I felt like crap for a long time so got tested for iron and my doctor's office called me and said it wasn't iron deficiency, but I haven't actually picked up the results myself yet. My doctor didn't even want to test for iron because he said there wasn't any way a male could have low iron unless they were losing lots of blood. Anyway I was wondering if maybe the results were normal-low for a sedentary person but maybe too low for a distance runner? Is that possible?
Approriate iron levels for sedentary people and athletes are very different. I got my ferratin levels checked a while ago and my doctor said they were fine. I asked for the number and she said "13". However, my coach wants it to be at least at 50. Runners need much higher levels of iron in their blood than non-active people. I am taking iron pills until my numbers are at 100-120. Anyting over 200 or more is a little too much iron, even for a runner.
yea i know if your levels get too high you can get iron poisoning. when your levels start getting too high i heard the sypmtoms are similar to when they are too low.
As reported by Nokes in LOR, runners often have low blood ferritin concentrations. Researchers have postulated that many runners may store iron in the liver rather than blood and bone marrow. A number of studies have shown NO improvement by athletes taking iron supplements, but whom do not have anemia.
If your blood hemoglobin levels are normal (i.e. no anemia), iron deficiency is probably not the problem.
Good luck, and I hope you are able to pinpoint why you're feeling poorly
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