Totally understand your frustrations! Mine was not as high as yours but since starting phlebs in Oct. 2017 I too have been up and down with no consistency. My last two draws I've been up. My guess is that since you started so very high that it will take quite some time to get those levels down. Your body is still in shock and it takes time to adjust,
How often do you have draws? How much do they take? I started off with a pint every week but for a smaller female that turned out to be just too much. I kept passing out on them. Now I do 1/2 pint a month.

Hi. I just received my 1st test results since starting phlebotomy therapy and my ferritin level jumped from 2400 to 2700. I'm a little concerned as well.

@Cap6: Thank you for your response; much appreciated. I was on business travel and had not seen your response when I checked last. It is very comforting to share experiences about this since it is not a common thing that must people are aware of. I draw about a pint almost every week, except when my hematocrit levels too low. Even when the hematocrit is a bit low, the doctor authorizes to move forward if I feel strong enough given my very high levels. So far, I have been able to withstand the draws every time (only once did I get light headed during the treatment). This has been going on for 10 months. I am 5'10/178lbs and active in sports, but even so, the doctor has been pleasantly surprised that I am able to withstand it almost every week even when hematocrit is low. The decision is to do them weekly as long as I can take them given the urgency to bring such levels down as much as possible. She has commented of using other methods to move faster but so far, I am resisting and sticking to pinching myself every week (even though it is a big needle as we know) and hope that it continues to go down. Regarding your situation, what I have heard is that one should take out the amount of blood you feel comfortable with and at the rate your body can take, especially since you mentioned your levels are not too high. If you are passing out, then it was too much. Appreciate your insight; let's keep connected as it sure helps hearing about other experiences.

@junkband: Thank you for sharing your experience. This is normal; it happened to me as well. Your mindset must be that this is a long run, not a sprint. While I have often obsessed about weekly results, I have learned the hard way over the last ten months, as described in my previous posts, that levels will go up and down for some people like us. Stick to the plan and be disciplined about your phlebotomies and low iron diet. I know firsthand it is frustrating to go through a session and then find out the ferritin levels did not go down or even went up. However, in the long run (and that time frame varies), it should go down. It has taken me a long time, but I have gone down about 2,000 points, but I still have about another 1,000 to go. Be patient and stay positive (of course easier said than done) and be discipline about treatment and your diet, which of course needs to be low iron when we are at these levels. Also pay attention to your organs (especially the liver) to make sure all is normal. Obviously check with your doctor frequently at this stage because every patient is different, and she/he will have the best advice. But stay calm and stick to the program; we are all on the same boat and as my blog nickname says, we will beat the odds and get better.