What's the Maximum Iron overload one can one live on?

Just curious!

I want to know what is the maximum Iron overload level (Serum ferritin etc) that is considered fatal?

Sajid,

I have never come across any such number, but I have heard doctors say that anything above 15,000 is absolutely critical and anything above 10,000 needs immediate action. As this is a sample measure of how much iron there is in the blood stream, one could say that it is highly probable the organ damage starts to happen at these levels. However, it is possible, though not probable, that ferritin levels could be high for some one without having caused damage to the body organs.


Poirot

 I think the SF also shows a higher reading with the Hep C virus.. isnt it?

shikha

I think the SF also shows a higher reading with the Hep C virus.. isnt it?
shikha

That is correct, Shikha. Any infection does raise the SF count.

Poirot

As mentioned above there are quite a few variables in the SF level, but I have seen a boy with Iron level of 17500 before his Successful Bone Marrow Transplant and now is near the 2500 range.

-Narendra

Hello all

I was just reading this post about how high ones ferritin has to be to be fatal...Well it doesnt really matter how high your ferritin is because if you have iron in the heart its damaged already despite how high your ferritin is...

Also I would like to add that  Hep C if its not active doesnt really make your ferritin level higher than it is..Cause I have Hep C and its dormant and my ferritin now is in the low hundreds...

Another thing that boy with a ferritin level of 17500 is one lucky boy to have had a successful bone marrow transplant...I take my hat off to him for being able to have it done wherever he is...


Regards
Smurfette

Another thing that boy with a ferritin level of 17500 is one lucky boy to have had a successful bone marrow transplant...I take my hat off to him for being able to have it done wherever he is...

Yes, that is quite a risk and this was his second Bone Marrow Transplant. The first one failed as that was during the trials for Bone Marrow and was done on a low dose then recommended, but I was so happy when i met him. His BMT was done in Vellore, Tamilnadu, India with one of the best doctor's for BMT in India. For more information on this case follow the link -
http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriends.com/index.php?topic=119.0

-Narendra

well I had  typhoid a few years ago it was life n death situation at that time and my doctor told me that my SF was 25000 somehow I survived and now it is down to 5000

My highest count of ferritin is 9200.

Mine was more than 30,000 about 2/3 years ago, last few months I checked it was around 11,000 or more (if I'm not mistaken). I don't know how I can survive, but I live ... somehow 
I know I need to get those ferritin down the faster the better, but after 2/3 years the desferal theraphy is still a very hard thing to do for me. I'm considering combining it with oral meds now, but still have to consult it to a doctor, which is hard bcoz we don't have a hematologist where we come from, and most physician here have very little knowledge on thal, some even don't know at all