low ferritin but normal hemoglobin- how to supplement without overdoing it?

Your doctor is an idiot.

figured as much

Yeah, that's pretty low. Below 20 I stop my athletes from running until they get their score up. Above 20 to 35 they can run but no hard workouts (you'll just erode the body and won't absorb the training properly with those levels).

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mysportscience.com

Are my iron levels affecting my performance?

Caroline Tarnowski

What is iron deficiency? How common is it? whom is at risk and how can you measure it?

Link:www.mysportscience.com/post/iron-level...

Make sure you don't take your supplements with caffeine or dairy (they block the absorption) and take with Orange juice to help absorption.

My athletes take Hemaplex softgels 85mg

Best to retest in 4-6 weeks

honestly, neither your doc or your coach are particularly well-informed

your coach is closer to being correct with that initial dosage, but thinking you're gonna top your ferritin levels up in a few weeks and then just maintain them is 100% incompetence

like mfer literally doesn't know what they're talking about

a few weeks to top levels off from 20, this is actually great comedy ty for sharing

you want to be in the 100-150 range for starters

i agree that hemaplex is a great option, and had an athlete (professional adult cyclist) in the low 20s. he steadily ramped up to taking 4 servings a day (340mg) and was able to get his ferritin above 100 after about 5 months.

i'd start with 1 hemaplex a day and every few weeks increase by half a dose. biggest issue is almost surely going to be staying regular, so you'll prob need to introduce more of whatever it is that helps you sht, like apples for instance.

I may have misrepresented my coach's advice a bit here. He didn't assume that I would be at maintenance within a few weeks, he just said to lower the dosage after an initial period of higher dosage. The "maintenance" part comes much later of course, so that's my fault for not mentioning that part. Thanks for the advice though, and I will definitely look into the hemaplex.

Is hemaplex better because of the type of iron used in it is better absorbed? I looked it up and it has ferrous bisglycinate, while the one I'm taking now is "elemental iron as carbonyl iron".

gotcha, but i would very much recommend going the other way; start with a low dose while keeping an eye on your regularity and then slowly titrate up

i don't think hemaplex has any secret sauce to it, it's just solid and easy to get

Your coach is exactly right and is how most collegiates/pros I know including myself supplement with iron. Taper is fine after a bit. Remember you’re deficient for a reason and until you find that reason and fix it, you should continue supplementing.

Your doctor is right in the sense that a ferritin of 20 is not considered too low in the general population.

What she does not seem to know is that for competitive athletes a ferritin of >50 is better.

On a personal note, I've been able to increase my ferritin from 14 to 54 with two months of taking 42mg of iron every other day (and increasing my meat intake, I ate only 500 grams of meat per week, which was probably on the low side).

Absorption of iron may be better when taking it every other day, hence your doctor's suggestion.

In your case a maintenance dose of 65mg three times per week will definitely be sufficient.

You may want to check your ferritin levels after 4 months, because one can OD with iron.

I’ve gotten my ferritin up from 25 to 92, but it’s taken a solid year and a half. Be patient and understand that you won’t feel a night and day difference overnight.

I had a similar situation with my Dr. Hemoglobin was normal, and ferritin, while technically adequate, was way low for an athlete. Dr. advised daily 65 mg (325 mg ferrous sulfate) with retesting in 6 months. The specific brand I’ve had success with is Carlyle, which you can get on Amazon for $10 for 400 tablets. Be warned- the first few days of iron supplementation may throw your GI system for a loop and you may have dark colored, hard stools.

Since getting my iron up to 92 I’ve dropped my HM PR from 1:13 to 1:08 and marathon from 2:36 to 2:27. When my ferritin was low, I was able to train really hard, but would always feel flat and lightheaded on race day. Now I feel I have more to give on race day and can go deeper in the pain cave. Even with ferritin of 92, I’m still supplementing everyday but will drop back I every other day if it gets much higher. Good luck!

I have iron issues when run too much and had to take iron supplements in college. I found that ferritin would be the first thing to drop so if it was low l’d know to increase my supplements as my other levels would probably drop soon as well. If my levels were low it would usually take a few weeks for them to get back up.

I also have heart palpitations in the fall when my vitamin D drops, so I take a supplement.

Then most of them are, because they tend to be very reluctant to prescribe you with a useful iron supplement unless your levels are much lower than those recommended for the general population

chelated forms of iron like biglycinate are absorbed better. I think this is the case with most metal supplements

If you are not measuring you are just guessing.

walkinlab.com

Ferritin Test or Ferritin Serum: Iron Stores Blood Test | Walk-In Lab

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Link:www.walkinlab.com/products/view/ferrit...

Doctors seem to look at supplements based on normal people. Normal is not running 30,50,70 miles per week. You're an athlete! I think your coach is spot on, you'll have to supplement iron on an ongoing basis. if it helps, I've been doing it for 6 years, no side effects. Take a semi annual blood test once you get your levels back in line.

I have issues that I can't solve, so any advice for me out there? . Iron levels good, ferritin 110, Hb 136 (low side for a male) but my RBC (red blood cells) is low. I can't seem to get it higher. Is it just a side effect of endurance running that it'll be low? Mileage of about 50mpw yearly average, peaking at 70 for about 6 weeks a year.

Tks

RBC count is not that important.

It's the hemoglobin that is carrying the oxygen, that's the most important metric.

My issue is similar. Ferritin in high normal range but RBC and hemoglobin low. Oncologist attributes it to lymphoma treatment ( last treatment 18 months ago).

Recently took my distance runner daughter to a hematologist because of ferritin levels at 8.5 (other labs perfectly normal) and ferritin levels would not raise with daily doses of 125mg liquid iron. Hematologist said to increase ferritin levels one must get their weight in kilograms and take 4 mg of iron per kilogram. Went for 2 infusions to boost the ferritin. Now we will take 160 mg of iron.