Jun 22, 2011

Low Ferritin (part ii)

I almost called my lab results correctly...all normal except for:

ANA - 1:640
Ferritin - 26 (normal reference 80-300)

Why is my ferritin so low?
Does this explain my relentless sleepiness?

Obviously eating gluten-free for the past five months hasn't improved my absorption.

I am so sick of my life being defined by illness. I wish more than anything that I could just have my health back.

4 comments:

  1. :O
    I really really hope that there is a doctor somewhere who will treat you for whatever is responsible for that ANA. And I'm betting that getting that disease under control will resolve other symptoms. Best of luck.

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  2. I have low ferritin. I take iron and I just get less low ferritin.

    There are some conditions where low iron is a piece of the symptoms. Hormonal stuff mostly.

    M

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  3. Ahhh at least that's part of the fatigue picture explained! Do you like steak? Haha well it's probably less diet and more the 'luck of the draw' for being a female of reproductive age.

    That ANA is... well I'll leave it to your doc. From your previous writings I see that without the clinical correlates it seems to be regarded as a false positive by your healthcare providers. Frustrating that you still don't have answers but I really like your phrasing in your About Me blurb- "on the road to recovery."

    I think it's an important message to your readers: even when you don't know what you have, you can still recover from it and strive for great health. That attitude is going to make all the difference.

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  4. Warmsocks - I really hope that someone figures out the whole ANA mystery too. I'm obviously not a physician, but from my reading, 1:640 is fairly high to be a false positive.

    POP - I have started on iron supplements again. I'm hoping that they will get my ferritin back up again. The highest it has ever been, even with iron pills 2 to 3 times daily is ....68.

    JessO - You wrote "That ANA is...well I'll leave it to your doc". Could you finish your thought? I've left it to my docs and am still undiagnosed and sick! (no, I am not asking you in ANY way for a diagnosis, just if you have any other ideas that I could follow up on.)

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