Low ferritin with normal haemoglobin: what it means and what to discuss with your doctor

Ferritin shows how much iron your body has stored. Haemoglobin carries oxygen, and iron is needed to make it. When iron runs short, the body uses up its stores first, so ferritin falls early while haemoglobin stays normal for a long time.

Don't start taking iron on your own: the doctor chooses the medicine, dose and duration, and it matters to find the cause of the deficiency. Show your GP your results from recent months and describe how you feel: tiredness, hair loss, breathlessness on exertion.