33, Male, Heavyweight
For the last year, I have found that despite being a very active, healthy person who considers himself to be low anxiety all of his life, I developed a feeling of a pounding heart in my chest, light-headedness in areas of bright, artificial lights, and general sleeplessness. Last year when I went to my doctor and said these things, I watched as the nurse simply marked "anxiety" on my file.
(Random thing - A nurse friend a few years ago was draining my ears (martial arts stuff) and made a comment that my blood was dark and thick.)
I decided to take my health into my own hands and signed up for Function, electing to get some blood tests. Here are some of the things I found:
April 1, 2026 - 13 vials for Function blood tests
Hematocrit - 52.6% (Normal range is 39.4-51.1)
Hemoglobin - 17.5 g/dL (Normal range is 13.2 - 17.1)
Red Blood Cell Count - 6.06 million/uL (Normal is 4.2-5.8)
...... so we're seeing that my red blood cell count is high
Iron - 238 mcg/dL (Normal range is 50 - 180)
Iron % Saturation - 83% (Normal is 20 - 48)
Ferritin - 357 ng/mL (Considered in range)
TIBC - 287 mcg/dL (Considered in range towards the low end)
Ok, so I take this to my doctor. In the 3 weeks between my first blood draw and my doctor visit, I stop eating all red meat (normally I'm a huge consumer of steak). I learn about hemochromatosis and he tests me. Now it turns out from the test that I am Heterozygous C282Y (one copy)
But check out the blood tests from my doctor:
April 22, 2026 - 4 vials of blood drawn
Iron - 37 mcg/dL (Holy shit it DROPPED REAL LOW) (Normal range is 50 - 180)
Iron % Saturation - 14% (What?? This dropped too??) (Normal is 20 - 48)
Ferritin - 217 ng/mL (Much lower all of the sudden too?...)
TIBC - 274 mcg/dL (Remains the same as the first test)
Before I got these results from my doctor, I went a few days later and donated blood and man do I feel GREAT for the last week after having donated blood. It's like I've had this weird hypertension for a year and someone let a little air out of the over-inflated tires.
But I just don't understand...
-Was I in hemochromatosis territory on my first blood draw?
-Is it normal for people with our condition to wildly swing towards the low end of iron?
-Do I feel better not because of iron, but because I got my super high levels of red blood cells down? (I heard too much blood puts me at risk for heart and cardiovascular issues)
Just trying to make sense of all of this and if I'm looking at a future of regular blood draws with being a Heterozygous C282Y. I really wouldn't mind. I felt so good after my first blood draw that I'm almost eager to do it again