i have high iron

[lngnstrng]

im on the wheldon antibiotics protocol for chlamydia pneumoniae. recently found out that after taking metronidazol i have high iron at least for several weeks. it disappears again though so i think this is due to the fact that cells die during the antibiotics treatment and iron is released. not an expert though. there is nothing else that justifies high iron like diet or another disease. it goes back to normal after some time.

i just wonder if that is a bad thing to have for a few months or not. saturation is 70%. normal range goes up to 50%. in the 60-70% range there is "free" iron connected to albumin in the bloodstream. i have symptoms like: loss of sex drive, joint pain, weakness, heavy legs, numbness + tingling, depression, bad mood, back pain, heavy legs after taking the metronidazol for some weeks but this could be anything from bacterial toxins to god knows what.

i wonder if it makes sense to treat this at all. my suspicion is that the iron is just put in the newly created cells after some time because i usually am not high on iron. if i would ask the doctor to do some phlebotomy a couple of times i wonder if the iron gets too low then.

with a saturation of 70% things can go into tissue and organs ive erad though which is not good. imight also have porphyria from the infection in some tissues. i did the poor mans test and it was negative.

can iron saturation also be high from released porphyrins? im about to try hydroxychloroquin to see if it helps anything.

 

[BrightCandle]

Its hard to control free iron and cellular iron levels. I was reading through a paper about this a few days ago and our knowledge of what the body is really doing and why and what is pathological and what is sensible defence against pathogens is very poor. We have no real reliable way to treat Iron issues especially if its high in blood and low in the cells which implies a B12 deficiency but addressing that often doesn't solve it. With just the free iron measurement its not even clear if you really have an Iron problem leading to fatigue or just an Iron regulation issue in the blood that in this case may very well be temporary,

 

[lngnstrng]

UIBC 70 125 - 345 μg/dL
Iron 180 33 - 193 μg/dL
Iron uptake 250 250 - 450 μg/dL

do these values help?

 

[linusbert]

maybe lactoferrin can help

 

[Carl]

For people with haemochromatosis Curcumin/Turmeric is meant to be very helpful. Haemochromatosis can be very damaging, therefore using something like Curcumin can be very beneficial. BTW Curcumin can also cause damage to certain pathogenic bacteria cell membranes and therefore it can also be helpful to destroy bacterial pathogens.
Natural Products for the Treatment of Chlamydiaceae Infections (Chlamydia pneumoniae)

Resveratrol and curcumin reduce the respiratory burst of Chlamydia-primed THP-1 cells - PubMed Abstract
Resveratrol and curcumin reduce the respiratory burst of Chlamydia-primed THP-1 cells - Sci-Hub Article
In Vitro Susceptibility Of Chlamydia Pneumonia To Extracts Of Curcurma Longa L. And Zingiber Officinalis L. (Zingiberaceae) - Abstract only, Sci-Hub doesn't seem to have the full paper for some reason despite it being from 2016

 

[overtheedge]

I suspected high iron recently due to excessive consumption of fortified cereals, when my ferritin came back though after the gp appointment it was normal so i'm unlikely to have iron overload but i kept my notes on it, here they are.
the youtube videos below are just where the information below them came from, i didnt mean for the videos to be displayed but rather just the links

also, I have heard some say iron cookware can lead to iron overload



https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351448

Blood tests

The two key tests to detect iron overload are:

• Serum transferrin saturation. This test measures the amount of iron bound to the protein transferrin that carries iron in your blood. Transferrin saturation values greater than 45% are considered too high.
• Serum ferritin. This test measures the amount of iron stored in your liver. If the results of your serum transferrin saturation test are higher than usual, your health care provider may check your serum ferritin.

These blood tests for iron are best performed after you have been fasting. Elevations in one or all of these tests can be found in other disorders. You may need to have the tests repeated for the most accurate results.

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Misc sources

Ferritin should be below 100 or mb below 50



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Reddit

says GP and hematologist are main docs fr this



NORMAL LAB LEVELS

Ferritin: 12 to 150 ng/mL

Transferrin saturation: 20% to 50%

Iron: 60 to 170 mcg/dL

Total iron binding capacity (TIBC): 240 to 450 mcg/dL

Wait, I thought you said there were two important iron numbers. Are there four?

Saturation is derived from iron and TIBC.



Should I try chelating instead of phlebotomy?

Unfortunately chelating just isn't in the same league as phlebotomy when it comes to reducing iron. The extra strain on your already-strained liver and kidneys probably isn't worth it to even attempt just chelation. Work with your doctor on this-- the medical establishment usually only chelates in really desperate situations. Dietary chelation is best for symptom management during treatment, or increasing the time between phlebotomies.

Should I do diet restriction AND phlebotomy?

Generally phlebotomy is enough. Counter-intuitively, you actually need to eat more iron if you're phlebotomizing, especially right after. Users who report doing both usually also report fatigue. Diet restriction is however very useful if you're waiting on your first phlebotomy.

I have high saturation but not high ferritin. Am I overloaded?

Not in the traditional sense that your iron storage is overloaded. Your iron metabolism, however, might be "overloaded," or backed up. This can be caused by too much incoming iron or deficiencies in the materials the body uses to process iron, like copper. Or by a big meal. Work with a doctor and/or dietitian to figure it out. People with H63D or very high ferritin will almost always have elevated saturation.

What's a high ferritin?

1000 ferritin is generally the threshold where the clinical system will take notice. Pretty much everyone agrees 1000 is too high. But for some, 50-150 can be a threshold for symptoms.

What's a good phlebotomy schedule for treatment?

Aggressive doctors will want weekly or every-other-week phlebotomies. This is a very taxing schedule, so your doctor may adjust things as needed. Generally if your ferritin is very high, you want to do an aggressive schedule for a while just to get away from your peak ferritin. Always be sure to communicate how you're doing to your doctor, and don't be afraid to reschedule a phlebotomy if you feel like you just can't do it.



Phlebotomies are done till ferritin is less tn 50g/L

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if do hv iron overload watch more of his vids here: https://www.youtube.com/@toomuchiron/videos

Often w phlebotomy ferritin will come down but transferrin saturation will stay high for a while

High TS and normal ferritin then there is never iron on liver biopsy

High ferritin doesn’t necessarily mean iron overload

Fibroscan can be used instead of liver biopsy

Usually liver tests (ast and alt) are normal in Hemochromatosis

expect some anemia with phlebotomy

stop phlebotomy if it goes under 100(dunno what test he’s talking about)

made it sound like chelation wasn’t a real option. If patients had a hard time getting to phlebotomies he would just stop phlebotomies n see how they did



https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/haemochromatosis/diagnosis/

If blood tests show that you have haemochromatosis, you may need to have some further tests to check if the condition has caused any organ damage, particularly damage to your liver.

These tests may include:

a liver ultrasound (Fibroscan) or MRI (liver multiscan)

an ECG or echo - to check your heart

rheumatology - check for joint diseases, such as arthropathy

endrocrinology - to check for diabetes or Addison’s disease

a DEXA scan - to check for osteoporosis