Ferritin (ng/mL)

Commonly used reference ranges run roughly 30–200 ng/mL for women and 30–300 ng/mL or higher for men, with meaningful lab-to-lab variation. Many clinicians consider values under 30 ng/mL consistent with depleted iron stores even when the lab’s printed range starts lower.

Yes, that is the classic pattern of early iron depletion. Ferritin falls first as stores drain, while hemoglobin holds normal until deficiency deepens into anemia. Fatigue, hair shedding, and reduced exercise capacity can appear during this stores-only stage, which is why ferritin is tested directly.

The most common causes are inflammation, fatty liver, metabolic syndrome, and regular alcohol use, ferritin rises with each as an acute-phase reactant. Genuinely overloaded iron stores, as in hereditary hemochromatosis, are less common but important to rule out, typically with transferrin saturation and sometimes genetic testing arranged through your doctor.

Iron-rich foods (especially heme iron from meat), pairing plant iron with vitamin C, and supplementation where appropriate are the standard approaches, alongside addressing the cause of loss, such as heavy periods or frequent donation. Iron supplements have real side effects and interactions, so dosing is worth setting with your doctor, with a retest after roughly three months.