[Zoe's Life]

Lotus,

I too have low ferritin and two BMB's show no iron in the marrow. My hemo says it is because of the MDS. I don't know, I guess she knows what she is talking about, MDS is her specialty. Like you, my MCV is always high (that is clearly from the MDS). I have to say that, AMA (although I did tell my hemo last time I was there, and she didn't try to talk me out of it), I am taking vitamins with iron because it seems to help keep my hemoglobin up. After several months of taking the iron fortified vitamins, I had my ferritin tested just to be sure I wasn't getting too much. My ferritin was only 44 (on the low end of normal). I have never had heavy periods, so that isn't the cause of the low ferritin. I have had a colonscopy, chest CT scans, ultrasounds (had another today on my gallbladder). Nothing that would explain the low ferritin. I have seen other MDS patients say they have no marrow iron stores, even with normal ferritin, serum iron, etc. I have never had an answer I understood.

Zoe