High Iron Levels

swhiddon33 · August 2016

Good morning! I need some guidance, if you can.

I had my 1-hour glucose test this morning (sooooo not a big deal IMO, for you other FTMs out there, FYI). Afterwards when my blood was drawn, my iron read at 16.4. Though the nurses didn't seem too worried, one did comment on how high that is. I've always had very good iron levels in my history and today's was just at "overachiever" status. After the visit, I did some Googling and learned that there IS a such thing as "too high" and that it could lead to other issues....

Anyone have any experience with this type of result? Thanks

LinziLoo09 · August 2016

I don't have any experience with that, but it sounds like the nurses at least weren't worried. I'd bring it up at your next appointment or if they call with other test results just to be safe. Otherwise, try not to worry until they give you something to worry about

Lisa3379 · August 2016

Interesting, my iron levels are too low! I would maybe contact your Dr's office, at least talk with a nurse, to see if there's something you can do (or need to do) to bring it down.

DiFazette · August 2016

Was this a hemoglobin test? They are normally indicative of low iron (which is common in pregnancy) so that's what they may have been checking for. A true iron test (if I'm recalling correctly) is not measured in this fashion. I'm wondering if they're inferring Iron from hemoglobin counts.

swhiddon33 · August 2016

@DiFazette now that's a good question. I have no idea! The lady who drew my blood said "while I'm getting the vials for the glucose test I'll also grab some for the iron levels so they won't prick your finger." Then a separate nurse did the actual testing of that sample and said "Woo girl your iron is high!" And she asked someone ELSE was 16.4 an issue. THAT person said "do you have iron in your prenatals? (Yes) and do you smoke? (No)." Nurse 1 then said "Well better high than low I guess." To which I asked if I was ok and she said Yep and then sent me to check out.

???

DiFazette · August 2016

Calling in the big guns @R0824H. This is your field if memory serves me correctly, yes? Otherwise.... Sorry for the disruption

DiFazette · August 2016

Oh and FWIW - I think most nurses are rock stars but some are idiots and run their mouth for no reason. One mentioned to me that my babies leg bones were small (normal small) and they'd be small in stature. Got the report and they measured right on track with my EDD and every other measurement. Sometimes they say dumb stuff and get us worried for no reason.

swhiddon33 · August 2016

@DiFazette WELL THAT WAS AWFULLY NICE OF THEM. *maaaassive eye roll*

swhiddon33 · August 2016

@DiFazette Looks like you were on the right track. My doc got back to me with this response (for anyone interested):

The finger stick hemoglobins we do in our office sometimes suggest that your hemoglobin is higher then it actually is. If it is still elevated at your next visit, we can do a venous blood draw/blood test to confirm what it actually is. I would not worry too much at this point.

This reassures me quite a bit. Thanks for your input!

sourlemon · August 2016

Late to the party due to crazy work day....but....

For all those initial pregnancy tests, my iron was "very very very high" and my Dr just said "that's even better than mine is, keep it up". I did not ask the number but he said mine was the highest he'd ever seen and had zero concerns. And I do not take iron but I do eat enriched "bad" grains. Give me all the lucky charms and white bread!

R0824H · August 2016

@DiFazette you remembered correctly!!! So based on a serum iron (I'm assuming this is the test they ran) a definitive diagnosis cannot be made alone on if you truly have an iron issue or not. High iron on a consistent basis could be indicative of hereditary hemochromatosis in which chromosome studies would need to be ordered or it could be involved with other issues such as Lead poisoning or a Sideroblastic anemia (in cases like that they would have noticed something call Pappenhiemer bodies in some of your RBCs on a peripheral blood smear (but that is if their machines parameters flagged for a manual differential to be done). Anything I've mentioned is not diagnosed based on serum ferritin alone, but uses a set of tests such as TIBC (total iron binding content), transferrin saturation and ferritin. I haven't done the conversion from the units used in the states to the ones in Canada but it doesn't seem like you have reason to worry with one high result.

swhiddon33 · August 2016

@sourlemon & @R0824H thank you so much!!! That's incredibly helpful info and I won't worry about it a bit unless they feel it necessary to run more tests.

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