I have a question about iron versus ferritin levels:
On my last blood order, I saw with my own eyes my PCP write "ferritin" on the order. I finally got around to asking for my results and the lab report said "iron", with a value of 50 ug/dL. (The normal range was given as 40 - 150.) There is no ferritin test at all. This was a follow-up test that I requested after my gynecologist saw a low HGB value on my test a week earlier, and unfortunately I do not have that report yet so I don't know the value.
My question is, I was put on iron supplements because of low HGB and ironlevels. At least, that's what I was told. Is that appropriate? And what would having the ferritin value tell me that the iron value does not?
We also tested the following, and I assume these are all normal:
TSH 2.26 uIU/mL
B12 661 pg/mL
Folate 24.0 ng/mL
She also did a metabolic panel which has things like electrolytes, and liver panel values and these values all appear normal to me (I won't bore you with all those). And like I said, I don't have that original report that has the HGB, or HCT or MCV, etc. yet.
Thanks for any information that you might have about this. Have a great day, folks!
