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Old Sat Jan 4, 2014, 01:16 AM
dfantle dfantle is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: bellevue, wa
Posts: 150
Ferritin drop prior to phlebotomy

I had a total of 76ish red cell transfusions prior to my MUD transplant 11 months ago. Although I was on Exjade for several months prior to the transplant, it wasn't long enough to make a difference plus I was still very transfusion dependent at that time. In December 2012, 1 month before my MUD transplant, my ferritin labs showed my level in the 7000 range, which was about 40% higher than the count several months prior. 6 months post transplant, my ferritin was down to 4000 without any chelation, and as of last week its down to 3100 (a drop of 900 in just 4 months). I had my 1st bloodletting this week as my blood counts are now so normal I'm fortunately eligible to start doing this.

Question: Without chelation treatments, the ferritin appears to be dropping significantly on its own. Has anyone else experienced large drops in ferritin, such as this, with or without chelation and/or phlebotomies? I'm wondering if this is normal or could be worrisome.

Thanks
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Dena
Age 54; DX Heavy Chain (AH) Amyloidosis 6/10; AutoSCT 3/11; Amyloidosis remission 6/11; DX SAA 7/11; Horse ATG 3/12; Mini MUD SCT 1/13; Recovered from SAA 5/13 & feeling great
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