Iron Issues - Help? (with Labwork)

jaakkima

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Hello. So, after years of doing Peat stuff, I feel some improvements but overall issues remain. I developed anemia at some point, and lab tests have repeatedly shown results of Total Iron, Saturation %, and Ferritin all very low. The anemia is macrocytic, and my B6 didn't test low. Are there any plausible explanations for these lab patterns other than real iron deficiency that someone can suggest?

I became aware of the iron deficiency after I had a massive pulmonary embolism. I had to be on warfarin at first and I recently came off it thinking that a high dose of Vitamin E, aspirin and Vitamin K would be safer for preventing and dissolving clots. I hadn't been able to find any other explanations to ponder for the iron labwork, so I decided to supplement Iron Bisglycinate, 50mg/day, for a month, and see if it changes anything. So, after a month of that, I stopped and got another iron panel. Not only did no values go up, but they went just slightly down.

My questions:
1. Any other possible explanations for the iron lab patterns? I don't want to go supplementing iron more if it's not relatively certain I'm deficient.
2. Does Vitamin E deplete iron stores? I have heard conflicting things about this. I might have prevented the supplement from working and even lowered my levels by taking 1600IU Vitamin E, if so, even though I took them about 10 hours apart to avoid absorption issues.
3. I have encountered information stating that iron deficiency can cause clotting events. If this is true and was the cause of mine, I need to take quite different measures from the ones usually prescribed from a Peat point of view. And if Vitamin E also depletes iron then I should stop taking it or lower it.
4. Can we have a level-headed discussion about this in the Peat community? I imagine I could have induced a real deficiency through inflammation and iron-inhibiting diet. And it could explain why the hardcore Peating I've been doing for years hasn't had much greater results.

Most recent iron panel:
Total Iron: 20
Saturation %: 5
Ferritin: 8

Thanks :)
 

PakPik

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Hello, just wanted you warn you that aspirin can work as an iron chelator. That could be really bad for a person who has an iron deficiency. Both iron deficiency and excess are harmful. Your test results suggest to me according to what I've read that iron is very low (I checked it out here TIBC, UIBC, and Transferrin: The Test | TIBC, UIBC, and Transferrin Test: Iron Binding Capacity; IBC; Serum Iron-Binding Capacity; Siderophilin; Total Iron Binding Capacity; Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity | Lab Tests Online). I've read iron deficiency can raise the risk of clotting events https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215095459.htm. I think I've never read vitamin E can chelate iron, but I do know aspirin can (there's a thread in the forum in you're interested). Could aspirin be why your iron got even lower?

Iron is required by our bodies just as any nutrient, and sure, an excess can be really bad, but a deficiency can have even worse consequences than an excess.
 
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jaakkima

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Thank you. I just recently became aware of aspirin's chelation as well, and am just now looking at information on it. I have also used it a lot and at high doses, so that could very well be involved.
 
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jaakkima

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I don't see a thread on it when I search "aspirin iron'... Edit: Nevermind, I found it.
 

Pointless

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K2 and riboflavin can both help get your ferritin up. Mine used to be as low as yours, but it's at the low end of the normal range now. I eat a lot of red meat, and I was eating liver frequently at one point. Are you getting iron in your diet like from meat?
 
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jaakkima

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Mainly liver, a big serving weekly at the moment (eating some right now), with OJ. Other meat off and on occasionally. I am supplementing both K2 and riboflavin, been on K2 for a while. 20mg/day currently to reverse any warfarin-induced calcification. Just started riboflavin a week or so ago. How long did yours take to come up? How much riboflavin did you use if you used it? How are your related labs?
 
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jaakkima

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@jaakkima, has intestinal bleeding been ruled out?

No, but there haven't been any obvious signs of it. I was reluctant to submit myself to the invasive procedures like an endoscopy, especially since my GI issues seem to me to be improving a lot now.
 

Giraffe

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jaakkima

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I think I did have a fecal occult blood test a bit back, but I'll check and make sure.
 
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jaakkima

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In original post I accidentally typed macrocytic, meaning to type microcytic. I don't see a way to edit the post, just correcting that.
 
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iron stores can be mobilized with more vitamin A. Have you ruled out vitamin A deficiency?

[Effects of vitamin A supplementation on nutritional status of iron in healthy adults]. - PubMed - NCBI
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the effect of vitamin A (VA) supplementation on the nutritional status of iron in healthy adults.

METHODS:
One hundred and fifteen healthy adults were recruited and divided randomly into four groups, with 28 or 29 adults in each group. VA supplements with different doses of retinyl acetate in capsules were given for 4-month. The equivalent doses of supplemented retinyl acetate were 600 microg/d, 400 microg/d, 200 microg/d and 0 microg/d (control) of retinol, respectively. The capsules were administered orally by double blind method. During the experiment, the subjects kept their usual dietary pattern but avoided high VA or pre-VA carotenoids foods from their diets. A 24-h dietary recall was carried out monthly on every subject. Before and after the intervention, the fast blood samples were collected from each subject, and were determined for hemoglobin concentration, levels of serum retinol, iron, ferrtin and transferrtin receptor.

RESULTS:
Total 108 subjects finished the experiment, with 27, 28, 27 and 26 persons left in group A, B, C and D, respectively. The subjects from each group had similar dietary intakes of energy nutrients, VA and iron (both were P > 0.05) during the experimental period. The serum retinol concentration of subjects from group A increased from 1.63 +/- 0.55 micromol/L of baseline to 1.93 +/-0.52 micromol/L at the end of the experiment (P < 0.05). The elevated value of serum retinol for group B and C were 0.29 micromol/L and 0.14 micromol/L (both were P < 0.05). There was no difference before and after the experiment for control group D (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference on Hb concentration before and after the experiment as well as between groups (all were P > 0.05). In subjects of group A, serum iron concentration increased (P < 0.05) and serum ferrtin and transferrtin receptor concentration decreased significantly (both were P < 0.05) after VA supplement intervention. No such changes were observed in group B and C (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION:
It seems that the intervention of VA supplement with relative high dose of retinol at dietary level could enhance the iron status further in no-anemic healthy adults even without dietary iron supplementation.
 
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jaakkima

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I eat .5 to 1lb of beef liver a week. Over the years I've been doing liver or using the Nutrisorb A sometimes. I am anemic though, maybe that study wouldn't apply.
 

tankasnowgod

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Mainly liver, a big serving weekly at the moment (eating some right now), with OJ. Other meat off and on occasionally. I am supplementing both K2 and riboflavin, been on K2 for a while. 20mg/day currently to reverse any warfarin-induced calcification. Just started riboflavin a week or so ago. How long did yours take to come up? How much riboflavin did you use if you used it? How are your related labs?

If you're trying to raise iron, I actually don't think you're eating enough meat, and also not eating it frequently enough. I've heard that there's a mechanism that limits the amount of iron absorbed from a single high iron meal, specifically a high heme-iron meal. In other words, if you ate 2 oz of liver every day, you would likely absorb more iron than eating 14 oz once a week, although they both have the same iron content. Liver is rich in iron, but any sort of red meat would do you well.

Aspirin certainly lowers iron stores, so I'd be wary of it at the moment. Also, Peat friendly foods like eggs and milk contain iron binding compounds like lactoferrin, so I would dial those back (although I wouldn't cut them out of my diet completely). Iron is also lost through sweat, so if you're really active or spend a lot of time in a sauna, it might also be contributing to low levels.

I'm also wary of straight up iron supplements. If I were low in iron, I would focus on eating more meat, and maybe taking something like dessicated liver, or ferritin in a supplement (I've seen it on Amazon).
 

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