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High Iron count? Anyone experience this?

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DietPrada
DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
in Debate Club
I had blood tests last week and my iron was high. The Doctor said it wasn't good, but I forgot to get more information - I was more worried about the high cholesterol result. Anyone know what causes high iron? What are the risks? Should I be worried?

Apparently giving blood can help bring it down - I have an appointment to donate on Monday.

Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Hemochromatosis? Yep, it's not good but donating blood is how you lower your iron levels. My hubby has this.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,874 Member
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    Mine is borderline high. Fortunately, I guess, I have two periods a month so that helps. Your Dr might recommend donating blood.

    Also I cannot take iron (feel really awful when I do) and I need to be careful with Vit C.
  • Erfw7471
    Erfw7471 Posts: 242 Member
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    Yes, high iron is not good. Is it the iron in the blood that's high, or the iron stores, or both? Since you didn't go into detail about it with your doctor you probably should.

    Along with donating blood check what you're eating and maybe reduce high iron foods. Calcium inhibits iron absorption so pair iron-rich foods with calcium-rich. Look over your supplements as well.

    Again, contact your doctor. Good luck.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »
    Hemochromatosis?

    I expect there are other things, but this is the one I am most familiar with too. My mother has it. High iron is dangerous and one reason people should never supplement iron without a test showing they need to. It led to damage to my mother's liver before it was discovered (it can be non symptomatic until after damage is done).

    Great that it got caught and I hope you quickly find out what's causing it and it's easy to deal with, OP.
  • Daddy78230
    Daddy78230 Posts: 125 Member
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    I have high blood iron. I donate blood fairly regularly. Last time I donated it was 52%, I like to keep it below 47%. Blood donation facilities test your blood iron as part of their prescreen. Remember, donate whole blood or double, not plasma or platelets.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
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    Dehydration
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    My father has hemochromatosis too. His ferritin levels were astronomically high (definitely above 300) and his liver is damaged. Does your doctor have some kind of online portal where you can get your actual results?
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
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    I've emailed the doctors office and asked for a copy of my blood tests. No response. I wasn't dehydrated. Donating blood was surprisingly painless, didn't even get dizzy. I'll see what my blood tests say in July.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Mine's borderline low (115). The pharmacist calmed me down when I went looking for an iron supplement. Meanwhile, I've switched out sugar for iron on my diary page, since I realized I was rarely hitting my RDA. We'll see how things go at next checkup.

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