Very High Ferritin levels

I most definitely an likely to have NASH, not sure stage yet but saw my ferritin levels are 591. I do not drink alcohol at all. What is the recommendation to get this number down below 200? I am very nervous and scared. Thank you for your time answering this question.

[Herman7275]

Well not real sure but must wait for full & indep diagnosis, terrific levels could be many different causes, when are you to get further results from your dr.??

[TNWONDER]

Hi - i'm going to cut to the chase and give it to you straight. YOU MUST GET TESTED FOR HEMOCHROMATOSIS (IRON OVERLOAD DISORDER). Its a genetic test to see if you carry the C282Y gene which is the key indicator for this disorder. A higher than normal ferritin level is a key red flag for this. The good news is that a 500-600 ferritin level while higher than normal, isn't that high. Mine was 660. Anything over 1,000 is cause for alarm. Less than 1,000 ferritin at time of diagnosis, your chances of having cirrhosis are like less than 1%. The penetrance of iron overload at these levels is very low so it seems you may have caught it in time. I was shocked to find out that i carry this gene. I'm a healthy 44 year old, active male. More good news......it's extremely treatable via phlebotomy (ie blood donation). Initially i had to go for a phlebotomy every few weeks for a few months - the ferritin kept dropping and dropping. Now i go maybe twice per year. Last check i was at a 100 ferritin level. You really don't have to refrain from much - do not take any vitamins with iron in it and no vitamin C supplements as this increases iron absorption. You may continue to eat meat if you so choose but i gave it up. I also stay away from all sugar. Being diagnosed has actually forced me to adopt a healthier diet. I hope you read this post. Action must be taken to check to see if you have this. If left untreated it could cause problems later on. I hope this was helpful. Feel free to ask me any questions.

[RedBarn in reply to TNWONDER]

Ditto, I too have iron overload with the same methods as you. I am now focused on a healthy liver.

[Hidden in reply to TNWONDER]

Thank you for the reply. So if I don’t have hemoc, why would my ferritin be high? Can you have f0-f3 stage nash w this high of ferritin without Hemoc?

[TNWONDER in reply to Hidden]

Hemochromatosis can cause NASH if left untreated. You need to rule out hemochromatosis first. If it is hemochromatosis then NASH can be potentially substantially reversed with treatment and diet

[MINTVCX in reply to TNWONDER]

I would say hemochromatosis is a genetic disease and it has nothing to do with NASH (although you can have both). Maybe there is more likely to have NASH when you have hemochromatosis but not sure if some studies support this.

Or maybe I am wrong?

Hemochromatosis gene and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

"Our systematic review does not support an association between the HFE genetic variants and the presence of NAFLD."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[TNWONDER in reply to MINTVCX]

Iron overload can most certainly cause NASH and/or cirrhosis. That's the inherent danger of hemochromatosis and why you must rule it out. High ferritin and high transferrin saturation are usually signs of iron overload.