Donating blood having been stubbornly low on ferritin but now persistently over range

[Noelnoel]

Since taking too high a dose of iron for a period of time a few years ago my ferritin has been quite a bit over range. Previously it was longterm stubbornly low. All my life in fact. After stopping iron it began to lower slowly but has since remained static and too high. I also always have slightly raised copper and zinc although this time copper is low normal

I know raised ferritin can cause all sorts of problems and worried it will worsen an already troubled liver so I’m considering donating blood as a way of lowering it because I’ve had raised liver enzymes of an unknown origin for years, long before having over range ferritin and have had all sorts of investigations but told I have a completely normal looking liver and no longer being checked

My husband used to donate blood annually without realising he had low ferritin which didn’t seem to be noticed by those taking his blood. It ended up so low he had an iron infusion

Any advice appreciated on similar experiences of donating blood for high ferritin. I don’t have true haemochromatosis

Thanks

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

hi Noelnoel i think you need to crop your name out of your image 🌱

[GlowCoach Administrator]

I've removed the image as it showed your name. It was also illegible so reposting in comments would be a good idea once you've covered any personal information.

[Noelnoel in reply to GlowCoach]

Thank you Jaydee, I hadn’t noticed that my details were printed in the middle of the report as well as the top

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Yes, I nagged my sister to go and give blood having seen her have a couple of raised ferritin results and the GP wasn't interested, there wasn't any problem though it still didn't bring her into range

I continued to nag her to get a full iron panel and when her GP finally conceded it turns out she has haemochromatosis and is now getting proper monitoring and regular blood draws, she had previously been a regular blood donor before becoming Hypo

Apparently not uncommon for women to find out after menopause, though she is the only one in the family 🤷‍♀️

[Noelnoel in reply to TiggerMe]

TiggerMe, that’s interesting and now you mention it I think I’ve read that before but had forgotten it can occur in menopause. I had a relatively early menopause at 41 and am now 65, I wonder if it applies to post menopausal women

Regardless, it helps to have had the reminder

Thank you

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Noelnoel]

I assume the lack of regular blood loss compounds the issue... forgot to say take a look at L-glutathione reduced as the natural antioxidant it has sorted out my dodgy liver results, I'm pre-disposed to not produce enough apparently (DNA result) but as we age we all produce less

[Noelnoel in reply to TiggerMe]

Have been rotating L glutathione with NAC and TUDCA. A bit apprehensive to test liver enzymes in case it hasn’t worked, in which case I won’t know what to do next

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Noelnoel]

🤞 You're doing all the right things, I bet you have a very happy liver 🤗

[Noelnoel in reply to TiggerMe]

I really hope so

Forgot to clarify, you’re predisposed to not produce enough of what?

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Noelnoel]

L-glutathione, I've had 2 in range liver results since 😁

[HowNowWhatNow in reply to TiggerMe]

Well done you

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to HowNowWhatNow]

Once you know about these issues it makes you want to get a big bell and hail everyone to properly look at any blood test results they have, so many people say 'Oh it's all jibberish to me but the GP says it's "Normal"..... arghhhh 😖

Met a lady whilst out walking the dogs (well you don't meet many bulldogs) and randomly Hypo issues came up... "I've been on levo for years but never felt well" sent her off with load of info and dropped a book round to her.... she was shocked and fast enlightened, even though she said she didn't 'do' the internet by the time I dropped the book round she had fired up her ipad and was watching a Dr Myhill interview!

[HowNowWhatNow in reply to TiggerMe]

I couldn’t agree more.

My aunt has been overweight for 30 years, but never sought medical help / advice about it. She was diagnosed as being hypo on retirement but is still on a starter dose of thyroxine, without ever having had a follow up review. Despite my best efforts, she doesn’t go back to the doctor to ask about her blood test levels now. Sigh.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to HowNowWhatNow]

😟 certainly many of the old generation don't like to question their care, my parents were the same

[LostinHeadSpace]

Hi Noelnoel,

I rarely get the time to post, but I’ve been having high ferritin, probably only since menopause, but we didn’t test before then. I was expecting to find low ferritin as a cause of fatigue, but (unfairly!) high ferritin can also cause fatigue. Mine was in the mid-400s until I started donating blood, and now it’s down to the 250 range.

At first the hematologist was completely unworried, and said hemachromatosis only counts if the ferritin is like 1000. He did gene testing, and I have one of the markers, when it takes two to count as true hemochromatosis. He seemed a bit too unworried about the damage that high ferritin could do, but promised to look at the research for other unusual gene combinations that might result in an unusual case…so that’s where we stand now. I’ve been intending to donate twice as much to try to get my ferritin lower, but haven’t managed to yet.

Hope this helps a bit!

Lost

[Noelnoel in reply to LostinHeadSpace]

Thank you LostinHeadSpace, it does indeed help

It’s good to know you’ve had a degree of success by donating blood. Has it improved your fatigue. Luckily, I don’t have fatigue

I suppose it were true haemochromatosis your levels would rise again. Has it affected your iron panel markers. I presume he’s monitoring you

Did he suggest donating or was it your idea

No hurry to reply but do try to make time to donate more frequently. Even if there’s only a small chance of damage, you don’t want that risk

[LostinHeadSpace in reply to Noelnoel]

Yes, it definitely worked to cut the numbers. But one is only allowed to donate every 8 weeks. It was his idea, as it's the normal treatment? His office also can drain the blood and throw it away, which is sorely tempting because I have terrible, tiny veins, and the donating needle is large--but donated blood is needed. I'm a bit bothered that he doesn't care if the ferritin is even close to in range.

[Noelnoel in reply to LostinHeadSpace]

A bit negligent then. Strange

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to LostinHeadSpace]

Interesting as my sister was diagnosed with her ferritin around 770 though her iron serum was above range when they finally tested and now they plan to get her ferritin down to 50

[HowNowWhatNow]

(sorry that this doesn’t answer your question, it is to define your terms) - what would you consider to be low or high ferritin levels?

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to HowNowWhatNow]

NHS suggest 10-300ng/ml or many of the private tests use 10-150ug/L

[HowNowWhatNow in reply to TiggerMe]

Thanks.

People here often say 50 and over is a better marker for (better than low) ferritin. 10 or less is exceedingly low! Mine has been 2 and 3 before, and no-one should get to that!

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to HowNowWhatNow]

Oh yes, yet again the ranges are too wide but you won't get any assistance within these ranges 😕

[Noelnoel in reply to HowNowWhatNow]

The trouble is, definitions vary, even between NHS trusts, so Al has helpfully given an overview, stating:

Normal ferritin levels vary by age and gender. For example, the normal range for adults assigned male at birth is 24–336 nanograms per milliliter, while the normal range for adults assigned female at birth is 24–307 nanograms per milliliter. A serum ferritin level of <30 micrograms/L is considered a reliable indicator of iron deficiency

I’ve read through a few of the definitions, as well as NHS trusts and I’m confident the AI overview captures the essence

[Noelnoel in reply to Noelnoel]

AI says:

The normal range for blood ferritin levels varies by gender and age:

Men: 30–400 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) or 24–336 micrograms per liter (µg/L)

Women: 13–150 ng/mL or 11–307 µg/L

Children: 25–200 ng/m

[RachelP03]

Hello, I’m afraid to say that I can still see your name on the photo if you click into it. However, I have a couple of observations to add…

1) Your Vit D could be higher

2) Your B12 is also quite low and NICE guidelines may even conclude it’s in the indeterminate range for a deficiency

3) High Ferritin isn’t necessarily from too much iron/iron stores although your history of high supplementation may support that it is. High ferritin can also be caused by inflammation or infection in the body. Did you have CRP tested? What are your other iron markers like?

[Noelnoel in reply to RachelP03]

Thank you Rachel

I stopped taking a b complex months ago to see how low my B12 goes. Having taken it for years and seen my levels soar I came to the conclusion that it’s not a good idea to supplement without first knowing why one’s levels are low

Will continue with experiment and then do various tests to try to determine cause

As for Vit D, I’m continuing with 1,000iu daily throughout the summer and will test again along with B12 etc, in October

Have CRP tested regularly and always low

Thank you for your helpful observations

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Name still visible

[Noelnoel in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you but how odd, it looks deleted in the photo

Which photo, zinc/copper or ferritin

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Noelnoel]

If you open it your name appears top and bottom

[klr31]

I had low ferritin pre-menopause which has now gone high post-menopause. I don't think I could donate blood as I have M.E, as well as Hashimoto's. Any other ideas to lower it?

Karen

[Noelnoel in reply to klr31]

I used to grate fresh turmeric and ginger, bring to a slow boil in a good quantity of water then simmer for a bit and drink throughout the day. For one reason or another I stopped but have resumed since reading it blocks the absorption of iron

I now hurl a teaspoon of the powdered variety into my daily smoothie. I’ll know at next test in October if it’s had any impact but it may explain why in the past I had trouble raising my ferritin. Still considering donating though, as a quick fix

Click on the link to read the full report but this is part of what it says:

Turmeric is among the spices known to inhibit iron absorption by 20%-90% in humans, reducing iron absorption in a dose-dependent manner [10]. The stoichiometric qualities of turmeric indicate it could bind nearly all absorbable iron and cause iron deficiency, and it does so in mice [3].

Conclusion

Turmeric supplementation is increasingly common. Humans presenting with iron deficiency anemia should be queried about supplement use. The ability of turmeric to absorb intestinal iron may lead to it being useful in states of iron overload, such as hemochromatosis, or hemolytic anemias, such as sickle cell disease

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

[klr31 in reply to Noelnoel]

Thank you.

[Noelnoel]

I used to grate fresh turmeric and ginger, bring to a slow boil in a good quantity of water then simmer for a bit and drink throughout the day. For one reason or another I stopped but have resumed since reading it blocks the absorption of iron

I now hurl a teaspoon of the powdered variety into my daily smoothie. I’ll know at next test in October if it’s had any impact but it may explain why in the past I had trouble raising my ferritin Still considering donating though, as a quick fix

Clink on the link to read the full report but this is part of what it says:

Turmeric is among the spices known to inhibit iron absorption by 20%-90% in humans, reducing iron absorption in a dose-dependent manner [10]. The stoichiometric qualities of turmeric indicate it could bind nearly all absorbable iron and cause iron deficiency, and it does so in mice [3].

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