The doctor said my iron is too high?

BreNeeds2GetThin

Hey guys, so I went to the doctor and had my
Blood tested because I wanted to make sure that I was not diabetic. The results came back and they told me that my iron is too high. It's odd because it used to be very low. He said that my iron should be between 12 and 105 and mine is at 279!
I have an appointment with a specialist but I was wondering if anyone here has high iron and if it bothers them physically?

I was not taking supplements or eating more iron that I know of..

goldthistime

Were you taking supplements?

LKArgh

I am no dr, but as far as I recall from a comment made by my dr at some point when I was found with low iron levels once again and complaining about it , high iron levels can cause serious complications if not treated, so definitely do not delay your appointment! Good luck.

kshama2001

BreNeeds2GetThin wrote: »

Hey guys, so I went to the doctor and had my
Blood tested because I wanted to make sure that I was not diabetic. The results came back and they told me that my iron is too high. It's odd because it used to be very low. He said that my iron should be between 12 and 105 and mine is at 279!
I have an appointment with a specialist but I was wondering if anyone here has high iron and if it bothers them physically?

I was not taking supplements or eating more iron that I know of..

How you could have high iron in the absence of taking supplements or having a high iron diet is a really question for your doctor and the specialist.

Meanwhile, you can swap out the Sodium tab for Iron on your diary and let us take a look. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

futureicon

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

Are on birth control regimen to suppress your menstrual cycle? If so, that is likely the culprit. You will want to avoid vitamin supplementation of iron, and possibly any cereal or other food item which is fortified with high amounts of iron. Vitamin C helps your body absorb dietary iron. Or it could be an inherited condition such as hemochromatosis. http://mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/home/ovc-20167289

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

kshama2001 wrote: »

BreNeeds2GetThin wrote: »

Hey guys, so I went to the doctor and had my
Blood tested because I wanted to make sure that I was not diabetic. The results came back and they told me that my iron is too high. It's odd because it used to be very low. He said that my iron should be between 12 and 105 and mine is at 279!
I have an appointment with a specialist but I was wondering if anyone here has high iron and if it bothers them physically?

I was not taking supplements or eating more iron that I know of..

How you could have high iron in the absence of taking supplements or having a high iron diet is a really question for your doctor and the specialist.

Meanwhile, you can swap out the Sodium tab for Iron on your diary and let us take a look. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

This will be a good thing to do. You want to be sure though that the iron levels in the food you log are accurate. I OFTEN find that many entries in the MFP data base are dead wrong. I correct as often as I find errors. Don't assume anything is correct even if there is a green check indicating accuracy. Many of these supposedly confirmed entries are still incorrect in everything but the calorie count.

kshama2001

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »

Are on birth control regimen to suppress your menstrual cycle? If so, that is likely the culprit. You will want to avoid vitamin supplementation of iron, and possibly any cereal or other food item which is fortified with high amounts of iron. Or it could be an inherited condition such as hemochromatosis. http://mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/home/ovc-20167289

Right, for example plain/'old fashioned' rolled oats are not fortified with iron but I know some more processed oatmeals have added iron.

rybo

An old girlfriend of mine had extremely high iron levels. Her birth control was one of the contributing factors. The original cause was something just the way her body was, but she had to switch pills and avoid iron rich foods until it was brought down to more reasonable levels.

ronjsteele1

Hemochromatosis is a possibility. As is your body taking iron in but not utilizing it (needing more co-nutrients like vitamin C). You can actually have high iron stores but low circulating iron. 279 isn't not awful and nowhere near the "danger" zone, but you definitely want to start finding answers to "why" and aim to fix it. Left on its own, iron will eventually deposit itself on the organs, causing damage, and eventually failure (that is assuming that one is doing nothing to treat it). They will not usually start using drugs like Exjade to lower iron until you hit 1000. You also don't have to use drugs to lower it. If it were to get too high you can just donate blood and that will naturally lower your iron levels. They generally do not use that blood for other people (too much iron), but it's a cheap way (free) to get your iron down easily. But honestly, until your doctor pinpoints the "why" you can't do much about it but make sure you are not taking in added iron in foods or supplements. You will want to watch eating things like spinach that are high in iron and you should not cook in cast iron at all.

avskk

You could have hemochromatosis. This is, basically, a genetic disorder in which your body absorbs more iron from your foods than most people's do. This would mean a food nominally containing 60mg of iron would actually give your body, say, 75 or 80mg. If this is the case, it's treatable, and if it's something else your doctor should be able to find out quickly.

HealthyBodySickMind

I tend to have high iron. I'm fairly pale, so nurses/phlebotomists tend to predict I will be low when they test me. I'm usually on the high end of the normal range but I've been a bit above the range on a few tests. I haven't noticed any adverse effects from high iron which are listed as "stomach upset and pain, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting," but I've never had a result as high as yours. Is that in micrograms/dL or do you know the units?

CorneliusPhoton

If your iron used to be low and now high, I would suspect that it changed when something changed about your lifestyle. Think about any and all changes to your diet, medications, and menstruation since it was low.

If your doctor does determine that it is hemochromatosis, as others have stated it is fairly easily controlled.
My husband has it and he donates blood often to take care of it.
He also chooses a multivitamin that is geared towards senior citizens (zero iron).

lemurcat12

Yeah, like others have said, it could well be a medical condition (my mother has hemochromatosis) and you will want to work with the specialist to find out the cause. It can be completely symptom free but dangerous if allowed to go on too long/get to high, so very good that you are working with a doctor. I watch my iron (get it tested) because of my mother, but so far no issues high or low.

icemom011

You can also ask to retake the blod to exclude a mistake.