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High Ferritin Levels: How can I lower my levels?

Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Oct 31 7:41am | Replies (16)
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@lamorderd

I don't know what to do, my ferritin level has been between 1000 and 600 consistently over the past 1 and 1/2 years. Don't know why. My doctor does not seem to care. How do I reduce the level on my own?

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Replies to "I don't know what to do, my ferritin level has been between 1000 and 600 consistently..."
alive | @alive | Nov 17, 2023

I had to get phlebotomies to lower my ferritin levels. My levels were high because of the number of transfusions I had during my AML treatment.

If you are allowed to donate blood, that would lower you ferritin levels. I’m not allowed to donate because I had AML.

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Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Nov 17, 2023

Welcome to Connect, @lamorderd. Ferritin levels in the blood reflect amount of iron stored in the body. Too little or too much iron can have downsides to our overall health.

Your levels have been 600-1000 which are outside the range of 24-336 men/11-307 women (micrograms per liter) (These numbers can vary depending on the parameters of the testing lab) From my understanding, long term excessive iron in the body can represent a risk because it can be deposited in the organs (heart, liver, testicles) and joints, leading to more serious problems. High ferritin levels can also associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Here are a couple of articles you might find helpful to learn more about high ferritin levels.
https://www.healthline.com/health/ferritin
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/17820-ferritin-test
It’s understandable to feel some concern over your elevated numbers. Any time we see numbers flagged on a blood test we feel a bit anxious. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything is amiss. Doctors tend to look for trends with blood results. When you mentioned your numbers were between 600 and 1000 the past 1.5 years, has it steadily gone up? Or was it 1000 and now dropping to 600? Do you take any iron supplements?

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