High level of Ferritin after Venesection?

[roni3hats]

Hi,

I had a venesection (500mls) recently followed by a blood test to check levels & the result has come back higher than before the venesection.

Has anyone else had this as I've never in 10yrs of venesection had a level of Ferritin come back higher than before or can anyone throw some light on why this has happened.

thank you

Ronnie

[Autumn_Leaves]

Ferritin can also increase as a consequence of inflammation, so it can be an indicator of something that might need further investigation. I’d ask either your GP or haematologist to run some more tests, particularly CRP, ESR and a liver function test. If your WBC count is raised this might also be an indication of an inflammatory process. It does seem a bit unexpected, but it’s a good idea to rule out any other causes.

[roni3hats in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Thank you for your reply Autumn_Leaves,

I spoke to one of the Haematology nurses yesterday who said they would monitor the issue & that they sometimes do have this happening but didn't provide any more information.

What is CRP & ESR? I presume WBC is White Blood Count?

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to roni3hats]

CRP = C-Reactive Protein

ESR = Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate

These are both markers of systemic inflammation.

WBC = White Blood Cell Count

This is typically higher during infection, but can also be raised if there is inflammation in the body.

It’s good that the haematology nurse thinks it’s worth keeping an eye on. With blood tests, as I’m sure you know, if something is out then they will look at what the other blood test results to see if there’s anything worth investigating. Perhaps they can get a fair idea from your TSAT that you’re overloading more rapidly than usual.

The worrying thing about raised ferritin is that it can also be a sign of liver damage which we are more at risk of, but if your liver function tests are all looking fine then you can probably rule that out.

Raised ferritin can also be a sign of systemic inflammation too, so you don’t want to be missing something that could be picked up early, or ruled out altogether. Being a haematology patient can be to our advantage because haematologists are far better at evaluating blood test results and knowing what might need to be investigated, better than a GP in my experience. At least they’re keeping an eye on it. With luck it will “just” be iron overload — not that we want that either! — but as you’re diagnosed and having venesections at least you’re minimising the potential for harm.

[roni3hats in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

thank you once again A_L for your comments & clarifications, have you had medical experience or are you a well informed layperson?

[radd]

roni3hats,

Welcome to our forum,

Yes it has happened to me several times.

It is because we have more than one storage than just ferritin. Another is hemosiderin that also holds iron. The iron mechanisms should balance each other but due to the increased levels we may experience, this skews the whole process from consumption to storage and transport to utilisation.

[roni3hats in reply to radd]

Hi Radd, only just noticed your reply. Good to know that other people have had similar experiences. My concern was that it had never happened to me over many years of monitoring & occaisional venesection. Thanks again for your contribution. Ronnie

[radd in reply to roni3hats]

Roni3hats,

If you have autoimmune conditions driving chronic inflammation this will be associated with increased hepdicin. This inflammatory response risks conditions such as anaemia of chronic inflammation/disease. Also ferritin may eventually become unstable after years of saturated iron overload.

Hence important to manage other health conditions, control weight, etc as the haemochromatosis genetic impairment is only a small part of the whole picture.

[jamessharp87]

Hey Ronnie. This happened to me recently too - after my second venesection. I’m newly diagnosed so thought it might just be something that happens and the nurse specialist didn’t seem too concerned. After my third venesection (I’m having them fortnightly at the moment) it dropped by loads. So I wondered if it was just a fluke or lab error.

[roni3hats in reply to jamessharp87]

Thanks James, Radd 20 days ago said it's happened to him several times. I'm going for the 2nd venesection tomorrow (since the raised level) & will probably have a follow up blood check in less than a week. Will be interesting to see what level the Ferratin is now. Thanks again for your reply.