High Iron Blood Work

[FreeFitnessGuru]

In my younger years I wouldnt have given a **** if my blood iron was high - but now I care at 41.

I know ast/alt can be elevated without it being pathological - often just caused by weight training.

This does not seem to be the case with ferritin, iron saturation & iron binding capacity.

Red blood cell count and myoglobulin can be elevated by exercise so do not necesarily mean anything pathological.

But the iron numbers do seem to indicate pathology with no exercise cause.

So I got the gene test and it was negative, maybe I ate too much big juicy steak, maybe it was the welding I did 10 yrs ago.

I dont know. But I will give blood and do some chelation to improve my iron levels.

Presently:

Iron Binding Capacity: 34 umol/l (45-75)

Iron Saturation: 0.79 (.15-.50)

Ferritin: 412 ug/l (20-250)

Iron: 27 umol/l (10-30)

Kind of pisses me off I didn't catch it sooner - anyway I have no symptoms.

[freebirdmac]

Did you test more than once?
My levels came back high once only to show normal on retest. The techs can screw tests up

[FreeFitnessGuru]

I'm gunna give blood tomorrow for the first time in my life - then I will get a retest next week.

[Baldiewonkanobi]

High iron and high RBC can be corrected with periodic blood donations. Good citizenship and good health benefits in your case.

Baldie

[runswithscissor]

In my younger years I wouldnt have given a **** if my blood iron was high - but now I care at 41.

I know ast/alt can be elevated without it being pathological - often just caused by weight training.

This does not seem to be the case with ferritin, iron saturation & iron binding capacity.

Red blood cell count and myoglobulin can be elevated by exercise so do not necesarily mean anything pathological.

But the iron numbers do seem to indicate pathology with no exercise cause.

So I got the gene test and it was negative, maybe I ate too much big juicy steak, maybe it was the welding I did 10 yrs ago.

I dont know. But I will give blood and do some chelation to improve my iron levels.

Presently:

Iron Binding Capacity: 34 umol/l (45-75)

Iron Saturation: 0.79 (.15-.50)

Ferritin: 412 ug/l (20-250)

Iron: 27 umol/l (10-30)

Kind of pisses me off I didn't catch it sooner - anyway I have no symptoms.

If you take any kind of multivitamin or other supplements, make sure they don't have iron in them. Worked for me when my levels were high. I'll do that before I give up things like steak and spinach.

[shlape]

High iron and high RBC can be corrected with periodic blood donations.

I was all for that idea but sadly can't do it anymore. I've been struck off the donor list because of a weird reaction to a donation I did a few weeks back. But damn it, I love my red meat. Unfortunately the red meat I eat is massively high in iron. At the blood bank they told me I'm at a medium to high iron level. Hopefully it doesn't progress higher.

[jeff232]

If you take any kind of multivitamin or other supplements, make sure they don't have iron in them. Worked for me when my levels were high. I'll do that before I give up things like steak and spinach.

i have found that the equivalent of centrum silver has no iron..one of the few on the shelf at Wally world that doesnt( i buy walmart brand)

Do you use cast iron cookware? That can add some extra Fe to your diet as well.

[runswithscissor]

i have found that the equivalent of centrum silver has no iron..one of the few on the shelf at Wally world that doesnt( i buy walmart brand)

Do you use cast iron cookware? That can add some extra Fe to your diet as well.

Google centrum is garbage or something simlar...and anything from vitamins, to a breast pump, to an oil change, to any meat or anything else should be considered questionable at best from our global buddies at you know who...

If your iron levels are high, get them to do a billirubin test, you could have gilberts syndrome (No, not Gilbert Godfried where you are just skinny, obnoxious and talk loud), you could have a billirubin issue and sometimes the two go hand in hand.

Stay the hell away from "sheep" vitamins. Remember that Geritol was the shiznit back in the day...kept gram with enough vim, vigor and vitality to cook dinner, keep the house clean, and wonder why she had to attend AA meetings.

When she got off of it and gramps started doing NyQuil because he had to listen to gram...well....

[FreeFitnessGuru]

Damn the blood donation turned into a fiasco, as soon as I told them I have high iron they refused to take my blood. My doctor has to refer me to the blood donor doctor and then he will go over my file and take my blood.

Meanwhile I still have high Frick'n ferritin.

As for why my iron is high - I eat like a fricken gorilla. Whole chickens, giant rump steaks, mountains of fruit, veges etc.

I also have become partial to flame grilled chicken which is flame grilled at the restaurant on an iron grill.

So really I should have had an eye on my iron for the past 10 yrs and am now sorry I did not.

So I recommend you dudes get it checked. I'm not gunna change my diet - i will just give blood every couple of months, that should solve the problem.

If it doesn't - then I will change my diet.

I am in good health and am not aware of any symptoms but who knows- after the bleed I may have a boner for a week - that would be good.

The side effects of high iron are very nasty over time. Mine is about half the level common with haemochromatosis but still twice the upper normal level.

Damn I wish I checked it long ago.

As for being a blood donor I have a problem in that I shag many women - which they don't like.

[phigg]

Weird. I've never heard of blood with too high an iron content, they always talk about not having enough. I'm probably the other way around, if anything- I was borderline anemic as a teenager.

[FreeFitnessGuru]

Well this is some months later now - they removed half of my blood over a 7 week period without putting any back in.

Your body uses the excess iron to make new red blood cells. During the 7 weeks I had highish RBC right until the end so I didn't get anemic despite losing half my blood.

That was proof to me that I had excess iron also I had some problems with apnea (suffocation) especially at night - I recently learned that high RBC can cause this.

I honestly don't feel any different since the venesection except for two things...

1. The apnea is gone

2. It immediately 100% cured my hemorrhoids that I had for 1 year - they must have been from the poisoning.

So if it was bad enough to cause hemorrhoids I guess it may have done some other harm which will heal over the coming few months.

They did not find a gene for it in me but the gene tests are wrong 25% of the time. Also there are over 40 suspect genes and the only test for 3.

So dont go off a negative gene test - go off ferritin, iron saturation and CRP

If you have low CRP but high iron saturation - push your doctor to get you de-ironed.

[rebelynn]

I have the exact opposite problem, my bone marrow will not absorb and hold iron so I have to go to the Cancer Center several times a year to get iron infusions.........not much fun at all.

Well this is some months later now - they removed half of my blood over a 7 week period without putting any back in.

Your body uses the excess iron to make new red blood cells. During the 7 weeks I had highish RBC right until the end so I didn't get anemic despite losing half my blood.

That was proof to me that I had excess iron also I had some problems with apnea (suffocation) especially at night - I recently learned that high RBC can cause this.

I honestly don't feel any different since the venesection except for two things...

1. The apnea is gone

2. It immediately 100% cured my hemorrhoids that I had for 1 year - they must have been from the poisoning.

So if it was bad enough to cause hemorrhoids I guess it may have done some other harm which will heal over the coming few months.

They did not find a gene for it in me but the gene tests are wrong 25% of the time. Also there are over 40 suspect genes and the only test for 3.

So dont go off a negative gene test - go off ferritin, iron saturation and CRP

If you have low CRP but high iron saturation - push your doctor to get you de-ironed.

[Karl_Hungus]

Well this is some months later now - they removed half of my blood over a 7 week period without putting any back in.

Yeah, my grandpa had to have that done.....he had hemachromatosis which causes elevated iron. I'm at genetic risk for the disease, so have to get tested every few years for iron levels.

[Savageheart73]

I have been diagnosed with hemochromatosis. Found out about it 7-8 years ago. My body was going through all kinds of wacky things that now I think was trying to get rid of the iron itself. I had huge nosebleeds all the time for no reason but that never really caused anyone any alarm. But then when I started having a lot of blood in my stool also, there was a cause for alarm. I went through so many blasted tests. Then my Doc quit the practice, a new one came along, and he tested me for hemochromatosis.

Now I give blood quiet often. Sometimes, I get lax in it and my iron gets high again. But for the most part, I try to give 3-4 times a year. They call my blood "liquid gold" at the blood bank as long as the iron level isn't over 55 on thier test. If it is then I have to go to the hospital to have it taken. I will say that more often then not, I feel way the hell better a few days after giving.

I read articles on this when I first found out about it. I will never forget reading one where hemochromatosis was called "the silent killer", because it can sneak right up on you undiagnosed and end you.

There is no cure I am told, only theraputic phlebotomy to keep iron levels normal. So as said I have been doing this for about 8 or more years. It can be a hassle, but hey it will save my life and I do feel better afterwards.

I only wish that someone like BSN would carry an "Iron free" line of supps. There are a few multivitamins out there for men that are iron free. But other than pure strain supps like whey, casein, pure creatin, BCAA, L-glutamine an such, not many are iron free. Almost any weight gainer, recovery mix, etc has iron in it and sometimes a lot. BSN Tru Mass, which I love, for instance boasts 100% per serving...

So I try to be careful with what I eat and what I drink, sometimes I make a sacrifice on a few things to knowingly down something with hefty iron. It sucks, but its the life I live. And things could be worse. All in all giving blood isn't so bad, plus if I keep the levels in order to actually donate, then who knows, that donation make actually spare someones life.

[Legbuh]

Yep, I had some bloodwork done and my RBC count was pretty high. So I decided to start giving blood.

The little test for iron they have the first time it showed HHH. Second time, HHH. Third time, 19. So, finally back in the numbers... But, I've also upped my cardio and tightened the diet a little more too.

They love my high iron blood there. It's like one will walk by look at the bag and say something like "wow.. great iron!" And all the old folks with low iron look at me in envy.