Extremely high ferritin levels
 

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?

Thanks. No, I am not taking any steroids. The only meds I take are the ones for hypertension - Lisinopril-HCTZ. I will check out Cushing's Syndrome. High cortisol wouldn't surprise me. I am constantly under stress for one thing or another.

The crazy thing about iron overload is that it can/will cause inflammation. And also depletes vitamin C and other anti-oxidants. So I wouldn't be surprised if your CRP come back high. The best low-tech approach would be to start donating blood to reduce your iron stores. Giving blood is a healthy thing to do for men and post-menopausal women as long as they have enough to give. You just need to monitor your blood counts and FE. You can be very aggressive and do it weekly with close monitoring by your doc.

My husband has both....iron overload and high CRP. And since FE is an acute phase reactant, just about anything will cause it to spike when FE is already elevated.

Excess iron gets stored or deposited into other organs. This will not be picked up by blood tests. There are some places that can do a special MRI of the liver to detect excess iron deposits. The pancreas and heart are usually effected first.

You may want to check out www.ironoverload.org

Marlene

My cousins with hemochromosis had to get liver biopsies. It runs in my family as well.

The Cushing's is not caused by stress - it will make the body be under stress but the source will be a tiny tumor somewhere. Mine was in the pituitary.

My results came back and my CRP is normal. Ferritin, of course, is still high. My other iron tests are also normal.