Bone Marrow Scan states Low Iron????

Hi.. I had my bone marrow scan last week and got the results that my iron was low???? curouis if anyone else got the same results??? Hemotologist wasn't to concrened just told me to start taking 1 iron pill a day. Im curouis why none of my other blood test indicated low iron?? I googled it and taking iron pills could be just as danagerous as little iron.. ( iron difeciency) so Im at a stand still??? Should I start taking them? From what I researched it takes about 6 to 12 months to restore the iron in the bone marrow.??

They probably found low ferritin which is not measured on a CBC. A few of us here have low ferritin (I do) and treat with iron. Yes, too much iron can be dangerous, but not if you are monitored with frequent ferritin tests.

I treat mine mainly because I discovered it was the cause of RLS that I'd had for two years.

thanks.. so the ferritin test would have to be done again through the bone marrow scan ?? Cause I dont want to go through that again.. I do have leg pain/ tinglin also and wonder if I have RLS also?? How did u get diagnosed with it?? Ive noticed I have been shaking my leg alot lately.. My mom said when I was little I would complain about leg pain.. doctors said it was growing pains. I had a CAT scan also on last friday of my stomach and only thing they found was a cyst on my ovary and gas in the intestine. All the other blood test came back negative. Im just so tired of all these test and not getting a specific answer. Im scared I might get a blood clot in my legs . I feel something is going on with my stomach.. I feel so blotted all the time and really thought my spleen was enlarged because I have the pain under my left ribcage. I ve also had these weird chest pains for going on 2 months since all this started.. Been going to a cardiologist and they cant find nothing.. Im just at a lost..

No, they can test ferritin with a blood test.

I wasn't diagnosed with RLS, I just knew that I had it. I was also diagnosed with neuropathy around the same time by a neurologist, and he felt that the RLS was connected to the neuropathy. I knew they were two separate things....just knew. Anyway, it took me two years of trying many things to make the RLS stop, and the only thing that worked was taking iron. I read that if someone has a ferritin level under 50 (mine was 12), you can have RLS. Within 2 weeks of taking iron, it stopped and I was finally able to get to sleep before 3 or 4 in the morning.

I know you are tired of tests, but that is the only way you will find out if anything is going on. It's good that they are ruling things out - better than finding something! Sometimes that's just the way life is for a while. Been there. I just had an MRI today, so I am still going through tests. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Thanks Sandy... I just feel like Im falling apart.. Im only 36 and had no health problems till about 2 months ago. Its just frustrating.. I guess Im just looking for answers so I can try and figure all this out. I hate not knowing whats the cause of all this as Im sure lots of us would love to know the cause of ITP,, so as of now he has ruled out everything and its ITP... its weird though when my platelets get lower the 50,000 is when my legs start bothering me with the pain and tingling. I guess my next step is a neurologist... thanks for the info.. your very informative.

Things will settle down. Just hang in there until then. People who are healthy don't realize how lucky they are. I miss those days. Hopefully you can get back to that; right now it's still possible.

I am taking Ferrous sulfate due to low iron which showed up on a CBC. Ferritin test was fine as was total iron-binding capacity. I do not get enough iron in my diet. Apparently the Multi vitiman I have been taking has no iron in it.

When I was diagnosed with RLS, I was also told I have Firbromyalga. My iron is fine as far as I know; I've never been told anything different. I've kicked my husband a few times where men shouldn't be kicked due to the RLS! :blush: Lately, I've been getting charley horses like crazy and am now on a medication for that. That also seems to have calmed the RLS down a bit, still can't keep my legs still, tho.

Cindy - it's not necessarily the iron that has to be low - it's the ferritin. None of my doctors thought to look at that or knew of the connection. I only found out when I discovered I had low ferritin (just a test thrown in for the heck of it one day) and looked up the symptoms. RLS popped up all over the place. I said "I'll be dang"! After taking iron for two weeks, the RLS went away. I'd had it for two years....simple fix.

So, is iron and ferratin different? Is it something I should be asking to be checked for? That has never been mentioned to me.

Yes, they are different, sort of. Ferritin is the iron that is stored in the bone marrow. If that is low, eventually a person will become anemic which will show up on a CBC. But the ferritin can be checked separately. It wouldn't hurt to ask your doctor next time you see one of them. I'm not saying it's the reason for all RLS cases, just one cause. I was given various drugs to treat it - Cymbalta, Doxepin, etc and had to quit because of side effects. I wonder how many people take those meds when iron would do the trick. A person taking iron should be monitored though.

My experiences with low iron: One of my doctors (not my hema!) noticed that my CBCs showed that my hemoglobin and hematocrit were a little low, so a ferritin test (iron, iron-binding, etc.) was ordered, which I flunked. Doc recommended two 325 mg tabs of ferrous sulfate a day, but I haven't been able to tolerate that much without digestive problems. I take one tab a day, and my CBC results have slowly worked up to low normal. I think my doc will order another ferritin test though before I'm allowed to discontinue the ferrous sulfate. A stool sample test was also ordered for me to make sure there was no intestinal bleeding. (That I passed.)

This all happened to me a few years ago too, but then an endoscopy and a colonoscopy were ordered to make sure I didn't have internal bleeding. Because those were clear and fairly recent, docs felt they weren't necessary this time. I think I had to take the ferrous sulfate tablets for several months though.

I eat very little meat, so that may be one of the reasons my numbers were low (though my vegetarian husband has no such problems). Since I dislike the tablets, I've taken to buying a little chopped chicken liver and eating that!

I've never had RLS.

Has anyone else had trouble taking iron or ferrous sulfate pills?

I can only take one every other day. More than that and I have problems.

Besides being low in iron, you may want to check if you have a deficiency in the B-complex vitamins, folic acid, zinc or magnesium. Sometimes just a simple addition of one of these can make a huge difference.
If you're vegetarian or eat little red meat, you might look at the B vitamins.
Pregnant women often need additional folic acid and iron.
If you also get bad menstrual cramps, leg spasms, charlie horses, and constipation, look at magnesium (soaking in an Epsom salt bath before bed is an easy way to get magnesium.)


Peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, pregnancy and thyroid problems are often associated with Restless Leg. Also, it can be brought on by many different kinds of common medications.

You might find that a cell salt combination called "Biochemic phosphates" (combination of calcarea phos, ferrum phos, kali phos, magnesium phos, natrum phos) might really help with the RLS. Phosphates feed the nerve sheath and nervous system. Calcarea phos is useful for new formation of blood components; Ferrum is iron, and as such, is good for any problems with the blood, builds up the blood, and oxygenates the blood and tissues. Kali phos and magnesium phos both calm the nerves. The cell salts are easily absorbed and assimilated, and don't cause the same problems you'll often have with regular iron supplements (they won't cause the awful constipation that you may get with iron pills.) Usual dosage is 2-4 pills, 4 times/day.

Thanks, Sandi. Maybe I'll mention it to my doc the next time I see him. If I remember, that is!

"So, is iron and ferratin different?"

Ferritin is the protein that stores and transports iron.

Thanks Karen for the info... just a quick question...?? Why did u have to check the intestines for bleeding? Where u have signs to indicate that test?? or was it just done because of the low iron???

I think low iron and ferritin tests sometimes mean that there is internal bleeding, and though I had no signs of internal bleeding, my docs wanted to make sure that I didn't have something serious like colon cancer.

A funny thing happened though, and I think it might be related to the iron supplement (ferrous sulfate). Shortly after I started taking it, my platelets started to climb--they even got to 230K! My hema had me retested because he thought it had to be a mistake, and they were 170 two days later. But now, two weeks after that, they are back in the normal-for-me-alas range--21K. I've been on 3 mg. pred/day during all this. My theory is that my liver (I no longer have a spleen) was so confused by the extra iron that it forgot to destroy my platelets. When it got used to the iron, it resumed the platelet destruction. Just a theory! I've noticed that when my body undergoes a shock of some sort, my platelets rise--temporarily.