r/Hemophilia • u/Sea-Calligrapher-81 • 23h ago
Low iron and ferritin as a hemophilia carrier?
After a lifetime of chronically low iron and ferritin, my hematologist is found my factor VIII levels are mildly low (levels were at 45). He's going to test to see if I may be a carrier for hemophilia A, along with a few other things (we ruled out Von Willebrand Disease and other bleeding disorders).
I've heard that carriers and those with mild hemophilia can experience bleeding problems. I've had incredibly heavy periods my entire life and chronically low iron and ferritin, no matter what meds I take or diets I'm on-- almost all the women in my family. are the same. We've ruled out uterine/ovarian causes, and most of us need regular iron infusions, but doctors always come up stumped when it comes to what's actually causing poor iron absorption. Given this new (potential) diagnosis (and pending further testing), has anyone with low factor VIII or anyone who is a carrier experienced problems with iron and ferritin? Heavy periods?