I am a male aged 51. I recently had some blood work done in advance of a routine colonoscopy. When I showed up for my appointment my doctor discussed the results with me, noting that my ferritin level was 1112 ng/ml, while my other iron tests were normal ie iron - 94, TIBC - 267, % saturation - 35 and UIBC - 173.

I also had a complete blood count with diff-plt done and all results were within the normal range. He asked me to have the test repeated, but the result came back high the second time. He has now asked the lab to test c-reactive protein. My colonoscopy resulted in the removal of three polyps (tests have since proven negative with these) and a diagnosis of diverticulosis.

I am anxious now as to the cause of the extremely high ferritin level. I have one theory, and that is metabolic syndrome. I am on Lisinopril-HCTZ for high blood pressure. My cholesterol results have never been good, with LDL bad and HDL not great. Triglycerides are unknown. I have abdominal fat that I have never been able to get rid of in many years, despite trying. I am not fat anywhere else apart from a bloated abdomen.

My work involves long hours, stress, a lot of traveling and eating in restaurants and I do not sleep well. My relationship with my girlfriend is not good and I may have to move out soon. Taken together, I am not surprised that my health is suffering. Any thoughts?

Very high ferritin suggests you are possibly getting too much iron in your food/vitamins.

OR....you should be tested for hemochromatosis.
http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrar...ull/111/7/3373

If you are of Irish ancestry? 1 in 3 carry the gene for this disorder.

Thanks for the reply. I am of Scottish descent, but my iron levels are normal, only the ferritin levels are high. From what I have read this means inflammation or infection of some kind. I have no symptoms of infection. Also I do not take iron supplements.

This article explains further:
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=c...in&hl=en&gl=us

Thankyou. I had read this article already online, but it seems that an extremely high ferritin level is one of these things where the diagnosis might take several tests to come to a conclusion. I am awaiting the results of c-reactive protein. If it is also high I guess more testing will follow.

A "heavy middle" is indicative of high cortisol - which is not done with routine blood tests. You should get serum cortisol and a 24 hour cortisol (urine) done to see what your cortisol levels are. ACTH is also another test (ACTH is what the pituitary secretes to tell the adrenals to release cortisol). Look up Cushing's syndrome.

Are you taking any steroids - prednisone, inhalers, etc?

I know all about Hemochromatosis. I had an aunt die from the ramifications of it. I have the opposite problem. While her liver held onto iron, mine thinks that i don't need any. It is just as scary and can kill you faster than the other.

Don't know your work or environmental history, but consider a blood lead level? High iron is an indicator of subtle lead poisoning. Don't know about normal serum iron with high ferritin.

I learned this the hard way.

Cushing's in men is the same as women - oddly, testosterone is said to go low in most cushies, not high but there are exceptions and I was one. I also had low cholerestol, normal glucose and low triglicerides but I had a red face, round belly, purple stretch marks and could not heal for nothing. Bye bye immune system.

I have a bud who used to have Cushing's that I can put you in touch with if you want to talk to a man with hormonal issues. He had the belly, striae, fatigue, etc. He would post a lot of pics. I think he would talk to you. I am still in touch with him and his wife.

I'm glad you are going to continue to pursue the high ferritin. You can still have too much iron even though your other labs are normal. There are also other things to rule out and a hematologist sounds like a good ideas to cover all bases now and not wait.

Metabolic syndrome can also be a result of too much iron being stored in the organs. Metabolic syndrome is a symptom of something else going wrong. Like I stated before, iron, when you have too much gets stored in your pancreas, thyroid, liver, heart, bone marrow, pituitary and causes many problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, hormone insufficiencies and more.

IMO, giving blood has many benefits....it reduces your iron and gives life to others. And your doc can monitor your progress closely. The Iron Overload organization is a good resource to check out if you get a chance.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Marlene