Hemochromatosis Support Group

Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease characterized by improper processing by the body of dietary iron which causes iron to accumulate in a number of body tissues, eventually causing organ dysfunction. It is the main iron overload disorder. Hemochromatosis is notorious for having symptoms that are often initially misattributed to other diseases.

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1st phlebotomy test results

junkband
junkband

Hi all!  I'm kinda freaking out a bit.  My ferritin upon diagnosis was 2400.  Just got the first test results from after my 1st phlebotomy and the ferritin level jumped 300 to 2700!  Should I be panicking?  Has anyone else seen a jump?  I've greatly decreased my iron intake (I'm also supposed to be on low carb so that leaves me next to nothing to eat), so I was hoping for positive results.  Obviously, this first result is quite a let down.  

looney1
looney1
I've heard this before that the ferritin can go up at first after phlebs. I think the person said it was explained to him that its iron coming out of storage. Not sure if that's what really happens but it would be a good idea to ask your doctor what's going on. I find curcumin supplements are a good iron chelator. I hope you can get on top of it soon.
sptrout
sptrout
I would not be concerned yet. I am really surprised that your doctor had you do a blood test after just one blood donation (my preferred term LOL). My doctor had my blood retested after three donations (about 2 1/2 weeks). My ferritin started at 600-1,000 and dropped to 250, and later after 8 donations, it dropped to 13. Thirteen is too low so now I am trying working back up (will retest after 6 months).

Hang in there, and good luck!
junkband
junkband
Thanks sptrout and looney1. I got the test result electronically late last night so my doc had yet to see it. My hematologist is have me tested immediately before each donation. I’ll keep my concerns at bay for now and ask my doc about the curcumin looney mentioned. Thanks again!
sleepyowl
sleepyowl
It will take a while for things to level out. As looney1 said, after each venesection (phleb), some of the stored iron will be released into the bloodstream and used up to make new red blood cells, so this might explain the increase in ferritin levels.

I've forgotten my numbers now, was 100% saturation though, took quite a few weeks to get to normal levels. 3 yrs later, they're trying me on 4 monthly venesections instead of 3 monthly.

I really wouldn't worry about the numbers, they will fluctuate but gradually drop over time. tc :)