No, this is not an academic lecture in some healthcare university semester.<\/p>\n
This is about a letter I got from Sanquin, the Dutch blood donation authority.<\/p>\n
It turns out my serum ferritin is too low.<\/p>\n
It is below the 30 \u00b5g\/L threshold. The “normal” range sits somewhere between 30 and 250 \u00b5g\/L.<\/p>\n
Mine was 24 \u00b5g\/L two weeks ago, at my 30th donation.<\/p>\n
And after giving 500 ml of blood that day, chances are it’s even lower now.<\/p>\n
Why does this “ferritin” even matter?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Well, it turns out ferritin is an important protein in your body\u2019s energy and oxygen systems.<\/p>\n
Ferritin (think ferro, iron) is basically your iron warehouse. Its contents are used to produce hemoglobin in your blood, which is responsible for transporting oxygen.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not all.<\/p>\n
Ferritin is also involved in:<\/p>\n
\n
- energy production (ATP)<\/li>\n
- recovery after training<\/li>\n
- dopamine production<\/li>\n
- and proper functioning of the nervous system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Basically:<\/p>\n
Low ferritin doesn\u2019t just show up in a lab result. It shows up in how you feel.<\/p>\n
And guess which symptoms I\u2019ve been dealing with for the past couple of months.<\/p>\n
\n
- Chronic fatigue. I\u2019m tired all the time.<\/li>\n
- Trouble concentrating. Hey brainfog, anyone?<\/li>\n
- Restless legs. Yep, got those too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
So…..<\/p>\n
Could a low ferritin level actually be the root cause?<\/p>\n
Tests<\/h2>\n
To be sure, I went to the hospital to have my blood tested again.<\/p>\n
The results should be in early next week.<\/p>\n
After that, Ill have a meeting with my GP to discuss the next steps.<\/p>\n
But yeah….<\/p>\n
This ferritin issue might actually be the missing link.<\/p>\n
Brain running low on iron. Shutting down. Out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No, this is not an academic lecture in some healthcare university semester. This is about a letter I got from Sanquin, the Dutch blood donation authority. Ferritin deficiency? It turns out my serum ferritin is too low. It is below the 30 \u00b5g\/L threshold. The “normal” range sits somewhere between 30 and 250 \u00b5g\/L. Mine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,6],"tags":[427,425,426],"class_list":["post-657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brain-factory-tm","category-random","tag-cause","tag-ferritin","tag-low"],"yoast_head":"\n
Ferritin deficiency - Brain's Ramblings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ferritin deficiency - Brain's Ramblings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No, this is not an academic lecture in some healthcare university semester. This is about a letter I got from Sanquin, the Dutch blood donation authority. Ferritin deficiency? It turns out my serum ferritin is too low. It is below the 30 \u00b5g\/L threshold. The “normal” range sits somewhere between 30 and 250 \u00b5g\/L. Mine...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brain's Ramblings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T18:35:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brain\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brain\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab\"},\"headline\":\"Ferritin deficiency\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-17T18:35:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":275,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab\"},\"keywords\":[\"cause\",\"Ferritin\",\"low\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Brain Factory (TM)\",\"Random\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ferritin deficiency - Brain's Ramblings\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-17T18:35:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/17\\\/ferritin-deficiency\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ferritin deficiency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brain's Ramblings\",\"description\":\"Code, commitment, caffeine, and the odd mindfart\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab\",\"name\":\"Brain\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/brain_brain.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/brain_brain.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/brain_brain.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"Brain\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/brain_brain.png\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\\\/brain\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/brain\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ferritin deficiency - Brain's Ramblings","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ferritin deficiency - Brain's Ramblings","og_description":"No, this is not an academic lecture in some healthcare university semester. This is about a letter I got from Sanquin, the Dutch blood donation authority. Ferritin deficiency? It turns out my serum ferritin is too low. It is below the 30 \u00b5g\/L threshold. The “normal” range sits somewhere between 30 and 250 \u00b5g\/L. Mine...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/","og_site_name":"Brain's Ramblings","article_published_time":"2026-04-17T18:35:31+00:00","author":"Brain","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brain","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/"},"author":{"name":"Brain","@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/#\/schema\/person\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab"},"headline":"Ferritin deficiency","datePublished":"2026-04-17T18:35:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/"},"wordCount":275,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/#\/schema\/person\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab"},"keywords":["cause","Ferritin","low"],"articleSection":["Brain Factory (TM)","Random"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/","url":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/","name":"Ferritin deficiency - Brain's Ramblings","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-17T18:35:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/ferritin-deficiency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ferritin deficiency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/","name":"Brain's Ramblings","description":"Code, commitment, caffeine, and the odd mindfart","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/#\/schema\/person\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/#\/schema\/person\/24700e1628cfd605409636397a9bb6ab","name":"Brain","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/brain_brain.png","url":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/brain_brain.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/brain_brain.png","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"Brain"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/brain_brain.png"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain"],"url":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/author\/brain\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":658,"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657\/revisions\/658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familie-kleinman.nl\/brain\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}