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Do Oral Contraceptive Pills Interfere With The Iron Test Results?
Question: I am a 33 year old female. I had some lab work done provided by my work insurance and would say I am a pretty healthy person. I am wondering if I should be concerned with the results of my iron test. The normal range according to the lab is 35-155 and mine came back a 189. All of the other things associated with it were all within the normal range. I currently am taking an oral contraceptive and have regular periods. Should I be concerned with this above average iron result?
Brief Answer:
Oral contraceptive interfering the iron test results as following...
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX XXXX,
I am happy to know that the last lab work you did resulted fine.
With regards to your iron level, which seems slightly elevated. As you are laso taking oral contraceptive (OC) although having normal periods, please take note that OC can affect the test by falsely increasing the iron levels.
You can repeat the testing after being off the contraceptive. However, I still think it is not a real problem in you as long as all other tests are within normal range.
Usually, we will look into the complete blood count and ferritin levels too before running into final conclusions. If your doctor did not find anything else unusual (on contrary they were all within normal range); then the slightly increased levels of iron are explained by taking OC.
Wish you'll be as healthy as you are now!
Dr.Albana
Oral contraceptive interfering the iron test results as following...
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX XXXX,
I am happy to know that the last lab work you did resulted fine.
With regards to your iron level, which seems slightly elevated. As you are laso taking oral contraceptive (OC) although having normal periods, please take note that OC can affect the test by falsely increasing the iron levels.
You can repeat the testing after being off the contraceptive. However, I still think it is not a real problem in you as long as all other tests are within normal range.
Usually, we will look into the complete blood count and ferritin levels too before running into final conclusions. If your doctor did not find anything else unusual (on contrary they were all within normal range); then the slightly increased levels of iron are explained by taking OC.
Wish you'll be as healthy as you are now!
Dr.Albana
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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