[ Post a Response | Hemochromatosis ]
Posted by Darren K The ferritin values are a rough approximation of iron levels in the body. So, sometimes you may be getting regular treatments, but the ferritin doesn't move at all. It seems to stick at a level for some time, and then it will drop a few hundred points all at once. When the ferritin sticks, that doesn't mean that treatments at that time are ineffective. Every phlebotomy will remove a certain amount of iron depending on the hematocrit value of your blood at the time of the phleb. Basically, that means that if your hematocrit is very low, then you won't remove as much iron during a treatment than you would if the Hct was sitting in a good range of approx 38 to 40%. I kept a close watch on my hematocrit during my deironing. If treatments are done when the Hct is down at around 33 to 35, you'll feel like crap afterwards. The best Hct value to maintain is at about 38, if possible. That value will mean that a treatment will not totally "wash you out" and you'll be maximizing the removal of iron. So, after a phleb, I'd go back for a CBC test a few days to a week later and see if the Hct had rebounded back up to 37 or 38. If it had, then I'd do another phleb. In that way, I actually took out blood more often than once a week for a number of months. But, as I said, it was really important to ensure that the Hct was rebounded back up to roughly 38 before I'd go again. That sort of treatment regieme is more than most people can tolerate. But, if a person responds Ok to an individual phleb, then they should be able to use this approach to get the iron out ASAP. As you said, every individual will respond to the deironing process in their own way according to their body's demands. Some people have a really hard time getting through a treatment, and some have no trouble at all. But, if you do manage to get approx 500 ml of blood out weekly, then it should take 60 to 70 treatments to get cleaned out. Take care Darren K
on 11/30/2005, 9:39 am, in reply to "Re: Recently diagnosed and curious how long the phlebs will be"
198.165.107.102
Paul,
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