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Hemochromatosis

High iron serum

05/05/2008

Question:

I am a 40 years old female, I recently had some blood work done and everything was great except for low Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and high iron serum. While low LDH doesn`t seem to be serious, I worry about the high iron level. Can a high iron level be caused by estrogen preparation (I am taking natural estrogen)? Or by high doses of vitamin C? I could certainly reduce the vitamin C content of my multivitamins, but if I have to continue with my hormone therapy, what could I do to bring the iron level down?

Answer:

I would suggest that you reduce your vitamin C intake as that increases iron absorption. I would also suggest that you have a repeat serum iron done at the same time as you get a total iron binding capacity and a ferritin level drawn to better assess what your total iron stores are and whether or not you need genetic testing.

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Response by:

Mark Wurster, MD Mark Wurster, MD
Former Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University