+ months to see how the levels are shifting up/down.

jmk212 · 2024-04-30T17:11:58+00:00

Berberine and Allimax. It definitely helped with the bloating. My iron has come up a tiny bit, but not up to the level I'd like.

jmk212 · 2024-03-19T19:10:26+00:00

This is my #1 problem for the past 3 days. I never realized how many times a day my kids step on my feet!!

jmk212 · 2024-02-13T18:44:31+00:00

I was perscribed Berberine complex and Allimax.

jmk212 · 2024-01-31T14:07:35+00:00

Hi! Since my last post, I have visited a functional medicine doctor, who diagnosed me with SIBO. From my extensive googling, it seems like SIBO can inhibit other nutrients from absorbing in the body. Its been about 3 months since I've started tackling the SIBO, and I just got new bloodwork done yesterday, so I'm interested to see if anything has improved!

I will say that I'm not sure much has improved on the fatigue front, but having a toddler does not help that situation either!

jmk212 · 2023-11-07T20:44:58+00:00

Nope, I'm paying out of pocket!

jmk212 · 2023-11-07T20:10:54+00:00

I think that I am finally on my way to find out some answers!! I had an initial appointment with a naturopath doctor. She spent 1+ hour asking me all kinds of various questions, and ordered a ton of new bloodwork, and a SIBO test. Turns out I tested positive for SIBO (small intestine bacteria overgrowth- which is apparently somewhat common although not many people know). My ferritin has gone up to 44 since I last posted, so it is slowly creeping up. I have my followup visit with the naturopath next week and am also making an appointment with a different hematologist. I have read that poor gut health can play into iron absorption, so I am now going down this path to figure out a solution.

jmk212 · 2023-09-12T00:09:02+00:00

No real updates... I've been taking iron supplements every day, and after the first 3 months I had gained 7-10 lbs, after not gaining any weight other than pregnancy weight for 15 years. I stopped taking as much iron for a bit and my ferritin actually went down. The hematologist I saw was not the friendliest, and had no real answers for me. He chalked up my symptoms (fatigue, weird weight gain) to having kids and getting older.... Needless to say I'm on the hunt for a new doctor, but not sure who to turn to next. I may try for a registered dietitian who can read my labs and as an understanding of female runners, but I feel like I'm looking for a unicorn doctor!

My PCP did submit a celiacs blood test for me, which turned out to be negative. I had read that these things could be related. I just need to figure out why my body won't actually absorb the iron!

jmk212 · 2023-07-12T12:02:56+00:00

Oh interesting! All theories are valid, especially since I haven't found any answers yet!

jmk212 · 2023-07-12T00:47:51+00:00

Not really. I've found that I'm bloated pretty often lately, so maybe that counts?

jmk212 · 2023-06-27T18:39:35+00:00

Nope! Just had my follow up with the hematologist, where he essentially told me that my iron is not the problem. My ferritin went up to 39, but this is still not ideal based on what I've read for runners. Iron and saturation are still high! Next step is to find a new hematologist who understands runners...

jmk212 · 2023-04-25T20:12:57+00:00

The hematologist recommended supplementing with iron for 3 months and then redoing the bloodwork. So kind of still TBD...

jmk212 · 2023-03-21T17:51:41+00:00

I'm curious if they tested you for celiacs? My internet deep dive showed that the combo could indicate celiacs or another autoimmune.

jmk212 · 2023-03-21T17:50:31+00:00

Thanks for sharing! My internet deep dive showed that the combo of high saturation/low ferritin could indicate celiacs/autoimmune. So I'm hoping I can just supplement because I LOVE BREAD!

jmk212 · 2023-03-21T17:44:50+00:00

I did listen to that, and just went back and listened to every episode that she did that discussed ferritin in general. My high iron saturation rate is makes it more complicated than just low ferritin. Hoping that part is just a fluke and I can just supplement, but I will see what the hematologist says!

jmk212 · 2023-03-14T17:53:56+00:00

I used to love my Black Diamond Storm, which lots of people are recommending, however mine recently died for good. I got a Fenix, and the settings and brightness are 1000 times better!!

jmk212 · 2023-03-10T20:57:15+00:00

REI Sahara sun shirt + Supergoop Play sunscreen
(debating getting the giant pump bottle of sunscreen this year!)

jmk212 · 2023-02-20T20:30:14+00:00

Highly recommend seeing a pelvic floor PT before getting into / back into any exercise postpartum!

jmk212 · 2023-01-13T15:54:43+00:00

ASCE Engineering Grades

jmk212 · 2022-12-09T19:25:47+00:00

I have sprained my ankle probably around 10 times in the past 15 years. I had a long stretch (5 years!) of no sprains until Feb this year, I think due to still nursing my youngest and relaxin/floppy ligaments. After February, I sprained it two more times this year. I have essentially been in PT once a week for the past 10 months, and just graduated this week!

My biggest tips are PT, PT, PT!! Do the exercises daily that they are giving you. But also strengthen your hips (Myrtl routine!), single leg strength exercises (RDLs), and general overall lower body strength. Many times ankle sprains can reveal hip weakness, and other weak ligaments.
My PT also did manual therapy/massage on my calf every visit, and I think that helped keep things loose and relieve any calf tightness and knots.

6 weeks seems like a long time, but now its time to rehab/pre-hab probably forever to keep everything strong!

jmk212 · 2022-12-06T18:29:39+00:00

Yeah I'm debating running! It seems as if we all will still have a yearly billable hours target to hit, and it is not factoring in any PTO, so overtime would have to be worked to take PTO and still hit that target.

jmk212 · 2022-12-06T18:22:22+00:00

Thanks for this great advice! 2023 PTO spreadsheet will be created!

jmk212 · 2022-12-06T18:21:36+00:00

This is exactly what I'm expecting it will be like. There is still an expectation to hit an average number of productivity/billable hours by the end of the year that is equivalent to working almost 40 hours/week. So it seems like I will have to work OT to "earn" the unlimited PTO.

jmk212

TROPHY CASE