Lyme, babesia, bartonella and anemia

I'm just thinking out loud about this, but all the signs & symptoms of anemia are very similar to tick borne illnesses :

Fatigue
Weakness
Pale or yellowish skin
Irregular heartbeats
Shortness of breath
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Chest pain
Cold hands and feet
Headache

I also read (a while ago) that the body will decrease its iron levels in response to infections to avoid supporting the infection. Is it possible that some of our symptoms are the result of the body lowering its iron levels whether or not that brings us to the level of clinical anemia? Is it possible many of us have undiagnosed anemia?

I have low ferritin but all other values are on the high side of average. Whenever I supplement iron, I feel much much worse immediately - liver pain, constipation, terrible headaches, and an all-over feeling of toxicity (like a bad hangover). Not sure if that supports your theory or not, but I agree that the overlap is interesting and have had this thought myself!

The Root Cause protocol (nothing to do with the root canal documentary) suggests that people who don't menstruate should donate blood regularly (that then is dumped, not actually given to anyone). I forget why the blood donation is supposed to help, but it might be worth looking into. https://therootcauseprotocol.com/about/#