Need to build my Ferritin Back up. Need suggestions please.

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HealthMan

Member
I had the same issue (and have again due to increasing testosterone dosage) and ended up with way too high HCT and too low ferritin. Reducing my testosterone dosage to 100mg per week, losartan at 25mg daily, and using Thorne's Ferrasorb brought my iron to where it should be and my HCT leveled out. But, since I screwed it up recently, I have to do it all over again. My body just doesn't like being over 600 level total testosterone.
Do you think losartan helped at all with HCT? Or it was basically the testosterone dosage reduction?
 
Defy Medical TRT clinic doctor
Healthman pretty much covered it, but if you're supplementing iron (with vit c), and ferritin isn't going up, then you have other issues to deal with (usually your stomach acid & malabsorption issues).

Also Google foods/drinks that impede iron absorption, ie dairy, tea, coffee, etc, and avoid these for 2 hrs before/after taking iron.


Just one more thing (as Columbo once said!), that if you have some kind of infection, iron will 'feed' it and make it worse! Something else to consider.

These are some great tips thank you.
Right now after having my consult with my TRT doc the plan is to cut my .25 Tcyp to .20 M/W/F and supplement with 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate and Vit C 1 gram EOD.
I'll do a mini blood test in 6 weeks to see where I'm at TT FT HCT and ferritin.
 

HealthMan

Member
These are some great tips thank you.
Right now after having my consult with my TRT doc the plan is to cut my .25 Tcyp to .20 M/W/F and supplement with 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate and Vit C 1 gram EOD.
I'll do a mini blood test in 6 weeks to see where I'm at TT FT HCT and ferritin.
Feelinglost I was also reading about dessicated liver in capsules. It provides a lot of heme iron (higher absorption) in case non-heme iron supplementation doesn’t work for you.
One thing i notice about HCT as well. When i switched to daily injections I also started supplementing with 1000 mcg Vit B12 so that probably didn’t help keep my HCT stable.
I only supplemented vit b12 for 1 month but that could have helped fuel the HCT increase.
 

GreenMachineX

Well-Known Member
Do you think losartan helped at all with HCT? Or it was basically the testosterone dosage reduction?
Both I believe, because last year at some point I was on 40mg telmisartan and my hemoglobin was down to 16 at some point using 160mg test cyp. But I was also mildly iron deficient by then too so I believe they work rogether.
Healthman pretty much covered it, but if you're supplementing iron (with vit c), and ferritin isn't going up, then you have other issues to deal with (usually your stomach acid & malabsorption issues).

Also Google foods/drinks that impede iron absorption, ie dairy, tea, coffee, etc, and avoid these for 2 hrs before/after taking iron.

Just one more thing (as Columbo once said!), that if you have some kind of infection, iron will 'feed' it and make it worse! Something else to consider.
What's interesting about your last point, is when I had the flu last week and the week prior of showing symptoms, a bunch of iron deficiency symptoms showed up. Now that I'm healed, they are going away. For example, the corners of my mouth split and can even bleed when my iron is completely crashed, and that happened with the flu, but now it's healed. I've read that the body will push iron into storage to keep it away from the infection, and it fits with my experience. Good thing I didn't start supplementing iron when I first noticed the symptoms!
 
Feelinglost I was also reading about dessicated liver in capsules. It provides a lot of heme iron (higher absorption) in case non-heme iron supplementation doesn't work for you.
One thing i notice about HCT as well. When i switched to daily injections I also started supplementing with 1000 mcg Vit B12 so that probably didn't help keep my HCT stable.
I only supplemented vit b12 for 1 month but that could have helped fuel the HCT increase.

Hi HealthMan,
I don't need dessicated liver I like both beef and chicken liver.
Right now i have a large pot of chicken liver soup I'll have for lunch a few times a week. Basic from scratch chicken soup but sub liver for meat.

I also supplement with B12 about 3 times a week. Its Methyl B-12 5000 micro grams. Maybe I should stop taking those. Not sure why I started in the first place. Probably something I read on the internet, haha
 

HealthMan

Member
Hi HealthMan,
I don't need dessicated liver I like both beef and chicken liver.
Right now i have a large pot of chicken liver soup I'll have for lunch a few times a week. Basic from scratch chicken soup but sub liver for meat.

I also supplement with B12 about 3 times a week. Its Methyl B-12 5000 micro grams. Maybe I should stop taking those. Not sure why I started in the first place. Probably something I read on the internet, haha
:) i love red meat too!
Regarding Vit B12 it does indeed help boost RBC production. 5000 mcg 3x week is a big dosage. I think it would be a good idea to stop given high HCT has been a big concern for you and given you don’t remember why you are taking it hehehe
 
Right now after having my consult with my TRT doc the plan is to cut my .25 Tcyp to .20 M/W/F and supplement with 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate and Vit C 1 gram EOD.
You may want to check out other forms of Iron. Conventional iron supplementation‚ including forms such as ferrous sulfate‚ can cause gastrointestinal side effects – including nausea‚ vomiting‚ constipation‚ diarrhea‚ and dark-colored stools.

Check out Blood Builder, and read the reviews on Amazon. It already has Vitamin C included.
 
I never found one of those included Vitamin C that really has an effective dose of Vit-C, such as Vitron-C has 125mg of Vit-C....that's a pretty paltry dose of C.

I also recommend adding Lysine (amino acid) to aid absorption with 2g of Vit C. This worked for me with that Ferrets 325 I referred to earlier in this thread.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
after having my consult with Defy the plan is to cut my .25 Tcyp to .20 M/W/F and supplement with 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate and Vit C 1 gram EOD.
I'll do a mini blood test in 6 weeks to see where I'm at TT FT HCT and ferritin. My HCT was only 51.7 and I live at 6000ft meaning 49 is my pre TRT HCT lvl.
They (defy) was not very worried and though I could get my ferritin back rather quickly and with the reduced T dose I might not need to give blood so often.

So for now no more donating until post bloods. Which kind of sucks because if my HCT is high Defy will not let me have a consult until I donate and retest HCT.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
after having my consult with Defy the plan is to cut my .25 Tcyp to .20 M/W/F and supplement with 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate and Vit C 1 gram EOD.
I'll do a mini blood test in 6 weeks to see where I'm at TT FT HCT and ferritin. My HCT was only 51.7 and I live at 6000ft meaning 49 is my pre TRT HCT lvl.
They (defy) was not very worried and though I could get my ferritin back rather quickly and with the reduced T dose I might not need to give blood so often.

So for now no more donating until post bloods. Which kind of sucks because if my HCT is high Defy will not let me have a consult until I donate and retest HCT.

Defy medical staff told you that? OR the front office admin crew?
 

Thanks HealthMan.
Recovery of iron stores in all participants who received supplements took a median of 76 days (IQR, 20&#8211;126); for participants not taking iron, median recovery time was longer than 168 days (IQR, 147->168 days; P < .001). Without iron supplements, 67% of participants did not recover iron stores by 168 days.

Wow 76 days with supplementation seems like a long time to recover just 80%. Looks like I will only be donating 2-3 times a year. I guess I will have to argue with my doc if my HCT hits 51 again.

I am currently experimenting with my T cyp dose, with doc's approval, to find the smallest dose I can take without loss of TRT benefits. That should help HCT I think. But it is very slow going with the 40 days steaty state of T cyp.
 

madman

Super Moderator
Thanks HealthMan.


Wow 76 days with supplementation seems like a long time to recover just 80%. Looks like I will only be donating 2-3 times a year. I guess I will have to argue with my doc if my HCT hits 51 again.

I am currently experimenting with my T cyp dose, with doc's approval, to find the smallest dose I can take without loss of TRT benefits. That should help HCT I think. But it is very slow going with the 40 days steaty state of T cyp.

Whether on is just starting trt or has been on trt and is changing their protocol by increasing testosterone dose, changes in HCT will be seen within 1-3 months and it can take as long as 9-12 months to reach its peak.

So even though many tend to see an increase early on when starting trt or in those already on trt that are trying a new protocol and increasing t dose it can take a lot longer to truly see the end result....................but most that notice an increase in HCT above the healthy range within a short time frame will either donate blood or try decreasing overall weekly testosterone dose.

Even though testosterone levels (higher) and age (older individuals more sensitive) play a strong role in increasing ones HCT, there have been some studies stating that higher BMI/estradiol levels can be a contributing factor.

Even than regardless of one running lower overall testosterone levels and having estradiol in a healthy range some people may always have an issue as polymorphism of the AR (androgen receptor) and CAG REPEAT LENGTHS may very well be a contributing factor as it has been shown in some studies that individuals whom posses short CAG repeat lengths are more sensitive to the effects of testosterone and can have issues with elevated hematocrit among other things.

Polymorphism of the AR and ones CAG repeat length (short/long) plays a big role in an individuals sensitivity to testosterone hence it will eventually become a standard in testing in the near future when one is diagnosed with androgen disorders.

We need to generate more discussion on this topic!
 
Sorry grayiron I don't need your book on iron.

Update to this thread.
I did a mini blood test last week, thank you Nelson for DiscountedLabs, just to see how the ferritin was recovering and since TT/FT was on sale for 30 buck who could resist that.
I had stopped the 45mg Feosol Carbonyl iron tablets and 4 boiled chicken livers after one month. Probably need to go back on them for another month?

What do you guys think?
Donate blood and go back on the Feosol or argue with the Defy office attendent when he see's my HCT and demands I donate blood and pay for a retest before I can schedule a consult?

As you guys may or may not know I live south of Denver about 6000 ft above sealevel. My HCT pre TRT is 49.

 
Last edited:

grayiron

New Member
Evolution designed humans in a world of iron scarcity.

Since iron is a critical and required nutrient, that makes sense.

But in the modern era, iron is no longer scarce. We have iron supplements and multivitamins with iron. We ingest foods unknown in the olden days that increase iron absorption, like alcohol and fruit juice.

And perhaps most of all, the modern processed food diet is loaded with iron, since all flour, corn meal, and rice in the U.S. is iron-fortified. That's mandated by law.

As a result, many people, especially men, develop high body iron stores, since once we get iron on board, it's difficult to get rid of it.

Excess body iron can lead to heart disease, cancer, insulin resistance,Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and many other diseases.


Excess iron really is a secret killer, and you can reclaim your health by doing something about it.
 
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