Low Iron / Ferritin for HS athlete
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Anonymous
hi all, my DS is 18 and a pretty solid x-country and track runner who will be competing in college next year. His performance tailed off a bit at the end of cross country and carried over into indoor track - we thought combination of senioritis and some burn out. Just had iron tested and Ferritin is in low 20s, which seems to explain a lot. Started the slow fe supplements every other day with vitamin c for absorption, and introduced diet changes. Question is at that low level of ferritin, would he be better off with an iron infusion to expedite the process - which seems pretty lengthy (with supplements etc). Doctor doesn’t seem too concerned, but 100% this impacted his performance - which we don’t minimize as there is a significant athletic scholarship attached to his performance, this isn’t just a hobby  thx all
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Anonymous
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DD's doctor prescribed Integra, a high dose iron supplement. But by the time we got it, DD's iron level had gone from low 20s to mid 50s just by using over the counter iron supplement. So doctor said don't use the Integra. Now Fe level is low 90s with the over the counter supplements.
This seems to mean that it's possible to get Fe up using OTC. If that doesn't work for your kid over the course of a few months then maybe there's an issue with iron retention and more aggressive supplements/infusions might be warranted. |
Anonymous
| My kid had low iron, so she started taking the over-the-counter iron every morning. What a change! She is no longer tired and is not getting sick every week. |
Anonymous
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Would recommend figuring out why iron and ferritin are low in a male.
See GI |
Anonymous
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Did the doctor run any bloodwork tests besides iron?
Yes, see a GI. Ask for celiac screen. |
Anonymous
Doctors know that men can have periods. |
Anonymous
| You need to figure out why his iron/ferritin is low, especially if he’s not vegetarian. |
Anonymous
| Colleagues was a competitive runner and got anemia from overrunning—damaged marrow/red blood making cells in her leg bones. |
Anonymous
| My daughter had low iron, got a blood transfusion and her running times greatly improved. I would take him to hematologist. |