Iron overload isn't healthy...esp. hard on the liver and heart. Blood letting...or giving up 1 unit actually will help one to feel better.

I have several scattered files on Hemochromatosis, Iron in Alzheimers and in MS...

Tannins chelate iron. How about some nice blueberries?

Go here:
http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/hemochromatosis.html

I found a good article on hemo... in a medical textbook in the library. Based on that, I decided not to have repeated phlebotomies, because my iron levels were not all that elevated, plus they seemed to vary, depending on what I was putting in my mouth pill-wise (supplements).

If you are interested in any more detail, let me know. In the past, I posted that babesia (and lyme) can cause hemolysis, and maybe that could cause iron levels to be testing higher. Just my speculation.

I got my test done thru Michigan State University Genetics Clinic. They have a testing kit you can get. Uses a little brush inside mouth as I recall. You mail it back. Not sure, but think you might need a doc order for results to be sent. Can get more info from them: http://www.healthteam.msu.edu/clinics/Genetics/default.asp

But maybe there is something similar in Canada.

As far as supplements are concerned, I read that in addition to avoiding iron in multivitamin, other supplements that include citrate or aspartate could also elevate iron readings. So, I found other combinations, as in calcium, etc. Was told to avoid iron cookware, liver, spinach. Lots of cereals and other foods are fortified with iron, don't know how you avoid them.

Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation were said to be the best tests for hemochromatosis (in the textbook article I mentioned). If you have these numbers, maybe you would post them?

Not sure liver enzymes are a good indicator of this, as some meds can elevate them too, as can other things. Are you taking milk thistle? I am not a fan of all alternative meds, but this one is good, in my opinion.

lyme dis., and babesiosis, will create a moderate to severe magnesium deficit, it seems esp. so for borreliosis. I personally presume that taking ip6, esp. in high doses, will also nab magnesium, thereby furthering Mg's deficit.

from a personal experience years ago,when naive about lyme,other TBDs,had a high free-iron load,and infected, i had 'enough' of an increase in my lyme symptoms and intuitively attributed them to the ip6, since this was the only thing i was taking. this is NOT to disparage ip6; theres wonderful resarch on its benifits w/rt high iron and cancer.

i intend on taking it again, prior to which I'll first take a month to build up my good mineral intake(except iron), and then institute the ip6.

i presume that the babesia eventually iether destroy rbc, or cause iron to leave the rbc, thereby getting loose into the bloodstream and elsewhere. In either case the blood iron load goes high, thereby wrecking 'havoc.' ip6 would nab this iron, but it will also nab other minerals, good and bad, as well.

black tea binds iron in the gut thereby preventing absorption. i once read an article that said the british are slightly iron-deficient. since the british drink a lot of tea, this may be one reason for the slight iron-deficit. the fact that they also consume red meat to a significant degree, and most, if not all red meats are a source of iron, then there might be something to the tea binding iron.

consider Dr. Zhang's herbal formulas, or a Naturopath,having graduated from Bastyr, or same kind of school as Bastyr.

His company is HepaPro.

consider a test for Free Iron. I know that Bioreference is one lab that does this.

Copper may also be a problem here.

ask the doc,given the liver,and overall health condition, if it would be safe for removing some blood periodically for the purpose of getting rid of the iron.

consider testing for various kinds of viral hepatitis.

if you get testing for different kinds of viral hepatitis, find out if lyme and other TBDs test false positive for these, as lyme will test false positive for the hiv virus. if lyme testing tests false positive for the hiv virus, there is probably a good chance that lyme will test false positive for one or more of the different kinds of viral hepatitis.

[This message has been edited by pq (edited 21 August 2005).]

chlorphyl might help

for free radical damage, consider
resveratrol
r-lipoic acid
ECGC

quote:

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Originally posted by Marnie:

Blood letting...or giving up 1 unit actually will help one to feel better.

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Yes, but it shouldn't be donated! Yikes!

A quick look stated that tea was good to block iron absorption and also suggested calcium supplements for the same reason. Vitamin C looks like it could be ok between meals and might actually help prevent free radical damage from excess iron.

Hope you to do not have this problem on top of everything else tick-borne, but it does look like a good probability based on family history.

Keep us updated.

Bea Seibert

when i was severly symptomatic,naive about lyme's effects, had a severe magnesium deficit, and took ip6 per instructions, my magnesium deficit symptoms got worse hour(s) after intake. i immediately stopped it, and the Sx diminished considerably. this is my interpretation.

nonetheless, i still believe its an excellent product.

theoretical reason for my increased Sx on ip6:

there are 6 phosphate groups hanging in space off a ring structure. these groups have oxygen atoms that have negative charges on them that are "out there" in sace.
Magnesium is strongly electropositive, and the oxygens would probably nab onto the magesium, whether free in ionic form or loosely bonded to another molecule.

another theoretical reason may be that, having nabbed the iron, this may have freed-up Nat. Killer cells; thusly and hence manifested as symptoms of lyme and other TBDs.

quote:

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Originally posted by krazykt1:
I have read many articles on ip6 and they seem to insist it does not target needed minerals (mag. etc ) I don't know if this is accurate or not considering the sell sell sell business mentality out there. catch 22.

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