Can Low Iron Do all this.

[pmgamer18]

I have been found to have low very low ferritin levels. I have been on Iron pills now for about 6 weeks. First thing I noticed was I am not getting up at night I sleep straight through the night. I can't remember when I did this last been many yrs. Now I am feeling better I am not short of breath anymore and have more energy. Just last week I lost over 10 lbs.

I now feel like I am at a cross road here. Some 25 yrs. ago when I first got sick the Dr. tested me and told me my fatigue was due to low Iron and put me on Iron pills. Now at the time we did not know I had low testosterone it was not checked for 5 more yrs.

After doing the iron pills and not getting better labs my Dr. sent me to a Blood Dr. He tested me and told me my Iron was fine. Now last Wed. I went in for blood work and my Dr. told me to stop the iron pills for 4 days before doing the blood work. Well when he said this I remembered that the Blood Dr. tested my blood with me on Iron pills. I am thinking this is why he told me my Iron was fine.

Here is what is going on in my mind lately I am thinking maybe my Fatigue was due to low iron and my Testosterone levels became low from the low Iron. And now I treat my Thyroid I am up to 4 grains of Armour and it was not helping until I started on the Iron pills. So is my Thyroid bad and do I really have low testosterone. After being told I was primary all these yrs. then reading Dr. John's update on HCG and trying it my levels doubled. So we are thinking I am secondary and am Hypopituitary due to a head injury from an auto accident that happened about the same time I became sick.

I say this because I am doing so good on the iron pills and losing weight everyday. So if your iron is low your thyroid will not work right and the meds you take for it will not work all that well.

I hate to stop TRT to see if my testis jump in and start working but if I don't how will I know.

Someone tell me I am all wet here.

[raynman]

Is iron usually tested in normal blood panel that docs use? What is the name for the test? I have had normal blood work done and am wondering if iron was ever tested. Thanks.

[pmgamer18]

This is what some mods at this other site I mod at for thyroid told me to get tested on my next test.
====================================
Hi Phil,

you need a full fasting iron panel, serum iron, serum ferritin, TIBC (total iron binding capacity), and Transferrin saturation (Tsat%), it's a standard test to run all of those together and your Tsat %is calculated for you.

I wouldn't supplement the iron for a couple of days prior to the test - one thing to remember, serum ferritin is a test which uses a serum protein value to calculate the iron stores in the liver as distinct from serum iron, this can be elevated in the case of any kind of infection or inflammation, this is called the "actue phase reaction". The body has as one of it's defense mechanisms the ability to store free iron away in the liver as ferritin when the body is under attack from bacteria or viruses - this is because the bugs thrive in iron rich blood. This is a temporary state, and will return to the previous state after the infection has passed. Therefore, if you have a one off high reading, it is necessary to repeat the testing after a couple of months or so to see if it remains elevated, this can reveal true iron deficiency or conversely, if it remains elevated, iron overload.

Because of the interplay between the various parts of the picture, a full iron panel will give you a better picture of how you are doing with supplements, you will be looking for an increase in ferritin, serum iron and Tsat%. Slow and steady increases should reflect your supplementation, a rapid increase could reflect a bug or skewed testing from supplementation.

[Wise Guy]

What the mods said above is excellent advise

Age? Years on TRT?

[pmgamer18]

I think after all this yrs. I have had low Iron and wonder if this is why my testosterone levels are low. When I get my Iron levels back up I am going to try going off TRT and see if my Testis start back up.

What the mods said above is excellent advise

Age? Years on TRT?

[bgnb]

I think after all this yrs. I have had low Iron and wonder if this is why my testosterone levels are low. When I get my Iron levels back up I am going to try going off TRT and see if my Testis start back up.

sorry, not likely ... iron is what makes blood red when oxygen is added
(look at a piece of metal ... rust is 'oxidation' -- same thing happens
when blood is oxygenated in the lungs!) ...

you most likely had low test and with that low iron which means
you carry lower levels of oxygen which leads to fatigue.

testosterone will up your hemoglobin but not if there's insufficient
iron present ... its NOT a common problem for men to have low
levels of iron so something else may be missing.


The fact is you could have a B-vitamin deficiency, problems with
your spleen or liver (most likely the latter) that makes you iron
deficient and testosterone deficient.

One thing to find out is what balances iron ... we are all familiar
with calcium/magnesium, copper/zinc, sodium/potassium ... so
what's up with iron? or in your case, what may be too high that
causes your body to dump iron?

I found this which may interest you: http://www.answers.com/topic/human-iron-metabolism

toward the end of the article it discusses a condition in which people who have
sufficient amounts of the stuff needed to up-take iron do NOT respond to it so
they don't up-take the iron in their diet.

certain intestinal conditions such as Crohn's disease can also cause iron deficiency.

[pmgamer18]

Thanks that was good now back to base one.

[bgnb]

Thanks that was good now back to base one.

I don't think you are back to base one ... there is obviously a lot
going on with your condition but you have a lot more knowledge
about what is going on than when you started!

It took me over 10 years on disability to get a simple B-12 deficiency
diagnosed and it has taken years for the effects of the deficiency to
show improvement with treatment.

Take the iron, take the TRT and give it all a little more time.

Our bodies can adapt but the problem with 'illness' is that it IS
the putative 'normal' state and we have to push our bodies to
adapt to a healthy state ... that's not always so easy.

[JanSz]

I have been found to have low very low ferritin levels. I have been on Iron pills now for about 6 weeks. First thing I noticed was I am not getting up at night I sleep straight through the night. I can't remember when I did this last been many yrs. Now I am feeling better I am not short of breath anymore and have more energy. Just last week I lost over 10 lbs.

I now feel like I am at a cross road here. Some 25 yrs. ago when I first got sick the Dr. tested me and told me my fatigue was due to low Iron and put me on Iron pills. Now at the time we did not know I had low testosterone it was not checked for 5 more yrs.

After doing the iron pills and not getting better labs my Dr. sent me to a Blood Dr. He tested me and told me my Iron was fine. Now last Wed. I went in for blood work and my Dr. told me to stop the iron pills for 4 days before doing the blood work. Well when he said this I remembered that the Blood Dr. tested my blood with me on Iron pills. I am thinking this is why he told me my Iron was fine.

Here is what is going on in my mind lately I am thinking maybe my Fatigue was due to low iron and my Testosterone levels became low from the low Iron. And now I treat my Thyroid I am up to 4 grains of Armour and it was not helping until I started on the Iron pills. So is my Thyroid bad and do I really have low testosterone. After being told I was primary all these yrs. then reading Dr. John's update on HCG and trying it my levels doubled. So we are thinking I am secondary and am Hypopituitary due to a head injury from an auto accident that happened about the same time I became sick.

I say this because I am doing so good on the iron pills and losing weight everyday. So if your iron is low your thyroid will not work right and the meds you take for it will not work all that well.

I hate to stop TRT to see if my testis jump in and start working but if I don't how will I know.

Someone tell me I am all wet here.

Phil;
do you self a favor,
spend little time trying to figure out what Genova Diagnostics tests

NurtiEval
http://www.gdx.net/home/assessments/nutreval/index.html
and

Estroessence
http://www.gdx.net/home/assessments/EstroEssence/Index.html
would do for you.

================================================== ========

for example
Elemental analysis
test
http://www.gdx.net/home/assessments/elemental/EArbc/index.html

which is a part of the NutriEval

will check more than just an iron, and it will check it functionally, another words,
when I check my iron at Quest Diagnostics, they give me a level of what I have and references of where the iron should be.
That was my down fall,
because my iron was within range.
Then I got LEF recomended range, that is one step better.
What Genova test do is they check how it functions in your (unique) body.
So you get very personalized advice.
For example, my B12 was very high on test from Quest,
test from Genova tells me to supplement B12.
There are different kinds of B12, but that is another story.

Same story with my magnesium, blood vise ok, funcionally very low.
I have to eat magnesium.

Please, study this, you will like it.
And, lucikly, you have insurance, so this part is non issue.
================================================== =

All this is what HAN is talkig about
except it is organized
no guess work.
You will not need some doctor or nutritionist do second guesses and explain it for you.

Frankly, that is the only problem with this tests,
alternative doctors will make less money,
so some of them are not likely to support this idea.
================================================== ======

There are videos that discuss specifics of this tests,
if you want I will send link of where to purchase them,
2x $20.
The stuff is slightly over year old, so it is cutting edge.

[pmgamer18]

Thanks Jan I am looking into this for me and my wife she can't sleep told me the other day she is ready to jump out the dam window.

[griffinannie]

Phil, I am a aware of the STTM guidelines. However, i recommend you check your ferritin sooner. My ferritin was 20 (verified by two tests) I was prescribed 50 mg iron per day and my Ferritin rose to 70 in six weeks. My doc says women rise slower due to menses. Hope this helps.

[pmgamer18]

Can you tell me did you stop the iron pills before you took this test. This is whats wrong here if you did not stop the pill 4 days before your test your showing what the iron pills are doing.

[Dr. John Crisler]

I don't think you are back to base one ... there is obviously a lot
going on with your condition but you have a lot more knowledge
about what is going on than when you started!

It took me over 10 years on disability to get a simple B-12 deficiency
diagnosed and it has taken years for the effects of the deficiency to
show improvement with treatment.

Take the iron, take the TRT and give it all a little more time.

Our bodies can adapt but the problem with 'illness' is that it IS
the putative 'normal' state and we have to push our bodies to
adapt to a healthy state ... that's not always so easy.

B-12 deficiency should lead to macrocyctosis (high MCV, where RBC's are too large). That should be a slam dunk.

Pernicious anemia?

[Dr. John Crisler]

Thanks Jan I am looking into this for me and my wife she can't sleep told me the other day she is ready to jump out the dam window.

Nail the windows shut, Phil.

[Dr. John Crisler]

Phil;
do you self a favor,
spend little time trying to figure out what Genova Diagnostics tests

NurtiEval
http://www.gdx.net/home/assessments/nutreval/index.html
and

Estroessence
http://www.gdx.net/home/assessments/EstroEssence/Index.html
would do for you.

================================================== ========

for example
Elemental analysis
test
http://www.gdx.net/home/assessments/elemental/EArbc/index.html

which is a part of the NutriEval

will check more than just an iron, and it will check it functionally, another words,
when I check my iron at Quest Diagnostics, they give me a level of what I have and references of where the iron should be.
That was my down fall,
because my iron was within range.
Then I got LEF recomended range, that is one step better.
What Genova test do is they check how it functions in your (unique) body.
So you get very personalized advice.
For example, my B12 was very high on test from Quest,
test from Genova tells me to supplement B12.
There are different kinds of B12, but that is another story.

Same story with my magnesium, blood vise ok, funcionally very low.
I have to eat magnesium.

Please, study this, you will like it.
And, lucikly, you have insurance, so this part is non issue.
================================================== =

All this is what HAN is talkig about
except it is organized
no guess work.
You will not need some doctor or nutritionist do second guesses and explain it for you.

Frankly, that is the only problem with this tests,
alternative doctors will make less money,
so some of them are not likely to support this idea.
================================================== ======

There are videos that discuss specifics of this tests,
if you want I will send link of where to purchase them,
2x $20.
The stuff is slightly over year old, so it is cutting edge.


I'm glad you are here, Jan.

[JanSz]

I'm glad you are here, Jan.

So we are both glad.

I am glad that you have a forum.

I am hoping to learn a lot here.
======================================

My problem may be to get to Toronto from NJ, tommorow.

Not sure if I can make it thru the 6" of snow that is supposed to fall
between Syracuse and Buffalo.

Do they have any snow plows ready or is it going to take them by surprise.

[griffinannie]

Phil, yes a break between last iron and test. 45 days of Iron and test on the 50th day per doc.

[pmgamer18]

Great I see my Dr. next week Wed. and we will see how my tests go. I am out of the iron pills and the lab says it's on back order. I use this it's easy on my stomach.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100155&navAction=jump&navCount=1&id=prod1194792