feelfit
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12770
posted
What are you using to bring levels up? I have just been using the cheap Wal-Mart iron supplement.
Is there something better? Levels are not going up too much, I'm at about an 11 now....something is eating my iron and I know it isn't Bb.
Thanks in advance, Feelfit
Posts: 3975 | From usa | Registered: Aug 2007
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disturbedme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12346
posted
From what I know, Babs is what causes low ferritin/iron levels. I too have a very low ferritin/iron stores and have been taking iron supplements... but I just get mine at the grocery store and have had no problem with it.
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
I could not tolerate any of the iron supplements at all. However, as suggested by my ND, I got my levels up very nicely with Stinging Nettle. It is very rich in iron but will not upset the stomach.
feelfit
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12770
posted
Thanks Guys!
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Do any of you get bad under-eye circles with the low iron?
I haven't had my iron levels tested in ages, but since my dark eye circles have been so bad in the past year, I am trying to narrow down what is causing it. They are so bad that it is clear something is "not right."
I think thinking the circles could be either low iron, low B vitamins, dehydration, or hypercoagulation/low circulation.
Trying to figure out which one, if any....
And I am thinking that maybe babesia, a mystery bug, or Lyme could be causing one of those above 4 problems, because this all happened very quickly after my likely tick exposure.
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
This is a very interesting post - does anyone know of research documenting the connection between babesia to low ferritin levels?
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feelfit
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12770
posted
Hoosiers,
I do have dark rings under my eyes, which were previously healthy looking. I can cover them with concealer when necessary.
Btmb03, there is documentation. Babesia often causes anemia as well. Do a search: Babesia Iron or Babesia Anemia.
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Google the words:
iron brain.
Be prepared for a shock!
Posts: 9481 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
I used Slow-Fe and it raised my ferritin about 30 points in 2 months. I think I started out taking 3 pills a day and then lowered it to 2 a day. Never had any stomach problems.
brooke
Posts: 117 | From PA | Registered: Aug 2008
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Thx Marnie and feelfit - my ferritin levels have not gone up as my doc would have liked *despite* iron supplementation. OK I'm ready for the shock..
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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about chewable iron with vitamin C - be sure to rinse you mouth VERY well afterward but do not brush for a couple hours and it can soften the tooth enamel.
Rinsing with water is vital, though, to keep the acid from attacking the tooth enamel.
Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Iron can be toxic to our brain. Iron is also very toxic to Bb. Hence the brain is the perfect "home" for Bb who would rather have low-ish iron levels.
Transferrin transports iron (Bb has a gene to do that). Lactoferrin BINDS iron.
"Iron is the most important ***inducer of reactive oxygen species***, therefore, the relation of iron to neurodegenerative processes is more appreciated today than it was a few years ago.
Brain iron concentrations are not static; they increase with age and in many diseases
and decrease when iron is deficient in the diet.
In infants and children, insufficient iron in the diet is associated with decreased brain iron and with changes in behavior and cognitive functioning.
Abnormal iron accumulation in the diseased brain areas and, in some cases, alterations in iron-related proteins have been reported in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Friedreich's ataxia.
There is strong evidence for iron-mediated ***oxidative damage*** as a primary contributor to cell death in these disorders.
Demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, especially warrant study in relation to iron availability.
Myelin synthesis and maintenance have a high iron requirement, thus, oligodendrocytes must have a relatively high and constant supply of iron.
However, the high oxygen utilization, high density of lipids, and high iron content of white matter all combine to increase the risk of oxidative damage."
What our body is trying to do is to "oxidize" Bb's Osp(s). Unfortunately, Bb can rebuild its cell walls.
Our bodies go into an "iron storage" mode when we have many infections since most pathogens (not Bb) use iron to replicate. Iron also triggers a LOT of those nasty "free radicals" which we are making to try to destroy Bb, but these same free radicals are damaging our own DEFENSE cells.
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feelfit
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12770
posted
Well Marnie, Bb is certainly alive and well in my brain.....possibly the rest of me too with the low levels of ferritin.
How does one balance these things? Seems like not supplementing would be good for the brain and for inhibiting babesia and other bugs that live off of iron....opening up ourselves for Bb to have a field day.
There is never a clear answer.
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Photon therapy FOLLOWED BY MgCl (raise the pH).
Too much oxidative damage as we are trying to "oxidize" Bb's Osp(s). Collateral damage to our own cells.
We gotta get hydrogen back into the cells.
THIS is perhaps THE most important thing Bb is depleting:
NADH
H.
2 photons (energy transfer) look to break apart H20 -> H+ and OH-
That H maybe attaching to our available NAD -> NADH which I will discuss in another post.
This looks to be incredibly protective.
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Feelfit, have you ever tried tx for babs?
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feelfit
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Member # 12770
posted
Guys,
NO! I have never treated for Babesia! 18 months of Lyme only treatment. I improved joint wise on my first 8 weeks of rocephin....nothing since.
I am sure that Babesia is the reason.
My first LLMD claims that my babesia was addressed with 4 days of malarone/zith one month and then repeated for 4 days the next month. That is it! 8 total days of babesia tx.
I have a new LLMD presently. I was to start Babesia tx at last appt., but then it was decided to do IV rocephin again with a cyst buster.
That is where I am at now.
I do have many babesia sx. low ferritin, headaches, swallowing and breathing problems.
AS for the iron and supplementing, I have asked myself this. Maybe I am low becaus of my bodies innate wisdom to keep me alive? Maybe my body is lowering my iron in order to starve the babesia?
My blood reads normal, it is my ferritin stores that are lacking.
Thanks for tossing this around with me guys. Much appreciated.
Btmb03, wanted to PM you but you have it disabled. Do you have diastolic dysfuntion as well? If so, is it grade I ?
Feelfit
Posts: 3975 | From usa | Registered: Aug 2007
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My ferritin was tanked, I think it was 3, I have babs. I did supplement with OTC ferrous sulfate for a few months which brought it up significantly.
Yes, my LLND said, you starve one thing and feed another, never an easy answer. I haven't checked my levels in awhile...maybe my next blood work. I've not supplemented for 6 months or so.
Hopefully you'll be able to properly treat the babs soon, sounds like that is a major player...I still think it is for me too. I treated for 3-4 months, just stopped treating and on a different protocol right now. Good luck. TS
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
feelfit~ Chlamydia pneumonia can also use iron. Have you been checked For Cpn? My ferritin level was quite low, and it took me over 2 years taking over 200 mg of elemental iron daily to get my ferritin level to 100 ng/mL which is where the iron disorders doctor wanted me to be before I quit taking iron. I still have to take iron regularly to keep my levels over 50.
Since you also have swallowing issues, have you been checked for enterovirus?
Best, Timaca
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
timaca- what dr would specialize in iron disorders. My recent ferritin is a 6.
I tested positive for babesia on the Igenex FISH.
thanks
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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Abxnomore
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18936
posted
I think a hematologist.
Posts: 5191 | From Lyme Zone | Registered: Jan 2009
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feelfit
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12770
posted
Okay Guys,
Saw my doc today. I am staying on IV Rocephin for 4 more weeks and adding mepron and zithromax after one week.....so addressing babesia.
Btm: I was told by my PCP and my LLMD today that diastolic dysfunction grade I is mild. And they do nothing for it because they do not know what to do! I was also told today that it can reverse itself...after clearing infections up.
Timica: I do have Cpn. No one ever mentions anything about that positive result though???? I will ck out the enteroviris.
TS, another thing we have in common
really appreciate this guys. It has helped me a lot.
Thanks, Feelfit
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
Feelfit~ If you have Cpn then do some reading at www.cpnhelp.org.
Cantgiveupyet~ I actually worked with an out of state doctor who specialized only in iron disorders. But, you could likely find a hemotolgist in your town to help you.
Just make sure that if you are taking iron supplements you are taking enough to move your ferritin level in the right direction. My ferritin level was 5 ng/mL and that was after taking iron supplements for several months. Clearly, the amount I was taking was doing nothing. It took a uterine ablation and a LOT of iron to get me moving in the right direction.
Best, Timaca
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