iron defiency anemia

[joe123456]

I have iron defiency anemia and last yr aug 2018 i had a ferritin transfusion. a yr later now june 2019 i have it again but i cant get a transfusion cause my ferritin is to high (700) it use to be around 230 before i got the transfusion. then went up to over 1000. it started comming down and went to 650 in jan 2019. in april instead of continuing to go down it went back up to 700. can't get a transfusion till it goes below 400. I was wondering if anyone ever had this problem. ? I guess the only thing i'm suppose to do is wait and hope it goes back down..

[Gambit62 Administrator]

not sure that anyone on this forum will be able to help you joe123456.

Although the forum has anaemia in the title its actually about an auto-immune condition that leads to problems absorbing a particular vitamin B12, which was initially (400+) years ago associated with a particular type of anaemia in which red blood cells are larger and rounder than normal. Iron deficiency causes smaller rounder red blood cells.

Have you had a full blood count that showed you had anaemia again, or are you going by symptoms, which would overlap with a number of other conditions - including B12 deficiency - so possible that what you are feeling is the result of something else going on.

[joe123456 in reply to Gambit62]

the blood work in april and may showed low iron and high ferritin. i'll be getting more blood work very shortly. maybe even tomorrow. I have the paperwork for it I just need to go get it done.

[Ryaan in reply to Gambit62]

Hi Gambit

Iron and Ferritin are 2 different tests ?

That’s confusing because personally I’ve never seen iron on a blood test and when your Ferritin levels are low the Gp gives you Iron tablets to increase your levels of Ferritin.

I thought Ferritin ( in a blood test) is your “Iron” levels ?

[joe123456 in reply to Ryaan]

no iron and ferritin are not the same. they are 2 different things. It actually says iron on the blood test. Ferritin is stored in your organs, like liver etc. and when your body gets low on iron your body release feritin which becomes iron at that point. I had a ferritin transfusion and instead of releasing ferritin when i'm low on iron my body just keeps it stored and won't release it. so now my ferritin is high and I can't get a transfusion even though my iron is low, cause high ferritin is bad for you. So I'm stuck in anemia. Iron tablets are ferrous sulfate (ferritin).

[Ryaan in reply to joe123456]

So high Ferritin means the Ferritin stored in your liver ?

So if your Ferritin is low it means your iron is low so the liver releases the Ferritin to increase your iron levels ?

Won’t your Ferritin further increase the Ferritin levels in your liver ?

So how do you lower your high Ferritin levels in your liver ?......what’s the solution.

Sorry I asked you 4 questions, but it would be interesting to know the solution to your problem, which I hope there is one for the better of your health.

(What a finely tuned machine a body is, funny you don’t know it when everything’s fine)

And people say we come from nothing !

We come from a single sperm which knows where the egg is, swims towards the egg....drops the tail. The egg then knows how to become the most finely tuned, most perfectly fashioned and complex machine in the world.

Amazing !

Do you think I’m crazy ?.....I sometimes do.

[helvella in reply to Ryaan]

So high Ferritin means the Ferritin stored in your liver ?

Ferritin is tested by doing a blood test. What is measured is the amount of ferritin in your blood. It is just an indirect indicator of total iron. There are circumstances in which it can be misleading.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Ryaan]

Ryan, as indicated by Helvella, ferritin is one indicator of iron status - it is a protein that binds contains iron and is stored in cells.

The liver produces transferrin - another protein that combines with iron to produce ferritin if your body detects that iron levels are low.

Ferritin is generally a good indicator of iron status but doesn't tell the whole story as it isn't a director measure of iron status. There have been a few infamous cases where it has been used as a sole indicator and iron supplements have been prescribed resulting in iron toxicity.

[joe123456 in reply to Gambit62]

my ferritin is 700 and shud never be more the 400. my iron is down to 31 and shud be at least 45. If my liver would release the ferritin like its suppose to when iron is low then I would't have low iron. but it won't release it and there is no way to make it release it. I can't get a transfusion cause it's already to high. so i'm stuck with low iron. there is one way to lower it and it's by giving blood, but then the iron will go down even lower to. so that's not a good idea.

[Essence49]

Have you been checked for B12 deficiency? Have they did a liver function test?