Is Slow Release FE Recommended When There Are Elevated Levels Of Total Bilirubin, Alkaline Phosphatase, And AST?

Posted on Tue, 23 May 2023

Question: My husband has very high levels of all the indicators of liver damage, has been dioagnosed with colon cancer. He is also "anemic", but I'm wondering if taking the Slow Release FE that was recommended is actually not a good idea since the liver already has elevated levels of total bilirubin, alkaline phosphalase, and AST

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (33 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Need to know the type of anemia

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

I am sorry that he is having so much illness. It is true that too much iron is not good for the liver. However, if he has iron deficiency anemia then he will need to take it to treat his anemia.

In this case it would not be too much and should not further damage the liver. Make sure that his doctors have checked his iron levels and that they are truly low.

We need iron to make hemoglobin to carry oxygen in our red blood cells. Normal amounts of iron are not toxic to the liver but too much can be a problem.

Hope I have answered your query.

Thank you.

Regards,
Dr. Kathy Robinson
General & Family Physician

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar