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Is iron pills bad for the liver????
I have hep c.. I have always had low iron over the years due to a heavy menstrual cycle. It is somewhat low again and I need to get it back up. I have heard that you should not overload your liver with iron but since mine is low can I take the iron pills without damaging my liver any futher? I am a Stage 1 - Grage 2. I do have a gasto doctor, but I have not made an appt to go see him yet. Thank you for any info you might have.
becki
becki
Dang, I saw the words but sure blew reading the sentence.
IF a persons iron is low it's fine to take iron, even if you have HCV. The only way you can know is to get an iron panel.
It is common that pre-menopausal women have low iron. If a doctor has checked Peaches.... the OP and prescribed iron in the past it is probably fine. To the best of my knowledge only when you have iron overload does excess iron become a problem.
Sorry that I misread the sentence..... or fabricated my own. : )
The principal is correct though. : )
Willy
IF a persons iron is low it's fine to take iron, even if you have HCV. The only way you can know is to get an iron panel.
It is common that pre-menopausal women have low iron. If a doctor has checked Peaches.... the OP and prescribed iron in the past it is probably fine. To the best of my knowledge only when you have iron overload does excess iron become a problem.
Sorry that I misread the sentence..... or fabricated my own. : )
The principal is correct though. : )
Willy
Hi Becki...As Trish has mentioned . possibly best to talks to the gasto before you supplement..Your level right now is still in the normal range(11- 33) so if you are seeing him in only 2 weeks anyway...maybe best to hang on and get his/her direction on it.
Good to see you on the forum...hope all is well with you !
Will
Hi, I am so sorry if I confused anyone, I didn't explain as well as I should have. First, I have always had problems with low iron since I was 17yrs, do to heavy menstrual cycle. ( I am going to be 46yrs July 19th ). So many years off and on. And I have always took iron pills to get it back up to normal. The last time I had low iron was back in Sept 2010 and it was down to 7. I took iron pills that my medical doctor put me on and by my first visit with the gastro in Nov.2010 for the hep c it was up to 14 therefore I stopped the iron pills. I haven't been seeing my gastro because I told him I wanted to start the new tx in jan,12. But I had an appt with my medical doctor a week ago and he checked my iron and it has came down to 11.2, so I know it will drop even more. That is why I asked if anyone knows if I can take iron pills. I cannot get to my gastro for a couple of weeks to talk with him.
Thank you for all of the support and information:) Becki
Thank you for all of the support and information:) Becki
Willy - Hm...I think she hasn't seen the GI yet, appt to be made. Yes?
Peaches - I think the risk of taking iron for persons with HCV is that we are more susceptible to having higher levels of iron which can impact impair liver functions, perhaps resulting in an increase in ALT/AST. So adding iron isn't a great idea unless there's a clinical reason for it like low iron. In that case, you're not overloading, you're bringing iron to normal levels.
Just the same...a good thing to discuss with your GI, who might have some opinions on how to address your iron fluctuations taking into account the influence that having HCV can have as well. If you haven't had this discussion with your GI yet and you've had to regularly take iron supplementation in the past, seems like a good conversation to be having sooner than later.
Trish
Peaches - I think the risk of taking iron for persons with HCV is that we are more susceptible to having higher levels of iron which can impact impair liver functions, perhaps resulting in an increase in ALT/AST. So adding iron isn't a great idea unless there's a clinical reason for it like low iron. In that case, you're not overloading, you're bringing iron to normal levels.
Just the same...a good thing to discuss with your GI, who might have some opinions on how to address your iron fluctuations taking into account the influence that having HCV can have as well. If you haven't had this discussion with your GI yet and you've had to regularly take iron supplementation in the past, seems like a good conversation to be having sooner than later.
Trish
Oh sorry - I didn't see that the hepatologist ordered it and had suggested not to take iron unless the doctor okays it.
Anne's ferritin is high .....
Peaches is LOW......
Anne has excess iron, Peaches NEEDS iron. 2 different deals. Iron isn't hard on the liver per se, but elevated/ high iron can be.
Many of us have higher iron and it would not be a good idea to take iron supplements. It sounds to me as though Peaches needs it, and her hepatologist ordered it. Sounds OK to me from what I read here....
willy
Peaches is LOW......
Anne has excess iron, Peaches NEEDS iron. 2 different deals. Iron isn't hard on the liver per se, but elevated/ high iron can be.
Many of us have higher iron and it would not be a good idea to take iron supplements. It sounds to me as though Peaches needs it, and her hepatologist ordered it. Sounds OK to me from what I read here....
willy
How low is it ?
I just finished tx and during the course I had very low iron a few times.It was so low
that we checked for internal bleeding.
My hepatologist suggested to take some iron.
I just finished tx and during the course I had very low iron a few times.It was so low
that we checked for internal bleeding.
My hepatologist suggested to take some iron.
Actually I have elevated Ferritin levels which is one of the associated with HCV and treatment. They routinely test Ferritin levels. So, I would most definitely not take iron unless your GI says it is okay.
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