andrewBwinter
Active Member
I can confirm that I have gone completely down the rabbit hole on this one.
During my morning coffee make, I thought, "Hey, I wonder what my ferritin was when I wasn't on TRT?" I have been working to raise it and I believe, in simple terms, I have it. Science!
Looking at my labs pre and post I can confirm that my low T related to higher ferritin:
Pre TRT 15-Mar-21:
TT - 383
Ferritin 126
HGB - 177
Start TRT October 14, 2021 (120mg/wk Test-E)
Post - 1-Feb-22
TT - 954
Ferritin 27
HGB - 171
I found this article that supports my coffee theory:
journals.plos.org
But this was a study based on young men. However, buried within was a study related to the 50+ ("elderly") cohort from Bachman et. al. :
academic.oup.com
While there probably isn't anything new here to most of the members, it did answer some questions I had about trying to raise ferritin levels. I also have a better understanding of WHY ferritin levels are reduced. The short answer:
To wit - TRT increases red blood cells, red blood cells scavange for iron to transport, ferritin stores iron for those red blood cells, the well (ferritin) runs dry as all of those RBCs take the stored iron.
Now, if we can just determine how Pete Davidson scores the lovely ladies, all will make sense.
--A
During my morning coffee make, I thought, "Hey, I wonder what my ferritin was when I wasn't on TRT?" I have been working to raise it and I believe, in simple terms, I have it. Science!
Looking at my labs pre and post I can confirm that my low T related to higher ferritin:
Pre TRT 15-Mar-21:
TT - 383
Ferritin 126
HGB - 177
Start TRT October 14, 2021 (120mg/wk Test-E)
Post - 1-Feb-22
TT - 954
Ferritin 27
HGB - 171
I found this article that supports my coffee theory:
Serum Ferritin Is Inversely Correlated with Testosterone in Boys and Young Male Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in Taiwan
Objective The transition from childhood to teenaged years is associated with increased testosterone and a decreased iron status. It is not clear whether higher testosterone levels cause the decreased iron status, and to what extent, obesity-related inflammation influences the iron-testosterone...
journals.plos.org
But this was a study based on young men. However, buried within was a study related to the 50+ ("elderly") cohort from Bachman et. al. :
Testosterone Induces Erythrocytosis via Increased Erythropoietin and Suppressed Hepcidin: Evidence for a New Erythropoietin/Hemoglobin Set Point
AbstractBackground.. The mechanisms by which testosterone increases hemoglobin and hematocrit remain unclear.Methods.. We assessed the hormonal and hematol
academic.oup.com
While there probably isn't anything new here to most of the members, it did answer some questions I had about trying to raise ferritin levels. I also have a better understanding of WHY ferritin levels are reduced. The short answer:
To wit - TRT increases red blood cells, red blood cells scavange for iron to transport, ferritin stores iron for those red blood cells, the well (ferritin) runs dry as all of those RBCs take the stored iron.
Now, if we can just determine how Pete Davidson scores the lovely ladies, all will make sense.
--A
