Iron Blood Work

Laura Becker

Hi Team- Hoping there is a doctor out there who might be able to help me.  I haven't been feeling great so my doc ordered some blood work to see what was going on. However, now he is on vacation and won't be back till next week but my results are in.  It shows that my total iron is 235 H when it should be between 40-175 and my % saturation is 53H when it should be between 15-50%. So my iron is high??? What does this mean? And should I be super concerned? I know this is personal and I am not one to always share, but I am nervous and trust this team.  Any knowledge regarding this would be very much appreciated.

robin sarner

What is ferritin? And hemoglobin and hemocrit?

steve Beyer

Laura...When you say "total iron", I'll assume that means serum iron. A few possibilities for this being elevated are(not an exclusive list): taking supplemental iron(are you?),or if the liver is dysfunctioning (did they check AST, ALT, GGT...which are liver enzymes and would be elevated if this were the case), or with a genetic condition called "hemochromatosis", which can be determined via a blood test if your doctor suspects that.

But frankly your iron levels are not very high(they're only a little above the norms), and serum iron especially will fluctuate a lot. Also, it's difficult IMO to get an accurate iron status without also measuring TIBC(total iron binding capacity) and Ferritin (probably the most reliable indicator of total body iron status, and thus if there really is an "iron overload" situation. Where these measured?

The most worrisome possibility would be the hemochromatosis which would show very high ferritin and very low TIBC, but I doubt very much you have this condition based on what you reported. If anything is "off", I would suspect it to be mild based on how mildly what you reported is high, but again, you really should have TIBC and ferritin checked to have the whole "iron picture" IMO.

Laura Becker

Thank you so much for responding! I have been so nervous all afternoon. I don't take iron supplements and I am a vegan,which is why I really expected it show low iron. He did not test AST ALT ect for liver, but maybe that is next? I don't drink alcohol, don't smoke and try to take very good care of myself.

So here are the numbers:
Total Iron- 235 H
Iron Binding Capacity- 447
% Saturation- 53 H
Ferritin- 27
Hemoglobin- 13.6
Hematocrit- 41.0

I did something stupid and Googled high iron- and basically it said its toxic ect ect ect. and started to freak. I should know better than to Google. it

steve Beyer

So this is a great example of needing to see the whole picture in order to come to a good conclusion. Yes, your total iron (serum iron) and % saturation is a bit high, but your TIBC (think your bodies ability or room to store iron), is good, but close to being high....your tissues have lots of room to store iron. And your ferritin (think the iron actually stored in the tissues), is border low....you don't have good tissue iron stores.

When you combine this with the fact that your hemoglobin (the iron in your red blood cells....needed to pick up and carry oxygen), is borderline low, I would give the following assessment: Your body is pulling iron out of your tissues (hence the total iron and % saturation being a bit high), in order to build up red blood cell production and raise hemoglobin levels. Because of this, your body tissue stores(ferritin) is border low, and hence the room to store iron(TIBC), an bit on the high side.

So ironically, I would say you probably NEED some iron supplementation. Which is consistent with 1. Being an endurance athlete 2. Being a vegan 3. Being a woman 4."haven't been feeling great"

Listen to your doctor, and what others on the board have to say, but that's my assessment, as far as the iron situation goes.

Laura Becker

Steve, 

THANK YOU for all the information!! How you explained it all makes total sense.  I feel better about the situation (and that I am not on Iron Overload...which after reading about it, seriously scared me). I can't thank you enough for taking the time to look at my numbers and give me your input.  I am seeing the doc next week and will let you know (but boy is he going to be impressed with how much I already know ).  THANKS AGAIN! I can sleep tonight now 

steve Beyer

Don't let the bed bugs bite

Laura Becker

Update!!!

Doc said very similar to what you said Steve! I am going to go on an iron supplement, as well as a b12 supplement!! 

THANK YOU again for your help and advice!