djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
Hey friends-
It's been a long time! Good to see all the usuals still frequenting LN.
I am in the process of mounting a new attack, and was hoping I would be able to get some suggestions on iron supplements.
I have come to the conclusion that I "may" be low on iron, and therefore would like some suggestions/brands, etc, on what you all do to treat the deficiency.
I am aware that the little microbials that make out lives interesting suck the Mg and Iron right out of us, and I also am aware of the back and forth "to supplement or to not" because if they feed off it/thrive off it why put more in?
Personally, I've come to the conclusion that my body lived in harmony w/ the buggers before, so it will again learn to do so. If this means taking small doses of things that lyme & co eat, so be it as my body also needs these things!
anyway, suggestions/comments/concerns are welcome!
Thanks in advance and I've missed you all.
Cheers!
-D
ps- Can someone be kind enough to shoot me the link to the chat (I lost it) as well as the password? I can no longer get in w/o it. Thanks!
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
I just noticed you are from West Chester, PA....don't know if I ever mentioned this to you, but that is where I got bit, and my LLMD told me that the year I got bit (2001), West chester was HORRIFIC for Lyme/co's, speaking of frequency and severity of illness. Yikes!!!
Sorry, don't know much about iron supplementation.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hi D, Have you ever tried Infed iron drips? It's a process but they help.
Hoosiers, I can't open the link. Is there any other way to access the chat. I'm very interested in this.
Posts: 677 | From Virginia | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
1. There are 2 other symptoms of parasites: Eosinophilic Fasciitis, an autoimmune disease, and idiopathic Angioedema. Both of these conditions cause weight gain, too.
I have this problem. Just try to convince a mainstream doctor that you are not overeating because you have no appetite and the weight gain is a mystery. HAH!
I have been treated so horribly by doctors that flat out called me fat when I was actually swollen all over from an alergic reaction to parasites.
They call themselves doctors. Yes, I am still angry. I have been on a quest for 5 years to find cause of this horror and they were useless, except of course my ENT and LLMD helped in other ways.
I finally figured this all out from an episode of Mystery Diagnose. Then printed out pictures of swollen people who looked like me and showed to my ENT who agreed it was Angioedema, and I am in beginning stages of treatment. Will keep u posted.
I feel compelled to put this out there for that one other person who may be experiencing this disfigurement.
2. My understanding is that Lyme B. itself is not interested in iron but ALL his comrades love it.
Got to be careful! Too much is toxic so please get your Ferritin level checked before you take iron.
Ferritin is the enzyme that your body produces to deal with too much iron.
As your Ferritin level goes, so goes the amount of iron floating in your blood veins (a free radical). I also happen to have Hemochromatosis H63D Homo, also called iron overload.
So I can vouch that real people actually can have these rare disorders and weird genetic defects you read about somewhere.
Parasites are very bad! I had no idea!
Jan
-------------------- 3 Strains Mycoplasma and Chlymedia 2001. After treatment fine for all 2004. Major symptoms since 2005. Diag Aug 2008 Lyme. 400 mg/d doxy 500 2/d Ceftin Posts: 164 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Very bad idea to supplement with iron, because the only way to get rid of any excess is to bleed it out. Iron overload is a serious issue, and this is what will happen to you if you are ever successful in destroying the bugs.
IMO, using supplements while there are active infections in your body is like fertilizing them on a daily basis. This is what I think is one of the top two reasons why abx therapies are failing so often, esp with the people here that get sucked in to taking huge amounts of mag and other vitamin / mineral / amino acids on a daily basis.
They become convinced that it is a good thing to do because of the initial gains in energy and/or strength, but that improvement quickly tapers off. IMO, supplements are giving the bugs the ability to multiply very quickly, as well as allowing them to set up biofilm communities for protection against abx and immune systems, and helping them to develope resistance to drugs rather quickly. In essencs, supplements are making them into superbugs.
I haven't taken any mag supps for over two years now, and I don't have a single twitch in my body....not ever! This use to be one of my major Sx's. I know that I do still have Bart, but I have been busy trying to find an effective protocol for Babesia Duncani (WA-1) that will totally erradicate it, and not just make me feel better. And even though I haven't been able to go after Bart, it hasn't been much of a problem for me because I Don't Fertilize!.
-------------------- You're only a failure when you stop trying. Posts: 945 | From U.S | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
Lymeorsomething
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16359
posted
Its not a necessarily a bad idea as long as levels are watched through blood tests. You don't even need a doc to order these types of blood tests.
It's a tough call with iron because it's hard to know whether the body is purposefully sequestering iron in the presence of infection or whether the infection is taking a toll on iron stores.
Studies I've read suggest that low iron even without anemia may cause energy issues. So it may be a good idea to keep the ferritin level over 50. Supposedly this may be good for your hair too.
Iron supps may help those with hypothyroid issues as well...
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 2062 | From CT | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged |
lymeHerx001
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6215
posted
I believe that excessive iron is bad and it fuels the microbes.
I would not supplement unless you come up depleted.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
To keep your strength up, you keep the pathogens strength up as you are trying to kill them.
But experience has taught me that once your body starts going into a catabolic state, it's REAL hard to turn it around.
So it needs to be avoided and I have to keep my strength up, which is fertilizing.
But it is working for you, and I hope you kick pathogen butt!!!
-------------------- 3 Strains Mycoplasma and Chlymedia 2001. After treatment fine for all 2004. Major symptoms since 2005. Diag Aug 2008 Lyme. 400 mg/d doxy 500 2/d Ceftin Posts: 164 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
Hey Derek,
How have you been?
Perfect timing of this thread I just had my ferritin tested and it is very low and have been wondering this issue as well.
Hope all is well.
-------------------- "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
| IP: Logged |
Lauralyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15021
posted
My well respected LLMD said iron feeds babesia.
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Nettles are a great source of iron. I have really high iron, but low iron stores (ferritin) and it was what I was trying to figure out when I actually got diagnosed with lyme. Then I forgot all about it.
Floradix is a good iron supplement, if you really need to.
I'm really curious about how lyme & co's effect iron and iron stores.
Posts: 564 | From Tick Hell | Registered: Oct 2008
| IP: Logged |
djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
hey all, thanks for the replies.
i have been doing well, slight flu setback but ill be fine in a jiffy.
i think ill stick w/ the natural food iron sources, seems too risky.
again, i do not "know" i am low, i just sense it. its hard to explain.
can anyone suggest some good natural food iron resources?
also, what are nettles?
and caffeiene......its staying w/ me for now albeit it bad!
thanks again
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
posted
The supplement lactoferrin will help you absorb iron, but makes it unavailable to parasites. I am pretty sure that all parasites and bacteria except for Lyme require iron to grow. They also require folic acid, which may explain why many are deficient in this B vitamin as well.
Hubby was taking 2000 mg of lactoferrin daily, but I recently decreased this to 1000 mg daily as the supplement is fairly expensive. Vita Cost has the Jarrow brand on sale.
Actually bactrim and some malaria and toxoplasmosis meds such as Daraprim try to kill the pathogens by making folic acid unavailable to them.
This is not medical advice, just my opinion based on hubby's experiences.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic