Re: Low ferritin and hemocromotosis

[Guest guest]

Christmasbelle1@... wrote:

>

> So I called a midwife friend of mine to ask about my low ferritin and

> she said she wouldn't sell me anything until she knew I didn't have

> hemocromotosis. . . sigh. I know my iron is normal because I gave

> blood a couple of months ago and they tested and said it was normal.

> Is this a common problem? Do I really have to test for it?

You test serum iron and TIBC (total iron binding capacity) along with

ferritin. Your friend is absolutely correct you need to be certain you

do not have iron overload before supplementing iron.

What they test when you donate blood is hemoglobin which is not

diagnostic of too much iron.

I am currently trying to find an article that says something to the

effect that women without hereditary hemochromatosis with a ferritin of

120 can develop type 2 diabetes.

If I can find it I will post the link. If true, it certainly contradicts

the idea that it is ok to have ferritin of up to or over 150.

sol

[Guest guest]

Hi Sol,My Ferritin last checked was 100. Two months earlier was 131. Stopped taking Iron supps for 8 weeks or so and I assume Ferritin will be around 80 in 3-4 weeks from now.I am still battling the skin problem (ER room-caused it) and I read here iron feeds bacteria but I am not certain this would qualify as a "bacteria" exactly.I presume you will say get another Ferritin test next month and go from there. Do you really think 70-90 is the best range? I think my thyroid, adrenals & sex hormones are so unbalanced that I don't even feel different when iron is 131, 100 or below.What, if any, are the symptoms of low iron? My hair, I thought was falling out partially due to lack of iron, but

even at high levels (131) it never changed.Thank you Sol!Donna RTo: RT3_T3 Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 9:28:19 PMSubject: Re: Low ferritin and hemocromotosis

Christmasbelle1@ aol.com wrote:

>

> So I called a midwife friend of mine to ask about my low ferritin and

> she said she wouldn't sell me anything until she knew I didn't have

> hemocromotosis. . . sigh. I know my iron is normal because I gave

> blood a couple of months ago and they tested and said it was normal.

> Is this a common problem? Do I really have to test for it?

You test serum iron and TIBC (total iron binding capacity) along with

ferritin. Your friend is absolutely correct you need to be certain you

do not have iron overload before supplementing iron.

What they test when you donate blood is hemoglobin which is not

diagnostic of too much iron.

I am currently trying to find an article that says something to the

effect that women without hereditary hemochromatosis with a ferritin of

120 can develop type 2 diabetes.

If I can find it I will post the link. If true, it certainly contradicts

the idea that it is ok to have ferritin of up to or over 150.

sol

[Guest guest]

Donna Regan wrote: <!-- DIV {margin:0px;} -->

> My Ferritin last checked was 100. Two months earlier was 131. Stopped

> taking Iron supps for 8 weeks or so and I assume Ferritin will be

> around 80 in 3-4 weeks from now.

>

> I presume you will say get another Ferritin test next month and go

> from there. Do you really think 70-90 is the best range?

No, I don't. I think given the below article and other studies that

ferritin of above 70 is too high for women, and probably is too high

even for men as well. I am still trying to find out why there seems to

be an association between not tolerating thyroid med and low ferritin. I

can't find much but I do find a whole lot of info regarding thyroid

problems caused by too much iron.

https://www.bcbsms.com/index.php?id=155 & articleid=517370

> The team followed more than 30,000 women who were part of the Nurse's

> Health Study, analyzing their blood samples during 1989 and 1990 when

> they were free of diagnosed diabetes and followed them over 10 years.

> During that decade, 698 developed diabetes. Then the researchers

> randomly picked 716 women from the study who were free of diabetes to

> serve as the control group.

>

> At the start, the average ferritin concentration of women with

> diabetes was higher -- 109 nanograms per milliliter of blood compared

> to 71.5 nanograms for the controls. " In women, a ferritin [level]

> higher than 200 nanograms per milliliter of blood is considered high, "

> Hu says. Normal levels range from 12 to about 150 nanograms per

> milliliter.

>

This apparently came as a shock to the researchers as ferritin of 109 is

considered totally normal. But in this study, ferritin of average 109

was associated with an increased risk of diabetes. And given that it is

an average, some of the women would have had ferritin levels

considerably below 109, as well as above that number. The increased risk

is up to 3 times as great. There are other studies done in China, and in

europe that confirm and extend these results.

Many people don't feel particularly bad when iron is too high, and

symptoms are very likely to be attributed to other diseases. But I've

read that fatigue, muscle and joint pains are among typical early

symptoms. Some think any patient presenting with symptoms that would

usually be diagnosed as CFS, fibromyalgia, etc should be screened for

excess iron before those diagnoses are considered and before other

treatments are started.

I have wondered if hair loss can be a symptom of too much iron as well

as of too little.

But I have no confirmation of that, just a suspicion.

Google iron overload, hemochromatosis and iron anemia for symptoms lists.

Many sites have good information on both, as they are related conditions

and anemia can co-exist with very high ferritin, especially if there is

infection, and inflamamtion (activated EBV or hepatitis, Lyme, etc.?

more of my own speculation).

sol

[Guest guest]

I was under the impression that a persons ferritin had to be at 70 for thyroid meds to work.

Is this correct?

To: RT3_T3 Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 8:56:23 PMSubject: Re: Low ferritin and hemocromotosis

Donna Regan wrote: <!-- DIV {margin:0px; } -->> My Ferritin last checked was 100. Two months earlier was 131. Stopped > taking Iron supps for 8 weeks or so and I assume Ferritin will be > around 80 in 3-4 weeks from now.>> I presume you will say get another Ferritin test next month and go > from there. Do you really think 70-90 is the best range?No, I don't. I think given the below article and other studies that ferritin of above 70 is too high for women, and probably is too high even for men as well. I am still trying to find out why there seems to be an association between not tolerating thyroid med and low ferritin. I can't find much but I do find a whole lot of info regarding thyroid problems caused by too much iron.https://www. bcbsms.com/ index.php? id=155 & articleid

=517370> The team followed more than 30,000 women who were part of the Nurse's > Health Study, analyzing their blood samples during 1989 and 1990 when > they were free of diagnosed diabetes and followed them over 10 years. > During that decade, 698 developed diabetes. Then the researchers > randomly picked 716 women from the study who were free of diabetes to > serve as the control group.>> At the start, the average ferritin concentration of women with > diabetes was higher -- 109 nanograms per milliliter of blood compared > to 71.5 nanograms for the controls. "In women, a ferritin [level] > higher than 200 nanograms per milliliter of blood is considered high," > Hu says. Normal levels range from 12 to about 150 nanograms per > milliliter.>This apparently came as a shock to the researchers as ferritin of 109 is considered totally normal. But

in this study, ferritin of average 109 was associated with an increased risk of diabetes. And given that it is an average, some of the women would have had ferritin levels considerably below 109, as well as above that number. The increased risk is up to 3 times as great. There are other studies done in China, and in europe that confirm and extend these results.Many people don't feel particularly bad when iron is too high, and symptoms are very likely to be attributed to other diseases. But I've read that fatigue, muscle and joint pains are among typical early symptoms. Some think any patient presenting with symptoms that would usually be diagnosed as CFS, fibromyalgia, etc should be screened for excess iron before those diagnoses are considered and before other treatments are started.I have wondered if hair loss can be a symptom of too much iron as well as of too little.But I have no

confirmation of that, just a suspicion.Google iron overload, hemochromatosis and iron anemia for symptoms lists.Many sites have good information on both, as they are related conditions and anemia can co-exist with very high ferritin, especially if there is infection, and inflamamtion (activated EBV or hepatitis, Lyme, etc.? more of my own speculation) .sol

[Guest guest]

well one side issue is that I got a myriad of illnesses only AFTER my Ferritin was over 70: 4 illnesses I never experienced before. Infections and the like...still dealing with skin irritant issue / mites / chemical reaction / they have not doen a scraping yet. Friday returning to derm. The article i very interesting. WOndering why so top docs are now saying that a Ferritin in excess of 100-125 can be a good thing. It's maddening. Thanks Sol.From: sol

To: RT3_T3 Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 9:56:23 PMSubject: Re: Low ferritin and hemocromotosis

Donna Regan wrote: <!-- DIV {margin:0px; } -->

> My Ferritin last checked was 100. Two months earlier was 131. Stopped

> taking Iron supps for 8 weeks or so and I assume Ferritin will be

> around 80 in 3-4 weeks from now.

>

> I presume you will say get another Ferritin test next month and go

> from there. Do you really think 70-90 is the best range?

No, I don't. I think given the below article and other studies that

ferritin of above 70 is too high for women, and probably is too high

even for men as well. I am still trying to find out why there seems to

be an association between not tolerating thyroid med and low ferritin. I

can't find much but I do find a whole lot of info regarding thyroid

problems caused by too much iron.

https://www. bcbsms.com/ index.php? id=155 & articleid =517370

> The team followed more than 30,000 women who were part of the Nurse's

> Health Study, analyzing their blood samples during 1989 and 1990 when

> they were free of diagnosed diabetes and followed them over 10 years.

> During that decade, 698 developed diabetes. Then the researchers

> randomly picked 716 women from the study who were free of diabetes to

> serve as the control group.

>

> At the start, the average ferritin concentration of women with

> diabetes was higher -- 109 nanograms per milliliter of blood compared

> to 71.5 nanograms for the controls. "In women, a ferritin [level]

> higher than 200 nanograms per milliliter of blood is considered high,"

> Hu says. Normal levels range from 12 to about 150 nanograms per

> milliliter.

>

This apparently came as a shock to the researchers as ferritin of 109 is

considered totally normal. But in this study, ferritin of average 109

was associated with an increased risk of diabetes. And given that it is

an average, some of the women would have had ferritin levels

considerably below 109, as well as above that number. The increased risk

is up to 3 times as great. There are other studies done in China, and in

europe that confirm and extend these results.

Many people don't feel particularly bad when iron is too high, and

symptoms are very likely to be attributed to other diseases. But I've

read that fatigue, muscle and joint pains are among typical early

symptoms. Some think any patient presenting with symptoms that would

usually be diagnosed as CFS, fibromyalgia, etc should be screened for

excess iron before those diagnoses are considered and before other

treatments are started.

I have wondered if hair loss can be a symptom of too much iron as well

as of too little.

But I have no confirmation of that, just a suspicion.

Google iron overload, hemochromatosis and iron anemia for symptoms lists.

Many sites have good information on both, as they are related conditions

and anemia can co-exist with very high ferritin, especially if there is

infection, and inflamamtion (activated EBV or hepatitis, Lyme, etc.?

more of my own speculation) .

sol

[Guest guest]

Jenifer Galgano wrote:

> I was under the impression that a persons ferritin had to be at 70 for

> thyroid meds to work.

> Is this correct?

I don't think that is necessarily true. It might be true for some people

with true iron deficiency anemia, but many people do fine with their

meds with ferritin lower than 70. They do not have problems with their

thyroid meds working so we don't hear from them. When things work right,

people don't usually go looking for causes the same way we do when

things don't work as expected. Certainly anyone with low ferritin doing

well with their thyroid meds would not want to be supplementing iron.

Too much iron is worse than too little.

Basically I believe it depends on why the thyroid meds aren't working or

aren't tolerated. It apparently can be due to not enough body stores of

iron, but it can also be due to B12 anemia, low vit D, and other

causes. I have now heard from 2 people with low ferritin (1 with

ferritin of 16-20 and one with ferritin of 31)who tolerate their thyroid

meds just fine, and get the hypo symptom relief we all long for. So low

ferritin doesn't necessarily mean thyroid meds won't work properly. It

is one possible cause. And if it is indeed the cause does need to be

brought up.

Once I get my own ferritin below 50 I'll post how I do, if by then I am

back on thyroid meds that is. Since having 2 blood donations, I had to

reduce my T3 dosing, eventually had to stop taking any thyroid. I have

even been able to reduce my HC dosing, and am now below 20 mg a day.

Barring a major setback, I should be completely weaned off in another

couple weeks at the most.

sol

[Guest guest]

Many people can take thyroi wiht ferritin below 70. 70-90 is IOPTIMAL

range for women to utilize thyroid best, which is what I have read. What

I have seen is regularly women with ferritin below 50 have problems

tolerating thyr0id meds.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/RT3_T3/