Iron Depleted

CBC
White Blood Cell Count 3.9 (3.8-10.8 normal)
Red Blood Cell Count 4.02 (3.80-5.10 normal)
Hemoglobin 11.7 (11.7-15.5 normal)
Hematocrit 34.2 (35.0-45.0)

Iron, Total 28 (40-175 normal)
Iron Binding Capacity 447 (250-450 normal)
% Saturation 6 (15-50 normal)

Ferritin 7 (10-154)


So according to my CBC's I am slightly anemic per my low hematocrit (really not that bad though). I am, however, very iron deficient. A ferritin level below 10 means your iron scores are depleted. An iron deficiency can cause anemia and a whole host of other symptoms including hair loss, low body temperature, sensitivity to cold, night sweats, prone to infection, low energy, fatigue, paleness, high heart rate, etc.

If you are female 15-50 and have any of these symptoms or are at a higher risk from being a vegetarian or a regular blood donater, or if you do high-intensity endurance training, I recommend you ask your doctor to do a serum ferritin test the next time you are in. It's important that you don't take iron supplements unless you are actually iron deficient - I think its actually more common for people to actually have too much iron.

I think I will post my new iron diet tomorrow.