I reached out to Dr Buchfuhrer about the iron issue - how high should our ferritin be and how is it related to augmentation. He attached a couple articles for me that I didn't have access to.
In terms of the ferrtin level, he said, "A few articles, including the one that you have attached have suggested a higher ferritin level for preventing RLS but that is just from the trend of lower ferritin levels being associated with augmentation but no absolute level has been defined (the higher the better is the current thinking)."
A bit later, he mentioned augmentation and ferritin and said, "Still a lot to learn in that area."
He included a recent study by Wang, et.al. They tested giving oral iron to people with RLS/WED. Subjects were excluded if they had other sleep disorders, kidney disease, pregnancy, and other conditions that could cause secondary WED. Subjects had serum ferritin levels between 15 and 75 ng/ml. They were given ferrous sulfate twice daily, 325 mg, along with vitamin C 100mg. Study lasted 12 weeks. Here is a quote from the study, "In conclusion, we have shown that patients with low-normal ferritin levels treated with oral iron sulfate have a significant improvement in RLS symptoms."
In that study, they gave iron to people who had ferritin levels at high as 75 and those people showed improvement. It doesn't answer the question of how high should you go, but it clearly indicates that higher than 75 is good.
In the other study, by Trenkwalder, et.al, people who didn't augment when taking dopamine agonists had a average ferritin level of 108. The ones that did augment had a average ferritin level of 59. Reading between the lines, I'd want mine to be around 100 or higher to avoid augmentation.
In some ways, the research about WED is in it's infancy. It's complex, there are multiple genes, and no easy solution. In the meantime, everything the doctors suggest is going to be based on theory and supposition - such as keeping our ferritin at 100 or higher.
Augemtnation and Iron Supplementation
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Augemtnation and Iron Supplementation
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.