Decreasing Level of Ferritin

[doodledoot]

I was diagnosed with severe anemia last year after having a bad reaction to some antibiotics and months of neglecting the symptoms. I received a blood transfusion and have felt much better. However, from my recent blood test, my ferritin level seems extremely low: 4ng/mL; reference range 10-154 ng/mL. Prior to the blood transfusion, my ferritin level was within range (12ng/mL) but has progressively decreased afterward. Everything else is normal, though - iron count, number of blood cells and hemoglobin, etc. My doctor told me not to worry about the ferritin, but it's puzzling why it has dropped so much. Should I be worried? My health is great at this moment and I no longer feel the anemic symptoms (although I do feel tired at times but that can be blamed on my poor sleeping habits). I'm also not taking any supplements and I'm pretty sure no one in my family has celiac sprue, or any disease related to iron level. Anyone know the answer to this mystery?

[LivingInHope]

It probably still wouldn't hurt to take one a day at least during your entire mense w/the vitamin C, because losing blood can tend to make things worse and your body does seem to be using up your iron stores, from your decreasing numbers.  I think you should also get rechecked every three months to see how you're doing, to make sure things are improving rather than losing ground.

[doodledoot]

Thanks for the response!

I'm currently not taking any vitamins or iron supplements but maintaining a healthy diet (lots of meat and greens). The TIBC level from my most recent blood test is 370 mcg/dL.
My menstruation flow has been more or less the same since the beginning so I'm not really sure if it's a contributing factor.
Again, my doctor told me I was fine so I'm not getting any sort of treatment what-so-ever.

[LivingInHope]

Ferritin is your iron stores level.  I don't know if you are female, but if you are, I would suspect your menses are depleting this iron store.  I hope the doctor told you to take iron (ferrous sulfate) along with at least 250 mg of vitamin C to get the ferritin into normal range at least!  How was your T.I.B.C. level?  (total iron binding capacity)