High Transferrin saturation

Allergies, blood and immune system
1

Hi all, new here.

I had an unrelated private blood test recently and the transferrin saturation was 63.1%. I am pre-menopause.

I saw my GP this evening who told me transferrin saturation on its own was meaningless but I had to really push to get him to agree to test ferritin which I will have done later this week.

My other results (which I showed my GP) were:

WBC 4.0  (4.0 -10.0)

RBC 4.98  (3.8-4.8)**

Haemoglobin 150  (120-150)

HCT 0.45 (0.36-0.46)

MCV 89.0  (83-101)

RDW 14.1  (11.0-14.0)**

Neutrophils 1.93  (2.0-7.0)**

Reticulocytes 0.5 (0.5-2.5)

UIBC 18.9  (20-62)**

Iron 32.3  (6.0-34.5)

TIBC 51.2  (45-70)

My question to the knowledgeable peeps here - as far as I can see, these results are likely to indicate HH, liver problems (no tests done for this to date) or chronic inflammation (my CRP levels have only ever been between 1 and 6 over the last few years).

I didn’t really know anything about HH until this. 

 I have had two positive ANA tests and one negative over the last 18 months.

As you can  probably tell, I’ve been feeling unwell over the last few years with pain, fatigue, stomach issues, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

Can anyone point me in the right direction, please and how I should proceed with my GP?

Thanks in advance

2

One thing I remember patients often putting on forums is that TS above 45% for a woman and 50% for a man is likely to be haemochromatosis. Another thing to be aware of is that most GPs don’t know a great deal about haemochromatosis.

3

Thank you

4

Hi Fiona what was your ferritin level.

5

Hi Johan 

My ferritin was 15.....! So a weird result. My serum iron is much lower and the transferrin saturation is down to 33%.

I have been self-injecting with B12 every day since the original private blood tests and noting a heap of improvements but it seems a big change for just under two months. 

I had been supplementing with vit C in December and January but I didn’t know it could have that much of an effect?

Looks like I don’t have Haemochromatosis?

6

Hi Fiona

Yes I had a suspicion you do not have haemochromatosis

Thx for the reply

7

No, you are not likely to have haemochromatosis unless you are celiac which reduces your iron/ferritin level when left untreated.

Apart from your B12, also have your Vit D tested.  If deficient, look for a practitioner's brand of Vit D3 drops.  A deficiency in Vit D and B12 can cause a lot of problems.

Good luck with it.