i tested negative for babesia what is making my iron so low?
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Just because you test negative for babesia doesn't mean you don't have it. Go by symptoms. I clearly have babs, and tested negative. They don't even test for all the varieties .... not even most of the varieties.
Posted by laceyj (Member # 13862) on :
oh
what are the symptoms? i have mycoplasma and rickettsia i think
something is eating my iron cause i've supplemented before and nothing works
just wasnt sure if this was common with lyme anyway but it is strange I cant bring the levels up
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
Low Ferritin for me too. After 2 months of supplementing I brought it up to 22.8 which is low end normal. LLMD wants it to be around 50 at least.
He said that Lyme eats up iron.
Feelfit
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
do you have heavy periods? this may also be a cause.
Feelfit
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
Lyme does not use iron from what I've read. Babesia does. In addition, hypothyroidism can cause low ferritin values too. Check your thyroid status.
As the other poster said, periods can affect that value for women. Ideally ferritin should be over 50 at least.
Low ferritin--even without anemia--can contribute to fatigue.
I'm male and my levels have been low for sometime too...between 15 and 30....supps will work but may take months to budge the numbers...
Also vit C helps the w/absorption of iron so take together.....
Posted by hcconn22 (Member # 5263) on :
My wife w/ Lyme has similar Iron levels. Went from 8-12 after several months of suplements.
Low iron can be a sign of other issues- i.e. Not all life's problems are from Lyme.
My wife is getting tested next week for Celiac disease, as well as a biopsy for internal bleeding, which could be a sign of other issues such as ulcers or cancer.
Stay tuned as she is getting tests next week. You can PM me or Tracy9 in a week or so to see what if anything turns up.
i.e. If nothing turns up-- must be Lyme or Babesia
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
It seems to be much more common in women as they naturally lose blood cyclically...low iron in males is a little more suspicious unless you're a long distance runner.....
it's good to rule out malabsorption issues though...and cancer for that matter...
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
I don't have heavy periods, and a few months ago my Ferritin was 7. It is now up to 14.
As a result of this, on Monday I am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy to check for any cancer, internal bleeding, and Celiac disease.
My LLD thinks it is critical that anyone with such low ferritin see a GI specialist and have these tests done.
Posted by QuietFury (Member # 15829) on :
My Ferritin has been low for years. Lowest was 5, highest 7. I also have leukopenia (low white count). I wasted 2 years with a hematologist, had every sort of test imaginable. He came up with nothing and labeled it "idiopathic"(which means nothing more than "I don't know"). I also saw immunologists, infectious disease specialists, etc., and received lots of "syndrome" labels but no real answers.
About 6 weeks ago, I was finally diagnosed with lyme disease, chronic mono, and a few other bacterial and viral infections. My new and wonderful doctor feels that my blood problems are related to both the lyme and the chronic mono.
Since I'm only in the early stages of treatment, I don't know whether my blood counts have risen. Also, I've been sick for more than 20 years, so my treatment will be long term and some damage may be permanent.
Posted by laceyj (Member # 13862) on :
thanks soooo much for the help!
i do have thyroid issues, goiter and nodules and 50lb weight gain i think its from the lyme too
but i've supplemented with iron and it got lower so something is eating it but yeah the doctor was alarmed with the iron level alone
any good iron supplements you like? will i feed babesia if i take iron if i have it?
Thanks soooo much!
Posted by AmyInMI (Member # 9506) on :
Hey there Lacey,
I also just had a Ferritin level of 6. I was bruising like crazy!! I began taking Iron Gluconate (easier to absorb) and plan to get my Ferritin levels checked again this week.
Good luck! -Amy
Posted by herxuk (Member # 15873) on :
Some ABX can cause Anaemia ( English Spelt ) Marnie put a site up to look what some ABX can deplete the body of. I have read of this many times.
I think it's the Penny family that does this. But best to check this out for yourself.
Posted by pryorka (Member # 13649) on :
I don't know why your LLMD says lyme eats up iron. If you read about the bacteria it's one of the few bacteria that lives without oxygen and iron, that's what makes it so weird and evasive.
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
Ok, my bad, my LLMD said that TBI's eat up iron, not necessarily Bb....so he was refering to the co's as well.
I'm the idiot, not him.
Feelfit
Posted by Lymeblue (Member # 6897) on :
My iron got once at 2 !!! And it was clearly caused by my babbs
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
Yikes, just as an FYI, the GI doc who did my endoscopy / colonoscopy today was APPALLED when he saw my Ferritin was 14! I told him I thought that was good, since it started off at 7; he could hardly believe that one!
I guess I didn't think it was that bad, since so many of us have such low Ferritin, but he was pretty shocked!
Hmmm; here I thought 14 was good!!!
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
I have an iron deficiency as well.
In the bone marrow biopsy that I had done a short while ago, they specifically wrote iron deficient and no iron was seen.
YIKES.
I was told to start taking iron supplements.
Posted by Larkspur (Member # 5131) on :
I had mine tested in June and my ferriten serum level was a 4
but it says on my test results that the "normal range" is "10 - 291"
Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :
babesiosis!!
Posted by Raymond (Member # 13980) on :
I read somewhere can't remember where sciencetist are learning or whatever they do that by finding out what a disease needs to survive they maybe able to alter, change stop or whatever it's progression by altering what it needs to survive. I know I e mailed Nancy2 on this one time maybe she still has the article.
She's great she keeps most info...
I wish I could find that article. It's out there somewhere. The only thing is with lyme testing the lyme antigens they inject into a mouse aren't the same ones they remove meaning it changes that much....
Has anyone ever sought out what is being done in the area of genomics, DNA in regards to this. I know Fallon has done some research in this area but in one of my last AARP Mags they say they have had some positive results in certain diseases they have researched like Parkinson, MS of course it didn't mention lyme...
Allot of it has to do with a person's genetic make up and works based on that person's genetic makeup.
Also has anyone ever been to a dermatologist and if so what for? Just wondering I'm sure some have but for my own knowledge. Can you share you results?
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