High Iron But Doctors Wont Let Me Donate Blood Because Of G6PD Deficiency. Dunno What To Do

Sexypizza

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I've been taking Thyroid for almost half a year now with no noticeable effect. My temps and pulse are still low and my symptoms aren't subsiding. So I decided to do a lot of blood tests and I found out my Ferritin and Transferrin saturation are high. Now I suspect that my Iron levels could be the reason thyroid isn't working for me.

Iron 28.6 umol/L ref range 10.0 - 30.0

Transferrin 2.59 g/L ref range 2.10 - 3.80

Transferrin saturation 44% ref range 15- 50

Ferritin 347 ug/L ref range 30- 250

AST 21 U/L ref range < 51

I divided my Ferritin by the value of AST (liver enzyme) and got 16.5 which according to Haidut in his other posts around the forum is really high. 17 means that I have toxic amounts of Iron in my liver and a ratio of over 10 seems to indicate well above average hepatic iron stores.

So the dilemma I'm in now is that I'm trying to get rid of this Iron by donating blood at the red cross but they already know that I was born with a G6PD deficiency and so they are refusing to take my blood because they said it could be dangerous, which I don't know if its true or not. I always thought that my G6PD deficiency was pretty mild, as I seem to tolerate triggers like aspirin very well and never had any symptoms. all the blood banks around my city are part of the red cross so I don't have anywhere to donate now lol.

so now I'm trying to find other solutions. maybe bloodletting at home? or Iron chelation therapy? I don't know. any help would be appreciated though.
 

Luckytype

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If youre able to do it, why dont you start incorporating things to chelate while limiting intakes where you can.

Make sure you have enough of the competitive minerals when you eat iron.

Things like grape juice, cilantro in food, chlorella with it, obviously coffee etc.. pubmed has a good amount of iron chelation information. Phytic acid will do it too but im not sure of your take on that with regard to your diet. Then give yourself a retest in 8-10 weeks to see how much it moves then go from there.
 
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Sexypizza

Sexypizza

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If youre able to do it, why dont you start incorporating things to chelate while limiting intakes where you can.

Make sure you have enough of the competitive minerals when you eat iron.

Things like grape juice, cilantro in food, chlorella with it, obviously coffee etc.. pubmed has a good amount of iron chelation information. Phytic acid will do it too but im not sure of your take on that with regard to your diet. Then give yourself a retest in 8-10 weeks to see how much it moves then go from there.


Thanks, those sound helpful. ill try to incorporate them into my diet.
 

vulture

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Couldn't you just self draw some blood and feed a dog with it? I mean...there's a guy who made himself an appendicitis surgery
 

fradon

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I've been taking Thyroid for almost half a year now with no noticeable effect. My temps and pulse are still low and my symptoms aren't subsiding. So I decided to do a lot of blood tests and I found out my Ferritin and Transferrin saturation are high. Now I suspect that my Iron levels could be the reason thyroid isn't working for me.

Iron 28.6 umol/L ref range 10.0 - 30.0



Transferrin 2.59 g/L ref range 2.10 - 3.80

Transferrin saturation 44% ref range 15- 50

Ferritin 347 ug/L ref range 30- 250

AST 21 U/L ref range < 51

I divided my Ferritin by the value of AST (liver enzyme) and got 16.5 which according to Haidut in his other posts around the forum is really high. 17 means that I have toxic amounts of Iron in my liver and a ratio of over 10 seems to indicate well above average hepatic iron stores.

So the dilemma I'm in now is that I'm trying to get rid of this Iron by donating blood at the red cross but they already know that I was born with a G6PD deficiency and so they are refusing to take my blood because they said it could be dangerous, which I don't know if its true or not. I always thought that my G6PD deficiency was pretty mild, as I seem to tolerate triggers like aspirin very well and never had any symptoms. all the blood banks around my city are part of the red cross so I don't have anywhere to donate now lol.

so now I'm trying to find other solutions. maybe bloodletting at home? or Iron chelation therapy? I don't know. any help would be appreciated though.

do thirty minutes of jump rope a day...this will lower your iron
Foot Strike, Hemolysis, and How Iron is Lost Through the Feet | Fergon

also some lady on this forum was using CILANTRO to chelate iron and it worked for her.
 

Corinnelouise

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Have you been tested for haemachromatosis ? You can go on a blood letting schedule where they will remove and discard
 
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Sexypizza

Sexypizza

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Have you been tested for haemachromatosis ? You can go on a blood letting schedule where they will remove and discard


I haven't yet but I'm def planning to. It would be a really ***t combo if I have both G6PD and hemochromatosis.
 

lvysaur

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Do you have any observable symptoms of G6PD?
 
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Sexypizza

Sexypizza

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Do you have any observable symptoms of G6PD?

Nope, I never had any, but I had a blood test that did confirm me having a G6PD deficiency and my family growing up always told me to be careful of eating beans, particularly Fava beans, and nuts because of it. after moving out, though, years ago I did go through periods where I ate both beans and nuts without any symptoms. Some blood tests I have from that time did show that my RBC levels were low and after I stopped eating those things my RBC went back up but I never noticed any symptoms the whole time.

I dont eat beans or nuts anymore.
 

aguilaroja

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. So I decided to do a lot of blood tests and I found out my Ferritin and Transferrin saturation are high.
so now I'm trying to find other solutions. maybe bloodletting at home? or Iron chelation therapy?

One practical way to lower iron is by limiting intake. For omnivores who eat ample protein, this often means reducing the intake of muscle meat, and instead using different protein sources, like dairy, gelatin or shellfish/fish or safe vegetable sources as available.

This does not reduce things as quickly as phlebotomy, but will noticeably lower things in a matter of weeks.
-
Iron's Dangers
“Q. I can't avoid all those foods, especially the bread and grains. What can I do to keep the iron I ingest from harming me? 

Iron destroys vitamin E, so vitamin E should be taken as a supplement. It shouldn't be taken at the same time as the iron-contaminated food, because iron reacts with it in the stomach. About 100 mg. per day is adequate, though our requirement increases with age, as our tissue iron stores increase. Coffee, when taken with food, strongly inhibits the absorption of iron, so I always try to drink coffee with meat. Decreasing your consumption of unsaturated fats makes the iron less harmful. Vitamin C stimulates the absorption of iron, so it might be a good idea to avoid drinking orange juice at the same meal with iron-rich foods. A deficiency of copper causes our tissues to retain an excess of iron, so foods such as shrimp and oysters which contain abundant copper should be used regularly.”
 

lvysaur

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One practical way to lower iron is by limiting intake. For omnivores who eat ample protein, this often means reducing the intake of muscle meat

red meat, not muscle. Additionally, some shellfish have very high levels of iron, clams for example
 

Elie

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Look into inositol 6 phosphate, IP6 L, 500 mg twice daily. Cant remember why, but can help lowet it.
 

tankasnowgod

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so now I'm trying to find other solutions. maybe bloodletting at home? or Iron chelation therapy? I don't know. any help would be appreciated though.

Well..... others have done a home phlebotomy.......

There are other options, beside blood donation. Personally, I have used IP6, in conjunction with blood donation, and found it to lower ferritin quicker than just blood donation would be expected to. Anthony Colpo also used IP6 with success.

You can also use dietary changes. Dr. Facchini designed such a diet, and had great success, not just in lowering ferritin, but also in health outcomes- http://www.healtheiron.com/Websites...oSlow_Progression_of_Diabetic_Nephropathy.pdf

I'm wary of the use of whole grains and soy, but using low iron proteins like chicken, dairy, and eggs in place of red meat can have profound effects. Dairy and Eggs especially, as they are not only low iron, but also have iron inhibiting and iron binding compounds naturally occurring, like lactoferrin.

And, speaking of lactoferrin, it is also sold as a supplement and might help to lower iron levels, just be sure to get lactoferrin without iron, as some is sold as an iron boosting compound.

Some iron is lost through sweat, so any sort of activity that generates sweat (be it exercise or sauna use) can help to lower iron levels, too.

I also read an interview with E. D. Weinburg, an iron researcher, that kept his iron in check with aspirin and a prescription calcium channel blocker. Calcium also inhibits the absorption of iron (and blocks both heme and non-heme), so a supplement of egg or oyster shell calcium with any iron rich meal might be beneficial.
 
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encerent

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Sep 16, 2014
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I've been taking Thyroid for almost half a year now with no noticeable effect. My temps and pulse are still low and my symptoms aren't subsiding. So I decided to do a lot of blood tests and I found out my Ferritin and Transferrin saturation are high. Now I suspect that my Iron levels could be the reason thyroid isn't working for me.

Iron 28.6 umol/L ref range 10.0 - 30.0

Transferrin 2.59 g/L ref range 2.10 - 3.80

Transferrin saturation 44% ref range 15- 50

Ferritin 347 ug/L ref range 30- 250

AST 21 U/L ref range < 51

I divided my Ferritin by the value of AST (liver enzyme) and got 16.5 which according to Haidut in his other posts around the forum is really high. 17 means that I have toxic amounts of Iron in my liver and a ratio of over 10 seems to indicate well above average hepatic iron stores.

So the dilemma I'm in now is that I'm trying to get rid of this Iron by donating blood at the red cross but they already know that I was born with a G6PD deficiency and so they are refusing to take my blood because they said it could be dangerous, which I don't know if its true or not. I always thought that my G6PD deficiency was pretty mild, as I seem to tolerate triggers like aspirin very well and never had any symptoms. all the blood banks around my city are part of the red cross so I don't have anywhere to donate now lol.

so now I'm trying to find other solutions. maybe bloodletting at home? or Iron chelation therapy? I don't know. any help would be appreciated though.

Get a fake ID and go to a new red cross location as a new blood donor
 

tankasnowgod

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I haven't yet but I'm def planning to. It would be a really ***t combo if I have both G6PD and hemochromatosis.

I don't know much about G6PD, but it sounds like it could be one of those anemias where ferritin would be high, like sickle cell and thalessemia. One thing you might want to do is call a non-red cross blood donation center (even a non local one) and ask if you can donate with G6PD. A University hospital in a big city would be great, for example. I mention this only because I once overheard a conversation with someone who had minor thalessmia, and the donation center said that they still might be able to donate. Red Cross has a bunch of weird and unnecessary restrictions.

Regardless, if you do any sort of iron lowering protocol, you will want to keep an eye on your hemoglobin.
 

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