Iron Issues with Hypothyroidism

[chel 81]

I've been hypo since 2001 and diagnosed in 2004. Using natural thyroid of Armour then Erfa after reformulation and shortage. I'm allergic to synthetic thyroid (weird I know but it makes me unable to breathe- both t4 and t3 types). Been on the right dose since early '05 with no change necessary since then. Earlier this year my TSH suddenly started going up and my free t's dropping. It's been progressively getting worse so I've attempted to up my dose but am getting hyper side effects while still having hypo side effects and number clearly indicating hypo. I have some other health issues than can effect my symptoms but usually don't change my labs so don't think that's related. Earlier this year my dr ran my iron levels and it showed I had very high iron serum but low ferritin (around 18). I'm not supplementing or eating anything that would have caused it but my dr decided to recheck because it's an odd combo to have high serum with that low of ferritin and this time my serum was low and my ferritin even lower (10). I've read that iron is essential for treating hypothyroidism and low iron can cause the symptoms I'm experiencing when trying to up my dose but can't figure out if I should supplement the iron or not given my odd iron lab results. I am obviously really anemic if my ferritin is telling the story but concerned because my iron serum was really high the last time. Any advice??

[gimel]

I have read that low ferritin is a precursor to having low serum iron.  So perhaps what the low ferritin was telling you 6 months ago was that you were depleting your iron stores and needed to supplement.  Certainly the more recent test results seem to confirm that you are low in iron and need to start supplementing right away.  If you are still not convinced, then you could always request to be re-tested.  

If you decide to supplement, I have found that ferrous fumarate or ferrous gluconate are good forms.  I take 3x28 mg daily, along with some Vitamin C.  My ferritin has gone from 40 up to 80 as a result.  

One thing to keep in mind is that when supplementing iron you should stop about 24 hours before blood draw for the test, to assure a more accurate test result.  Just grasping for a further explanation, is it possible that 6 months ago you were ingesting iron from something and it could have affected the test result?  

[chel 81]

It is really strange! Both my primary who is a DO and my specialist I see for my immune condition were completely stumped. I searched everywhere to find answers to that but nothing. I was beginning to think maybe it was a lab error but my Iron Saturation was also on the high end and my UIBC was on the low end- both common with a high iron serum so it couldn't have been an error with that one test.

These were my numbers 6 months ago:
UIBC: 164 (range 150-375 ug/dL)
Iron Serum: 173 (range 35-155 ug/dL)
Iron Saturation: 51% (range 15-55%)
Serum Ferritin: 18 (range 13-150 with optimum around 70)

And last month:
UIBC: 288 (range 150-375 ug/dL)
Iron Serum: 26 (range 35-155 ug/dL)
Iron Saturation: 8% (range 15-55%)
Serum Ferritin: 10 (range 15-150 ng/mL with optimum around 70)

It makes no sense at all!

[gimel]

Low ferritin with high serum iron somehow doesn't add up.  If you scroll down and look at the chart in this link, I see no condition there that matches up with those results.  This makes me suspicious about the previous results, especially in view of current results showing both to be low.  .  

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ferritin/tab/test

Before commenting further, please post the actual results and reference ranges for ferritin and serum iron, as shown on the lab report.