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high hematocrit or hemoglobin?

amyli08amyli08 member
in 2nd Trimester
Hi there! I'm concerned about having a high hematocrit or hemoglobin due to iron supplements. While I'm asking to have it tested at my appointment this Wednesday, I wonder if any of you have this diagnosis and what your doctor says about it? Thanks!
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Re: high hematocrit or hemoglobin?

  • klkonwiklkonwi member
    Hgb being high is a great thing. It means you have plenty of iron stores. Your hematocrit can be falsely elevated during dehydration. Drink more water.
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  • aliciaspinnetaliciaspinnet member
    klkonwi said:

    Hgb being high is a great thing. It means you have plenty of iron stores. Your hematocrit can be falsely elevated during dehydration. Drink more water.

    Hb being too high (polycythemia) is not necessarily a good thing. But it's not generally caused by iron supplements unless there's something else going on. I don't know why the OP is worried about this in particular but they need to talk to their doctor.
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  • amyli08amyli08 member
    Hi, I'm the OP. I'm concerned because I've been taking about 70 mg of iron a day since before pregnancy until just last week when it dawned on me this might be a bad thing. I was previously diagnosed as anemic , but that was a few years ago and I've just been taking those supplements since. I'll ask my doctor tomorrow but all the reading I've done about high iron stores aren't exactly encouraging. My supplement intake has been overlooked until now. Wondering if anyone had dealt with something similar. Also, I'm a worry wort.
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  • SaratiffSaratiff member
    Have you had blood tests done since taking the iron supplement? If you have been within normal limits I would not worry so much. Always make sure you tell your Doctors what medications and over the counters you are taking. It is extremely important aka I take an iron every day ect ect. Tell your doctor they may run a CBC just to make sure.
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  • aliciaspinnetaliciaspinnet member
    By the way, iron overload is not the same thing as a high haematocrit, and a CBC will not diagnose iron overload - you need to check iron studies (ferritin, transferrin sats) for that. If you have no personal history or family history of haemochromatosis (genetic disorder where your body accumulates too much iron, most common in Irish people), and you haven't been getting frequent blood transfusions then it's unlikely you have iron overload. But you need to talk to your doctor about it, don't take medical advice from Internet strangers.
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