Mending adrenal glands - rising cortisol and feeling DRASTICALLY improved

[whodathunkit]

I missed this forum somehow (and thus this thread)...hypoadrenism is one of my biggest ongoing problems. There's a lot of great info here!

Did not know this information about low iron and cortisol...that's very interesting. Yet another piece of the puzzle for me thanks to Phoenix Rising Forums!

So now I'm wondering if chronic anemia has been part of my adrenal problems all along. No doctor has ever mentioned this possible link between the two.

Last September my ferritin level was a whopping 9, the all-time low . In January it was 13, despite an iron transfusion in October. After the iron transfusion it went briefly up to about 50, but then plummeted rapidly.

So for the last month I've been taking about 50mg iron glycinate/day at the same time as 2000mg liposomal vitamin C, along with the methylB12 and adB12 I take for methylation. It took me a while to decide to do supplement oral iron, as I already take a bunch of supplements and iron is a PITA as you shouldn't mix it with food or other minerals if you are concerned about getting maximum absorption. I plan my daily schedule around taking iron right now. But I'll never do another transfusion again (expensive and not worth the trouble or expense, IMHO) , and eating liver can suppress the thyroid, so this is my only option.

After only a month of this my ferritin went from below 13 to 22. It's still a work in progress but I expect to have normal ferritin level (over 50) by the time I go back in July. I may have it tested in May just to make sure I don't get too high. There is some evidence to suggest that there is increased inflammation with ferritin level over 50.

Taking iron at the same time as vitamin C increases absorption. And apparently if you're B12 deficient your body can't hang onto whatever iron you give it, even if you give it a lot. Personally, I think chronic B12 deficiency was a big part of my problem. I also have female problems, but ferritin level after the transfusion dropped so rapidly and the level from taking oral supplements after fixing my B12 status has risen so quickly that my anemia can't possibly be all from the female thing. The female thing has been ongoing for years and while I've had lower ferritin and iron levels for a while, the very, very low levels are a relatively recent development (within the last couple of years).

Apologies if the vitamin C and B12 things have been mentioned and/or covered thoroughly before in this thread or elsewhere. I haven't had time to read this whole adrenal forum or even this whole thread. Just thought I'd throw it out there as I didn't see them mentioned in the few posts I have read, and I consider them crucial.

 

[Thinktank]

@whodathunkit , take a look at a lactoferrin complex. I've heard mention people their iron/ferritin never increased with iron supplementation but got back to normal with lactoferrin. It "robs" iron from cells that are not part of you.

 

[Helen]

And apparently if you're B12 deficient your body can't hang onto whatever iron you give it, even if you give it a lot. Personally, I think chronic B12 deficiency was a big part of my problem.

Yes, this could also be the reason that your iron doesn´t increase enough. Your doctor should know about this connection.

 

[whodathunkit]

@Thinktank: thanks for the tip! But can you please clarify this remark:

It "robs" iron from cells that are not part of you.

Right now I'm having a vision of the lactoferrin transporting out my body, robbing someone else's cells of all their iron, and then coming back to me with a fresh supply.

Do you mean it robs parasites/bacteria (or maybe even cancer cells, etc.) that need iron to thrive, while keeping the iron for your own cells to use?

I didn't choose lactoferrin because I've read some things that indicate lactoferrin may block iron from our own cells. A little more info might be helpful. I'll definitely give it a go if I think it could do me some good.

FWIW, I don't think any iron-robbing bacteria or parasites (Lyme or whatever) are part of my problem. I have had chronic diet and health issues for decades that provide the perfect explanation for my problem with iron and ferritin. Now that I'm taking proper care of myself these issues seem to be resolving.

@Helen: you would think a doctor would have mentioned this to me, but no one did. The only explanation I can think of why they might not have is that my serum B12 tested normal (which, as we all know, doesn't mean it's getting into your cells or that your body is able to utilize it properly) and they didn't know any other B12 indicators to look for. But I just don't remember being tested for B12 and can't find any of my paperwork, and my hematologist was very obliging whenever I've asked him for prescriptions of larger doses of injectable mB12, so I don't know. I'm definitely going to look at past blood work to see why it was never brought up. I just haven't gotten around to getting it from my doctors yet.