Ferritin
Your blood work can come back “normal” and you can still feel awful. Tired in a way sleep does not fix. Hair coming out in the shower. Winded on stairs you used to take without thinking. Cold when everyone else is fine.
One number explains a lot of that, and it gets missed constantly: ferritin.
What ferritin is
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron. The ferritin level in your blood shows how much iron your body has in reserve.
Hemoglobin gets the attention because it shows up on every standard panel. Ferritin is the storage number behind it. Hemoglobin can read fine while your stores are nearly empty, the same way a checking account can show a balance the day before the savings behind it runs dry. By the time hemoglobin drops, the problem has usually been building for months.
What “normal” means on a ferritin result
Most lab reports flag ferritin as low only under about 15. The printed reference range often starts there and runs past 150 or 200.
That range is wide, and plenty of people feel it at the low end of it. Someone sitting at 18 or 25 is “normal” on paper. If they are also exhausted, losing hair, and short of breath, that number deserves a second look, not a shrug.
We look at ferritin next to your symptoms, your history, and the rest of your iron labs. The number alone is not the whole story. Neither is a lab flag.
Signs your ferritin may be low
- Fatigue that sleep does not fix
- Hair shedding or thinning
- Shortness of breath doing ordinary things
- Feeling cold, especially hands and feet
- Brain fog and trouble concentrating
- Restless legs at night
- Pale skin, brittle nails
None of these proves your ferritin is low. All of them are reasons to check it instead of guessing.
Why ferritin runs low
The common causes are ordinary. Heavy periods. Pregnancy and the months after. Blood donation. Gut problems that keep you from absorbing iron. Diets low in iron. Training loads that outpace intake. Slow blood loss you may not know about.
The cause matters, because it changes the fix. Iron going in has to match iron going out, or the tank empties again.
When oral iron is not enough
Iron pills are the first step for most people, and they are a rough one. They absorb poorly, they are hard on the stomach, and a lot of people stop taking them. For others they are taken faithfully and the number barely moves, especially when absorption is the problem.
If your ferritin will not rise on oral iron, or you cannot tolerate it, IV iron puts the iron directly into the bloodstream. No gut involved.
What happens after the number
You do not need a doctor's referral to start, and you do not need to walk in with labs in hand.
If you already have recent labs, bring them. The Iron Intake is $50, credited toward treatment if approved, and you upload what you have.
If you do not have iron labs, we draw them at the clinic. The iron blood draw is $100.
Our nurse practitioner reviews your ferritin with your symptoms and history, and tells you plainly whether iron infusions make sense for you. If they do, your dose is set from your labs and your weight, given in the lounge, and your ferritin gets rechecked on schedule so we can see the number move.
Iron infusions start at $775. The full course depends on your labs, and the total is laid out before you commit to anything.
Questions we hear
What ferritin level is too low?
Labs flag ferritin under about 15 as low. Symptoms regularly show up well above that, which is why we read the number next to how you feel and the rest of your iron labs, not by the flag alone.
Can ferritin be low while hemoglobin is normal?
Yes. Ferritin falls first. Hemoglobin drops later, after the stores are spent. Normal hemoglobin with low ferritin is common, and it is the pattern most often missed.
Do I need labs before an iron intake?
No. Bring recent labs if you have them. If you do not, the iron blood draw at the clinic is $100.
Does insurance cover this?
We are a cash-pay clinic. You pay us directly, and we can give you the paperwork to submit to your insurer yourself.
What does it cost?
Iron Intake $50, credited toward treatment if approved. Iron blood draw $100 if you need labs. Iron infusions start at $775, and the full course is priced from your labs before you commit.
How fast does ferritin come back up?
Most people feel a shift within a few weeks of treatment. The recheck labs tell the real story, which is why they are built into the plan rather than left to chance.
Infusion IV, 663 East 19th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203. Call us at 720-808-0622.