Is high Ferritin something to be concerned about?

[Jorah]

Hello There
I know that ferritin can be high with Hep C. Does it go down after treatment? Does it need to be treated and how?  Mine is 301 with the upper limit being 250 almost 12 weeks after treatment.(no change) I hope its not a sign that Hep is still active....

Thank you 

[Lynn K]

My doctor does not test my ferritin levels.

High iron can harm the liver so people like me with cirrhosis are advised against taking iron supplements.

Here is a link to an old discussion from the forum you may find interesting

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Elevated-Ferritin-Levels/show/1230231

Increased ferritin is not directly caused by hep c but rather by the injury done to the liver is what I am reading.

I good test to get an idea about the status of your hep c status would be liver enzymes ALR and AST if those are elevated that could be a cause for concern. I relapsed after taking Sovaldi and Olysio and becoming not detected on treatment and having my ALT and AST go into normal range. But 12 weeks after treatment ended I received my liver enzyme test result first and they had again risen above normal a few days later I received my HCV RNA test which showed I again has a viral load of 2.4 million.

Anyway I suggest you look at your ALT and AST tests but as far as ferritin it may just take time for that to return to normal. Do you know what your ferritin levels were in the past? Do you take anything with iron supplements like an iron fortified food or vitamins? I would avoid that for now. Also the best person to ask about your slightly elevated iron would be your doctor. A lot of things can cause elevated iron levels.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ferritin-test/details/results/rsc-20271960

The normal range for blood ferritin is:

For men, 20 to 500 nanograms per milliliter
For women, 20 to 200 nanograms per milliliter

Higher than normal results

A higher than normal ferritin level can be caused by:

Hemochromatosis — A condition that causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat
Porphyria — A group of disorders caused by an enzyme deficiency that affects your nervous system and skin
Rheumatoid arthritis or another chronic inflammatory disorder
Liver disease
Hyperthyroidism
Leukemia
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Multiple blood transfusions
Alcohol abuse
If your ferritin level is above normal, your doctor may need to evaluate the results along with those of other tests to determine next steps.

For specifics about what your ferritin test results mean, talk to your doctor.

[Jorah]

My doctor does not test my ferritin levels.

High iron can harm the liver so people like me with cirrhosis are advised against taking iron supplements.

Here is a link to an old discussion from the forum you may find interesting

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Elevated-Ferritin-Levels/show/1230231

Increased ferritin is not directly caused by hep c but rather by the injury done to the liver is what I am reading.

I good test to get an idea about the status of your hep c status would be liver enzymes ALR and AST if those are elevated that could be a cause for concern. I relapsed after taking Sovaldi and Olysio and becoming not detected on treatment and having my ALT and AST go into normal range. But 12 weeks after treatment ended I received my liver enzyme test result first and they had again risen above normal a few days later I received my HCV RNA test which showed I again has a viral load of 2.4 million.

Anyway I suggest you look at your ALT and AST tests but as far as ferritin it may just take time for that to return to normal. Do you know what your ferritin levels were in the past? Do you take anything with iron supplements like an iron fortified food or vitamins? I would avoid that for now. Also the best person to ask about your slightly elevated iron would be your doctor. A lot of things can cause elevated iron levels.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ferritin-test/details/results/rsc-20271960

The normal range for blood ferritin is:

For men, 20 to 500 nanograms per milliliter
For women, 20 to 200 nanograms per milliliter

Higher than normal results

A higher than normal ferritin level can be caused by:

Hemochromatosis — A condition that causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat
Porphyria — A group of disorders caused by an enzyme deficiency that affects your nervous system and skin
Rheumatoid arthritis or another chronic inflammatory disorder
Liver disease
Hyperthyroidism
Leukemia
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Multiple blood transfusions
Alcohol abuse
If your ferritin level is above normal, your doctor may need to evaluate the results along with those of other tests to determine next steps.

For specifics about what your ferritin test results mean, talk to your doctor.

Thanks Lynn, I still have to read the links but the Alt/Alt are still down normal (much higher before) so I'm happy with those numbers so far. (although you can have cirrhosis and normal alt/ast) 
I just don't remember what the Doc said about the ferritin, I know I don't have Hemochromatosis, I would've remembered. Maybe it takes a long time to go down...I take no vitamins or anything with Iron and was told to stay away from cast iron pans.

[Lynn K]

Yup I have normal liver enzymes now but long standing cirrhosis.

Enzymes are elevated because the liver was under constant attack from hep c. Now with my hep c cured my liver is no longer under attack so liver enzymes ate normal but the damage of 37 years of infection has been done.

Good luck

[Mugwump]

Some doctors successfully used phlebotomy for the purpose of iron reduction at one time with HCV patients but only if there were no signs of cirrhosis or compromise of the spleen. However it was only recommended for men that were having serious cardiac issues with a very high iron load. A higher than normal iron load for me was one of the first indications that HCV was eating my liver and lead to me being tested for HCV in 1993 when my doctor was considering draining the swamp so to speak..

Your iron level in the blood should even out over time but it can take a while after the damage to the liver finally stops. Mine is finally down to a fairly normal level for my age and weight.

Better a tiny amount of iron from a fry pan than the crap they put in some non stick pans IMO!! If you properly season an iron or steel grill and don't let it rust or wash and scrub constantly with abrasives the amount of iron a high quality pan that is properly maintained will leach into food is almost zero. There is much more free iron in foods like tree nuts and red meats than what you will ever ingest from a decent cast iron fry pan.

[Jorah]

Thanks for the reply..those ironcast pans weight a ton LOL, I think its 10 or 12 incher I have to use 2 hands to grab it...good to hear yours has come down ..hopefully maybe mine will too