Iron overload after going on Pegasys for PV

[fernie]

Hi all, i have PV and have done phlebotomies for many years, prior to that and PV I was a blood donor. 3.5 years ago I went on Pegasys interferon and it went well and my bloods are good BUT since then I've slowly been loading iron. First the ferritin went up to 600. If I went vegetarian it would go down a bit. Once I ate meat again it would go up again. I was kind of testing it over the past year. My transferrin saturation has also been slowly going up, and now I'm at the loading iron level >45%.

My query is, is there anyone else out there who loads iron after Pegasys? I know most PV people tend to be low iron because of all the red cell production, and the interferons tend to put your iron back to normal levels. Thanks all.

[hunter5582]

I have not heard of the IFN causing an iron overload. It makes me wonder if the PV has been masking an underlying co-occurring iron dysregulation disorder. Suggest this is an issue to review with a MPN Specialist for the best answer.

[OZland]

yes , same here super high ferritin. My MPN specialist confirmed that PEG for some people increases ferritin, but not to be concerned as it is not same as high ferritin in non MPN

[ainslie]

I would be surprised if it’s the Peg, quite a few on Peg tend to have trouble getting ferritin up to a decent level

[Hopetohelp]

have you had a blood test for haemochromotosis? It’s a gene that makes your ferritin high.

Good luck