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[laszla]

Hi all,
as previously posted I'm desperately trying to get my oestradiol up and at my recent blood test it had increased but my testosterone has completely gone - so also no FAI - and my already high SHBG has gone even further up to nearly 150.

But something else that surprised me is that my vitamin d and ferritin levels have gone down quite a lot, bearing in mind that I religiously take my supplements - feroglobin every 2 days (better absorption than daily it is said) and vitamin d daily.
Ferritin down from 63 four months ago to 37 now, vitamin d down from 120 three months ago to 89 now.

Does anyone have any intel on possible interactions between the hormones and iron/vit d levels. I know that SHBG impedes absorption of testosterone especially but also estrogen to some degree so am wondering if it might also reduce absorption of other good stuff?

Don't know if it's relevant that I'm slightly underweight with low BMI, can't seem to raise it and desperately need to as already have osteopenia and feel very weak and tired. I have been eating lots of calorie rich but super healthy things like sesame, nuts and seeds, virgin olive oil etc. but doesn't seem to help (I have read that low weight can be one cause of SHBG.)

This test was done after 2 months on 4 pumps of estrogel, I've now been ordered to go up to 5. Also take utrogestan 100 vaginally for 10 days a month and testim one sachet a week/10 days.

[Marchlove]

Sorry you haven’t had any replies yet, it’s quite a complex subject I believe.

I know there is a link between TRT and ferritin levels in men, in that it reduces it. Don’t know if the same applies to women?

I think there is also a link between thyroid and iron levels but not sure how?

I have the opposite problem… higher ferritin!

I really should look into it so pleased you’ve raised the issue.
X

[jorainbow]

Not sure of the correlation but for low ferritin (mine was 14 earlier this year) feroglobin isn't strong enough.  Maybe see if something like ferrous sulphate tablets help?

[joziel]

My ferritin was 44 when I tested (self finger prick test) a couple of months ago. What I've learnt is that the doctor will say this massive range is fine but actually anything under 80-90 is low and ideally it should be 100-120.

I've got some Spartone sachets and I'm going to take 2 a day to begin with. I'm prone to constipation so the idea of other iron tablets which can cause that, isn't great to me(!). The Spartone is iron-rich water and is not supposed to cause constipation. It does taste like you're licking iron railings  but you can add some apple or orange juice!

Are you having periods or heavy bleeding at all? As that would explain why your iron is low.

How much vitamin D are you taking? You often need to take a lot more than what is recommended on the bottle.

[laszla]

It is complicated Marchlove, I need to dig further but have unearthed a couple of findings re sex hormones and ferritin relationship - it seems that ferritin levels are "significantly and negatively associated with ... SHGB" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3795691/

In other words if your SHBG is high, ferritin drops which might explain the decrease in my levels. According to this study (done on men but we all have the same sex hormones albeit in different proportions) ferritin also drops the higher your testosterone is (which isn't the case with me as my T has vanished).

There's also a borderline negative association between estradiol and ferritin so again, the higher the E2 the lower the ferritin though this association is less marked than it is with SHBH.

SHBG in turn rises with a low BMI and low protein  (both apply to me) https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/85/1/293/2854619

And, shock horror, it rises with the consumption of extra virgin olive oil which I consume in generous quantities in attempt to add lots of healthy calories to increase my BMI - you can't win! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24142580/

I might try spatone or ferrous sulphate as suggested - Joziel, I do bleed monthly but no more heavily than when my ferritin and vit d were at much better levels and I continue to supplement generously so I suspect there's some complex chemistry happening hormonally that I need to try to unpack

[Marchlove]

Thank you for doing the research and linking the studies laszla, I’ll have a good read,

I’ve never had my SHBG measured, not sure why, but will have it done my next meno appointment.

I also have low BMI and eat lots of olive oil, just like you, but I do eat protein, however I don’t put any weight on, though I am stable.

It’s a puzzle xx

[joziel]

This all sounds incredibly complicated     

I have been ignoring the fact that my ferritin is quite low because it's considered the normal range (although 44) but since reading that it can cause heart palps (which obs I'm going through right now) I've decided I need to act and rule it out as a cause. So I'm now on my Spartone sachets twice a day.

I did have my SHBG measured on my last bloods but for some reason they didn't tell me what it was (on the print out - as in, the lab didn't). They told me my testosterone and my FAI - so presumably they knew my SHBG to work that out, but they didn't list it. 

[Marchlove]

Strange I wonder why the SHBG wasn’t listed? X

[joziel]

Well my testosterone was 2.2 nmol and my FAI was 3.2%.

If anyone wants to backwards work it out 

Apparently all that was ideal (on Testogel).