Why is my ferritin low but my iron is normal?
In early stages of iron deficiency anemia, your body may have a low amount of ferritin but a normal amount of iron in the blood and will still be able to make healthy red blood cells. You may have few or no symptoms of anemia at this point.
What diseases cause low ferritin?
Iron deficiency anemia. Hemachromatosis — a condition that causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat. Liver disease. Adult Still’s disease.
Can you have low ferritin without being anemic?
Iron deficiency without anaemia is common. Patients may present with unexplained, non-specific symptoms. Iron studies will usually show a low ferritin and low transferrin saturation with a normal haemoglobin concentration. The cause of the iron deficiency should be identified and managed.
What would cause ferritin levels to drop?
A lower-than-normal ferritin level can indicate that you have an iron deficiency, which can happen when you don’t consume enough iron in your daily diet. Another condition that affects iron levels is anemia, which is when you don’t have enough red blood cells for iron to attach to.
What cancers cause low ferritin levels?
In a study published in July 2013 in the Annals of Oncology, iron deficiency was most commonly seen in people with pancreatic cancer (present in 63 percent of participants), followed by colorectal cancer (52 percent) and lung cancer (51 percent).
When should I worry about ferritin levels?
Many laboratories consider serum ferritin levels greater than 200 ng/mL in women and greater than 300 ng/mL in men to be abnormal.
How serious is low ferritin?
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. Without enough iron, a person may develop anemia.
What is considered a dangerously low ferritin level?
Ferritin: usually low in iron deficiency. Less than 10 is virtually diagnostic of iron deficiency anemia, while levels between 10 and 20 are suggestive.
How do you fix low ferritin?
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.