Can taking Iron pills a few days before ferritin test give false reading?

Hello doctor,

I am a 22-year-old woman who is struggling with extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, tire easy or poor endurance, treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, panic disorder, skin picking issues, sensory processing disorder and ADHD. I have been a strict vegetarian for 12 years now and for a lot of that time, my diet was poor and mostly carbohydrate based.

I have suspected an iron deficiency for a very long time. I had a test for it a few years ago and my hemoglobin was normal but my ferritin was only 39. My doctor said it was fine. I recently had a terrible experience with several methods of birth control and for a few months was having 10 day periods twice a month, and at its worst, I was bleeding for a month straight. I started taking a food-based iron for 2 to 3 months (27 mg) and had my iron checked twice within six months. Both times my ferritin was up to around 80.

However, I still feel increasingly tired and other conditions are being ruled out. I just realized that before both of those tests with normal results, I had taken an iron pill within two days of the test.

My question is could that have given me a false reading on the ferritin test? If I would have had iron the day before? Is a couple months of food based on iron enough to have raised my levels that fast? And lastly, given the heavy bleeding and relative lack of dietary iron in my life, how could I not be iron deficient? Currently, I am taking Clonazepam PRN, Lamictal 50 mg.