Need Some Help On Finding Out My Iron Levels

Mito

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Dec 10, 2016
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@Mito, are you familiar with Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity (UIBC)?
This one is included with my latest iron panel.

“Usually about one third of the transferrin is being used to transport iron. Because of this, your blood serum has considerable extra iron-binding capacity, which is the Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity (UIBC). The TIBC is the total iron binding capacity; it equals UIBC plus the serum iron measurement.”
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Tests to Determine Iron Levels
 

dbh25

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Jul 29, 2016
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Thanks Mito, that is good info. Just waiting for the test results.
 

bluewren

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Nov 21, 2013
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Just grabbed the form from the Docs now and he’s actually wrote ‘Iron Studies’ as well as ‘Ferritin’ ..

What does ‘Iron Studies’ consist of? In the Uk btw, wales specifically ..
In Australia, “Iron Studies” is the same as an “Iron Panel”
 
OP
S

Steve123

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Aug 2, 2017
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Blood results are back, doc noted all as normal and it seems everything is good! Does this mean I 100% do not have hemochromotosis? In the Uk btw! Wales :

Ferritin 230: ( Uk normal range is 41 - 300)

Serum iron: 19

Serum Transferrin: 2.4

Transferrin Saturation: 31.5%
 

Arnulf

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Feb 22, 2018
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I have a question! Is it possible to have an elevated ferriting (in the 400's) due to inflammation or oxidative stress, while CRP being low? I had a ferritin in the 400's and decided to donate blood to lower it. But by the time I was about to donate blood it had already dropped 100 points. All the time while CRP being low. I can't imagine suddenly losing 100 points worth of stored iron just like that without even donating blood, so I suppose it must have been some kind of inflammatory issue and not an iron storage issue. However by CRP was LOW. Anyway, I won't hijack the thread, it's really just a yes/question :) (Even though the answer might not be that simple).
 

Lurker

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Jul 11, 2017
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Steve, your results don’t look bad. You may want to consider donating blood anyway as iron accumulates with aging. Ideally ferritin would be closer to the lower end of the scale around 50.

Here is a good article on iron:
RACGP - Elevated serum ferritin – what should GPs know?
The most useful tests in the evaluation of iron overload due to HH [hereditary hemochromatosis] are transferrin saturation and serum ferritin.15 Transferrin saturation >45% is sensitive and fairly specific for diagnosing HH, with increasing specificity when the threshold is increased to >55%. Serum ferritin is most useful in monitoring venesection requirement and venesection response in patients already diagnosed with HH.

Serum ferritin
While low SF is a sensitive and specific indicator of low total body iron stores, elevated SF is sensitive but very nonspecific for iron overload. While a normal SF rules out iron overload, only 10% of cases of elevated SF are due to iron overload (Figure 1). Chronic alcohol consumption, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, malignancy, infection and inflammatory conditions explain 90% of causes of elevated SF.6,16
 

dbh25

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Jul 29, 2016
Messages
653
My ferritin came back at 52.
TIBC, 242. Min 250
UIBC, 104. Min 111
Iron, 138, in range
Saturation, 57. Max 55
Tibc Low, Uibc Low, Saturation High- has anyone seen this?
 

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