Re: stranger blood values - iron experts needed

[Guest guest]

Why do you give treatment when ferritin is super low or high. do you

mean in one case it's anemia and in the other it's HH?

Is it normal to react badly to high iron foods?

In your case what came first hypoT or HH.

Right now it almost seems like I'm bouncing back an forth between

anemia and high iron. Onetime its my ferritin that is extremely low

and the other time its my iron.

Since you have hemochromatosis can you recommend a good group on the

net.

I've read that the iron, ferritin and TIBC are the tests to get to

start with. What use is a transferrin test. What info does it give.

I've never had a doc do the complete panel. So I don't know where I

stand or how likely it really is that I have iron overload. Does it

make any sense to request DNA and work backwards from that angle?

> exactly -

> In a nutshell, the full fasting ferritin panel is very volatile, that

> is because bacteria and viruses thrive on iron rich blood.

> Our clever bodies know this, and when a virus or bacteria threaten

> (or inflammation, always good to get a CBC with a ferritin panel and

> compare WBC's for imflammation) then the body stores serum iron away

> into the liver, elevating ferritin and decreasing serum iron and

> depending on where in that process the test happens the tsat can move

> about too.

> Ferritin is the protein that is denotes how much iron is stored in

> the liver (primarily), when we get an iron panel, we look at serum

> iron, transferrin and transferrin saturation % (tsat%) and ferritin,

> and between these we can usually make out the picture... but, blood

> tests are only a teeny tiny snapshot, and when something is as

> volatile as an iron panel, I like to see three tests before treatment

> unless ferritin is super low or super high, it doesn't hurt to retest

> it in case of this process - which is called an acute phase reaction,

> and preferably in conjunction with a wbc test to look for infection /

> inflammation or causes of ferritin changes.

> Hope this helps!

>

> Cat

>

>

>

> >

> > Hi Robin ~

> >

> > Recently I had my ferritin tested within one week of the other.

> The first

> > came out at 125, the second 54. My doctor just ran another

> ferritin after 3

> > weeks on iron supplements: 55. He explained the 125 as being

> elevated due

> > to inflammation, believing the 54 was the correct number, which the

> third

> > test of 55 confirmed.

> >

> > Based on the 54, I had my first iron infusion yesterday. I'll need

> 3-4 more

> > to get it to the 90-100 level, where he would like to see it.

> Yesterday I

> > felt " stronger " and more " solid " .

> >

> > take care,

> > ~

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > -----Original Message-----

> >

> > I just got more blood results back. In my opinion the results seem

> strange

> > enough that either the lab is useless or there was a blood mix up.

> What do

> > you guys think?

> >

> > Sept. Nov.

> > TSH 18 9

> > FT3 2.84 3.38

> > FT4 0.83 1.02

> > ferritin 140 60

> > iron 28 42

> > heamatocrit 34.2% 39.9%

> > triglyceride 230 72

> > thrombozyten 368 271

> >

> > cholesterol was 168 but is usually high, where as my triglyc. is

> ususally

> > within range but in these test results its reversed.

> >

> > In the 2 months between the different blood results I took ZERO

> thyroid

> > medication. I did take iron for 11 days though. I find it VERY

> strange

> > that my ferritin would drop after taking iron, although

> > my iron did increase.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I don't " give " treatment, I'm not a practitioner of any sort, but I

don't suggest treatment til a pattern is established, if you have

consistently high readings with a low thrown in, I certainly wouldn't

supplement iron... if you had anemic readings, like super low, then I

wouldn't be against it on one test if you get my drift, if you had

ferritin in the 1,000's also, I would be pro treatment from a single

test, just my opinion you understand... around the 100 mark without

supplementation (and in your case, 200 without any iron supps suggests

possible if not probable loading tendencies) but around 100 without

supps could warrant retesting a couple of times, with a wbc just in

case of acute phase reaction, many people don't realise this and think

one test is " your actual ferritin number " , but it's just too volatile

to treat that way, does that make sense?

HH groups:

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

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> > >

> > > Hi Robin ~

> > >

> > > Recently I had my ferritin tested within one week of the other.

> > The first

> > > came out at 125, the second 54. My doctor just ran another

> > ferritin after 3

> > > weeks on iron supplements: 55. He explained the 125 as being

> > elevated due

> > > to inflammation, believing the 54 was the correct number, which the

> > third

> > > test of 55 confirmed.

> > >

> > > Based on the 54, I had my first iron infusion yesterday. I'll need

> > 3-4 more

> > > to get it to the 90-100 level, where he would like to see it.

> > Yesterday I

> > > felt " stronger " and more " solid " .

> > >

> > > take care,

> > > ~

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > -----Original Message-----

> > >

> > > I just got more blood results back. In my opinion the results seem

> > strange

> > > enough that either the lab is useless or there was a blood mix up.

> > What do

> > > you guys think?

> > >

> > > Sept. Nov.

> > > TSH 18 9

> > > FT3 2.84 3.38

> > > FT4 0.83 1.02

> > > ferritin 140 60

> > > iron 28 42

> > > heamatocrit 34.2% 39.9%

> > > triglyceride 230 72

> > > thrombozyten 368 271

> > >

> > > cholesterol was 168 but is usually high, where as my triglyc. is

> > ususally

> > > within range but in these test results its reversed.

> > >

> > > In the 2 months between the different blood results I took ZERO

> > thyroid

> > > medication. I did take iron for 11 days though. I find it VERY

> > strange

> > > that my ferritin would drop after taking iron, although

> > > my iron did increase.

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

yes very important to do CBC but in lieu of that a wbc can tell you if

there is reason for ferritin spike as it were, but also HB can be

diagnostic, my Tsat% and HB were over range for several years before I

found a new doc who tested me for genes for HH, ferritin would have

looked great for an anemic person supplementing, but for someone who

loads, way too high.

high iron can also cause hypoT and hypoPit due to loading in the pit

and thyroid gland, I've not heard of the hyper / high iron connection

before, thanks for bringing it up, most people on the groups I'm on

with HH end up with adrenal fatigue and hypoT... but as we know, there

are always more than one side to these stories! :-)

> > Why do you give treatment when ferritin is super low or high. do you

> > mean in one case it's anemia and in the other it's HH?

> >

> > Is it normal to react badly to high iron foods?

> >

> > In your case what came first hypoT or HH.

> >

> > Right now it almost seems like I'm bouncing back an forth between

> > anemia and high iron. Onetime its my ferritin that is extremely low

> > and the other time its my iron.

> >

> > Since you have hemochromatosis can you recommend a good group on the

> > net.

> >

> > I've read that the iron, ferritin and TIBC are the tests to get to

> > start with. What use is a transferrin test. What info does it give.

> > I've never had a doc do the complete panel. So I don't know where I

> > stand or how likely it really is that I have iron overload. Does it

> > make any sense to request DNA and work backwards from that angle?

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry you asked what came first.. well HH - being genetic I was born

with, I was aware of high ferritin testing in 1994/95 or thereabouts

and this was poo=poohed when I changed docs, so let it be til Feb 2007

and now have venesections, but due to constant viral infections, my

iron panels are useless and I can't tell what level my ferritin is at

right now.

I believe I was born hypoT (Hashis) and AF, kind of diagnosed at age

15 but told being one point in range I was not able to be treated AND

there was nothing wrong with my thyroid, but I managed to survive

using kelp and L-Glutamine and other herbs prescribed by naturopaths,

but only just. In 2006 I suffered a closed head injury with traumatic

brain injury (why my messages are sometimes kind of short in tone,

apologies), subsequent to head injury, i became hypopit and slipped

slowly or quickly, depending on your perspective into myxedema,

precipitating life saving self treatment, and then chasing down a doc

who would back me up - it was another year before the iron overload

became an official diagnosis, from the same doc from back in 94 after

I tracked him down a year or so ago.

Chicken or egg? I honestly don't know, any thoughts?

> > >

> > > Hi Robin ~

> > >

> > > Recently I had my ferritin tested within one week of the other.

> > The first

> > > came out at 125, the second 54. My doctor just ran another

> > ferritin after 3

> > > weeks on iron supplements: 55. He explained the 125 as being

> > elevated due

> > > to inflammation, believing the 54 was the correct number, which the

> > third

> > > test of 55 confirmed.

> > >

> > > Based on the 54, I had my first iron infusion yesterday. I'll need

> > 3-4 more

> > > to get it to the 90-100 level, where he would like to see it.

> > Yesterday I

> > > felt " stronger " and more " solid " .

> > >

> > > take care,

> > > ~

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > -----Original Message-----

> > >

> > > I just got more blood results back. In my opinion the results seem

> > strange

> > > enough that either the lab is useless or there was a blood mix up.

> > What do

> > > you guys think?

> > >

> > > Sept. Nov.

> > > TSH 18 9

> > > FT3 2.84 3.38

> > > FT4 0.83 1.02

> > > ferritin 140 60

> > > iron 28 42

> > > heamatocrit 34.2% 39.9%

> > > triglyceride 230 72

> > > thrombozyten 368 271

> > >

> > > cholesterol was 168 but is usually high, where as my triglyc. is

> > ususally

> > > within range but in these test results its reversed.

> > >

> > > In the 2 months between the different blood results I took ZERO

> > thyroid

> > > medication. I did take iron for 11 days though. I find it VERY

> > strange

> > > that my ferritin would drop after taking iron, although

> > > my iron did increase.

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Good call! :-)

but I meant more like, if one has an unusual ferritin result, wait a

couple of weeks / months and retest just to rule out the acute phase

reaction, sorry if I didn't put that right, in your case, your results

all back the others up, no need to recheck as it were, all saying, get

rid of some iron! how is it going?

> > but, blood

> > tests are only a teeny tiny snapshot, and when something is as

> > volatile as an iron panel, I like to see three tests before treatment

> > unless ferritin is super low or super high,

> I actually did have results of 3 annual iron panels with ferritin, and

> my ferritin was steadily rising, and made the biggest jump in the last

> year, almost as much as the total increase of the previous 2 years

> together, so I decided to start treating.

> sol

>