IRON EXPERTS...HELP! Just Got Lab Results - HIGH FERRITIN

Good Morning Everyone -

Thanks in advance for your input........

While working on parasitic cleansing treatment I decided to get some blood testing done (I don't have a doctor, I order labs myself) that I put off for some time.

I have Hashimoto's plus "some type of parasitic event" in my body - and there can be problems with iron and B12 in this condition (plus the likelihood of leaky gut, etc. from all of the battles going on in my immune system). I wanted to be sure I wasn't deficient in these areas while putting my body through detox/herx scenarios with my parasite cleansing.

ANYWAY...I have HIGH FERRITIN...will post that and other "normal" labs below....I do recognize my other iron labs are on the "low end" of normal, but fortunately nothing off the map at this time!

B12 - 468 (normal)
TIBC - 299 (range: 250-450)
UIBC - 226 (range: 131-425)
SERUM IRON - 73 (range: 27-159)
IRON SATURATION - 24 (range: 15-55)
FERRITIN - 365 ***HIGH*** (range: 15-150)

So I have some questions, PLEASE????

1. My understanding is that this is indicative of INFLAMMATION - and can certainly happen with Hashimoto's. But Lyme and co-infections are inflammatory, too. Are my results (normal iron, high ferritin) common in Lyme, Bart, etc?

2. Just for nutrition purposes and gut healing, etc. I had been eating a diet of iron rich foods - liver, red meat, spinach - so now I should STOP?

3. How do you lower ferritin without risk to lowering my already "low normal" serum iron levels - wouldn't one impact the other?

4. Is my ferritin level worthy of the "go donate blood...pronto" protocol some people use?

Anything else you can share about iron would be appreciated. There is a lot on the internet, of course - but it is hard to get that data narrowed down with definitive Hashimoto's and "likely, yet undiagnosed" lyme or bart or some other stealth parasite.

One other thing - I now wish last summer I had got these levels tested. Because with parasite treatment my Hashimoto's symptoms (esp racing heart) have all but disappeared. I feel my inflammation is improving overall! So who knows what those levels might have been. Meaning, ferritin looks bad now but it could have been worse. With a baseline from last summer I might have been rejoicing at these iron labs, instead of fearing them.

Thanks so much for helping me.......I will be gone for quite some time today, but believe me I will be back on tonight and will appreciate every single word from everyone.

Have a great day..........Robin

Thanks Traveler -

I haven't had liver testing done but do take milk thistle. However, I always act like I have a struggling liver because of losing my gallbladder decades ago. I am always thinking about my liver, so to speak, because I am already at a disadvantage without my gallbladder.

I was wondering if all of this cleansing/herxing could have impacted my ferritin?

Also, I know nothing about how long this stored iron has been stored...meaning, could my high iron diet these past 3-4 months be to blame? Again, think bone broth, red meat, liver, spinach...every week!

GOOD POINT about blood/organ donation. Cannot believe I didn't think about that - I should know better. See, I am still in the "do I really have this?" because I've never seen an LLMD or had testing - so denial, denial, denial. I am getting Igenex testing done in 2 weeks, so hopefully in about 6 weeks I will have some results from that and maybe I will feel more like I fit in :)

Thank you for all of this information (as usual!) and I do hope others will jump in and give some feedback, too!

I don't know a lot about Ferritin/iron levels....

But I have a story to tell... my brother in law wasn't feeling well...never goes to the Dr., but finally went in - I can't remember his symptoms - I think he had fatigue.

Only thing wrong - high ferritin levels.

They wanted him to donate blood and get retested...he never did.

He retested his Ferritin a year or two later...and it was normal.

He said while the ferritin was high, he was under an extreme amount of stress for almost a year...and he is attributing it to that...

Yes, what sarah said! Even though my GP is not treating me for lyme, she knows I am on long-term antibiotics...and has me test for kidney/liver function tests every 4 weeks. She may not agree with long-term treatment, but she knows that as my Dr. , it's her duty to have my liver/kidneys monitored.

Hi Everyone -

Thanks! I JUST got home - gone much longer than expected......will enjoy reading all of these and will respond in a bit.......

So much good information and caring thoughts here.......thank you.

I have been my own doctor, researcher, lab orderer (ok, not a real word) and cheerleader during this long, long path - all while trying to help my daughter with similar symptoms while on a very tight budget. Have had to pick and choose what to test, what not to.

I definitely understand the importance of liver function - and appreciate the emphasis on testing. I will consider in the future but have at least taken the stance that I will assume my liver is not up to par, so handling with care :). If it wasn't up to par, would I change much as to the approach I am taking? Not really. I have been on a long path to find my root cause of my illnesses - and I know a bad liver wasn't the cause....if in bad shape, it is yet another symptom of a chronic illness...just like Hashimoto's, low minerals/malabsorption, food sensitivities and so many other problems.

I have read more about ferritin now that I am back home tonight and, like with everything else, it can be many things. But being my own doctor I always follow the clues as to what is most likely. Just like a detective at a bank robbery can't pursue every person in the bank, they grab a few of the suspects that make the most sense. That is the best I can do for now.

I am definitely an inflammation candidate - between thyroid antibodies over 1000 and parasitic overload...those are just the main, current issues. But there has been so much more. It wasn't until I randomly started trying a parasitic cleanse after so many other failed regimens that I saw huge changes in my life-long symptoms.

I am glad I did the testing. I will definitely cool it on the high iron diet while I continue treatments. But I think I will just keep plugging along my path. I may not have my root cause yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks again for your time and concern..........

That's good information, but with Lyme, it's different. Borrelia bacteria do NOT use iron like other bacterial infections. Lyme uses manganese.

"The bacterium that causes Lyme Disease substitutes manganese for iron in its diet, a new study finds. The pathogen is the first known organism to live without iron. "

www.livescience.com/28120-lyme-disease-manganese.html


Also, I just started a new thread with information for those that like to do their own research. I thought you might be interested. :

www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3584349

Aerose91 -

Sorry.....hadn't seen your post tucked in the thread!

I order my labs through privatemdlabs.com. They usually use LabCorp for the testing. Very simple and quick. Check for a lab near you BEFORE ordering. They aren't hard to find in urban areas.

Another hint - always do a search for promo codes...they always have them and it helps on costs even more.

You pay, print out the requisition form, take it to LabCorp and get the blood drawn. That's it! They email your results promptly.

***For hormone or thyroid or cortisol testing i use ZRT labs (have done so for nearly 10 years) - you order a self test kit, do testing at home and send them back in.