Table of Contents
What symptoms does high ferritin cause?
Symptoms of excess ferritin include:
- stomach pain.
- heart palpitations or chest pains.
- unexplained weakness.
- joint pain.
- unexplained fatigue.
What are the dangers of high ferritin levels?
High levels of ferritin can damage your joints, heart, liver, and pancreas. Too much iron is most often caused by an inherited disease called hemochromatosis. Many people with this disease never have any symptoms, especially women who lose iron through menstruation.
How do I get my ferritin levels down?
A complementary strategy that may help lower ferritin levels in people with hemochromatosis is following a diet lower in iron but high enough in nutritious foods. Fiber, green tea, and coffee might also lower iron absorption in people with iron overload.
What cancers cause elevated ferritin levels?
In addition to breast cancer, the serum ferritin level has also been found to be elevated in patients with lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma, and the level was closely associated with the prognosis.
What foods to avoid if you have high ferritin levels?
Other foods to consider avoiding include:
- Red meat. Most red meats, including beef, lamb, and venison, are a rich source of heme iron.
- Raw shellfish. Shellfish, such as mussels, oysters, and clams, sometimes contain Vibrio vulnificus bacteria.
- Vitamin C.
- Fortified foods.
- Alcohol.
What is the treatment for high ferritin levels?
If a patient has an elevated ferritin level and is not a typical C282Y homozygote, the treatment options include observation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), liver biopsy, empirical phlebotomy, or voluntary blood donation.
What cancers cause high ferritin levels?
What liver disease causes high ferritin levels?
Hemochromatosis is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States. It is an inherited condition in which the body absorbs and stores too much iron. The extra iron builds up in several organs, especially the liver, and can cause serious damage.
Should I be worried about high ferritin levels?
If a ferritin test shows higher than normal levels, it could indicate that you have a condition that causes your body to store too much iron. It could also point to liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory conditions or hyperthyroidism.
How do you treat high ferritin?