boosting iron levels

[uk elephant]

Don't know what kind of iron measurements/skales the doctor used. He said 10-100 was normal and that I was at 11 which seems very low if it's on the same scale as yours. Hmmm....I will make a list of questions for the specialist on Tuesday.

Not sure if anything is working yet, but I'm eating spinach every day and increasing my red meat intake. Also having pate or red meat (pastrami) most days with my lunch. Tried to buy a cast iron pot, but the shop was out. Will pick one up in a week or two when they've got them in again. But reading your post, Dianyla, I'm not sure I'm doing very well after all considering all the things on your list of "avoid taking with". I drink a lot of tea (live in UK after all) and eat a fair bit of chocolate, fruit and berries. Hmm... wonder if the doctor can hook me up with a nutritionist to sort this out....

[Dianyla]

Don't know what kind of iron measurements/skales the doctor used. He said 10-100 was normal and that I was at 11 which seems very low if it's on the same scale as yours. Hmmm....I will make a list of questions for the specialist on Tuesday.

I'm referring to the serum ferritin, in units of ng/mL. Ferritin is a protein that binds a molecule of iron for long-term storage in your body, and it is the best indicator of your bodily iron stores.

Here's what I know about ferritin results ranges:
<12: Unmeasurable/undetectable. You probably feel like crap.
12-20: This is clinically deficient, any doctor will agree that you are too low in iron.
20-30: This is subclinical iron deficiency, you may still feel crappy but many doctors will tell you you're "fine" because the diagnostic criteria for anemia is below 20.
30-60: There is some debate about whether this is an adequate amount of ferritin. Some research shows that ferritin can still be in this range even if your liver and bone marrow stores of iron are depleted - especially in athletes.
60-100: Very good chance that you've got adequate iron stores in your blood, bone marrow, and liver. However other deficiencies (notably B12) can still cause pernicious anemia, undersized (microcytic) red blood cells, etc.

(ETA: I didn't mention this initially because we're discussing low iron, but it's worth pointing out that ferritin above 200 can indicate hemochromatosis - a hereditary iron overload disorder.)

[Dianyla]

But reading your post, Dianyla, I'm not sure I'm doing very well after all considering all the things on your list of "avoid taking with". I drink a lot of tea (live in UK after all) and eat a fair bit of chocolate, fruit and berries. Hmm... wonder if the doctor can hook me up with a nutritionist to sort this out....

It's OK to eat these foods (thank goodness! ) just not within a few hours of taking your oral iron supplements.