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What Causes Raised Ferritin Levels In The Blood?
Question: Hi my ferritin level is 555, I am female. I take ferrous sulfate. 2x a day. What would be the treatment, is it as easy as stopping the iron? I don’t plan to go off. I’m nervous because I won’t here from my doctor until Tues
Brief Answer:
iron overload is one cause
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron
Ferritin levels can range 11- 306 ng/ml in women, this may vary slightly from lab to lab.
Your increased ferritin levels themselves are not going to harm you but are an indicator of a problem.
Iron overload can cause increased ferritin and since you are are iron supplements, this may be the cause. Stopping the supplement would help.
Some of the other causes of increased ferritin are--(1)liver disease
(2)infection
(3)Alcoholism
(4)hyperthyroidism (high thyroid hormone levels)
(5)end stage kidney disease
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
iron overload is one cause
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron
Ferritin levels can range 11- 306 ng/ml in women, this may vary slightly from lab to lab.
Your increased ferritin levels themselves are not going to harm you but are an indicator of a problem.
Iron overload can cause increased ferritin and since you are are iron supplements, this may be the cause. Stopping the supplement would help.
Some of the other causes of increased ferritin are--(1)liver disease
(2)infection
(3)Alcoholism
(4)hyperthyroidism (high thyroid hormone levels)
(5)end stage kidney disease
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I had several other blood work tests...vitamin levels, reg blood work, which all came out in normal ranges. If I was to have a liver problem, would it show up elsewhere? I know this is probably difficult to answer, not knowing what tests were performed.Oh I have also had2 years of UTI’s. Supposedly I am ok now
Brief Answer:
can show up in different areas
Detailed Answer:
HI
Liver disease can affect protein levels eg total protein, albumin. It can also affect clotting so blood tests such as PT, PTT would be abnormal as well.
Liver function tests though would generally include liver enzymes such as AST (SGOT), ALT (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin levels.
The fact that you are using iron supplements makes this the most likely reason for the increased ferritin
Please feel free to ask anything else
can show up in different areas
Detailed Answer:
HI
Liver disease can affect protein levels eg total protein, albumin. It can also affect clotting so blood tests such as PT, PTT would be abnormal as well.
Liver function tests though would generally include liver enzymes such as AST (SGOT), ALT (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin levels.
The fact that you are using iron supplements makes this the most likely reason for the increased ferritin
Please feel free to ask anything else
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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