balancing low ferritin levels and frequent donation.

Concerned wife

I had never heard of nattokinase. Interesting supplement. I wish there was more human data!

Nattokinase Supplement — Health Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects

Nattō fermented soybeans, areas in Japan eat Natto. I know some people who eat them for there for the high amounts of vitamin K they have, but I believe they taste awful.

Concerned wife.

Thyroids are a PITA. Make sure to check reverse T3 (rT3) as well, as mine are high and can lead to hypo symptoms (rT3 blocks the normal thyroid receptors for the active T3). Also worth reading the book: Stop the thyroid madness (2nd edition).

Thyroid needs decent amount of iron to function, so it's a real balancing act.

My Ferritin has been in the low teens, along with iron serum. I started 62mg Elemental Iron twice per day along with 1000mg Vit C. I did not feel "better" at any time in about 6 weeks and the last time I donated at the standard 56 day interval, my HGB was very high might have been in the 18s (HCT appx 57). So I discontinued iron immediatelty and use only Vit C now. Testing did show my Ferritin was up to the 20s while supplementing.
I didn't find any subjective improved feeling while supplementing iron.

The issue with iron sups is that they're not all created equally (some are worse than others). Also, you need to avoid things like: tea. coffee, dairy, eggs, etc, a few hours of digestion iron as it affects absorption.

Personally, I'm going try HCG monotherapy as HCT is getting high now.

I wonder if any of you who have low iron/ferritin and who are scared of taking iron supplements because of the potential raise in hematocrit has tried losartan.

Can Losartan decrease high hematocrit caused by testosterone replacement?

It's coming, I hope.
Nattokinase — Human Clinicals

BuzzSaw, thank you!

Concerned wife said:

Lockout, not sure who you are asking

Click to expand...

Everyone I guess

I'm trying to figure out the best way to balance low iron / ferritin levels with frequent donation in my thread HERE.

I started taking nattokinase (4000 fu), and switched my HBP Meds from Quinaprill to Losartan, based on the hematocrit reducing abilities.

My plan going forward is to get CBC, Iron & Ferritin tested around the 7 week mark and then make my decision when to donate. Once I have donated, I will take supplemental iron for 1-2 weeks and then test again at the 7 week mark to see where I'm at. I'm only going to donate if I get above 52% Hematocrit.

Nelson Vergel said:

I wonder if any of you who have low iron/ferritin and who are scared of taking iron supplements because of the potential raise in hematocrit has tried losartan.

Click to expand...

Nelson, I did based on the information I found here. I was taking Quinaprill and switched to Losartan. I have been on it now for about 2 months with no noticeable sides.

If you look at my other thread, it seems to have helped reduce my Hematocrit without donation. (I also lowered my test from 160/week to 140/week during that time).

Lockout888 said:

Everyone I guess

I'm trying to figure out the best way to balance low iron / ferritin levels with frequent donation in my thread HERE.

I started taking nattokinase (4000 fu), and switched my HBP Meds from Quinaprill to Losartan, based on the hematocrit reducing abilities.

My plan going forward is to get CBC, Iron & Ferritin tested around the 7 week mark and then make my decision when to donate. Once I have donated, I will take supplemental iron for 1-2 weeks and then test again at the 7 week mark to see where I'm at. I'm only going to donate if I get above 52% Hematocrit.

Click to expand...

Re iron dosing; I've read that 100mg daily for 20 days should be enough to restore the lost iron after blood donation. You prob know this, but taking vit c with iron aids absorption (but need to avoid: tea, coffee, dairy (also eggs) for a few hours, as it tends to block iron absorption).

How much iron are you taking, and for how long? I'm going to try the Solgar brand (gentle iron), as it seems to be easier on the stomach.

BuzzSaw said:

Re iron dosing; I've read that 100mg daily for 20 days should be enough to restore the lost iron after blood donation. You prob know this, but taking vit c with iron aids absorption (but need to avoid: tea, coffee, dairy (also eggs) for a few hours, as it tends to block iron absorption).

How much iron are you taking, and for how long? I'm going to try the Solgar brand (gentle iron), as it seems to be easier on the stomach.

Click to expand...

BuzzSaw, check out THIS product. It has a ton of great reviews and Vitamin C built-in. This is what I use.

I have pretty much the same problems. I've been on TRT for years and never had any hemotacrit problems and suddenly it's 58. My MD is not concerned because my platelets are low but in range... in fact when I pull the needle out after injections I have to pinch my skin or I bleed all over the place. If I cut myself shaving it takes 2 hrs to stop bleeding.

I was told this isn't polycemia but rather etherotosis. So my recent understanding is that high hct doesn't automatically imply polycemia. My MD claims polycemia is the concern and not high hct. The hematologist partner in that same practise says I'm fine... I do not take baby aspirin because of this. I too lowered my TRT dosage to 45mg E3D and HCG 550iu E3D and it did nothing to lower my hct. My total testosterone is now 711 and don't feel any worse than I did when it was at 1050.

My ferritin is at the very bottom of range even though I supp good quality iron twice daily w/vit C, I cannot get my ferritin any higher. Even though I'm on thyroid meds and my serum levels are good I am 100% hypothyroid, freezing all the time and dry skin and itchy. Sore joints and muscles, low body temperature, hair stopped growing etc. Low iron symptoms include hypothyroidism there is no way around it. And from my experience so far hypothyroidism caused by low ferritin cannot be corrected until you have normal ferritin levels. I have no idea what to do. But I do drink tea and always have so perhaps it's time to give this up. Somehow I get the feeling it won't help.

I started taking Losartan 3 weeks ago. I believe I'll be getting labs in a month and I'll let you know if there's any change in my hct.

Between a rock and a hard place!

The thyroid does need iron to function. Not sure if gels are any different to injections in this case?

ratbag said:

I was told this isn't polycemia but rather etherotosis. So my recent understanding is that high hct doesn't automatically imply polycemia. My MD claims polycemia is the concern and not high hct.

Click to expand...

Can't find anything on Google for etherotosis. Maybe spelled differently?

ratbag said:

My ferritin is at the very bottom of range even though I supp good quality iron twice daily w/vit C, I cannot get my ferritin any higher. Even though I'm on thyroid meds and my serum levels are good I am 100% hypothyroid, freezing all the time and dry skin and itchy. Sore joints and muscles, low body temperature, hair stopped growing etc. Low iron symptoms include hypothyroidism there is no way around it. And from my experience so far hypothyroidism caused by low ferritin cannot be corrected until you have normal ferritin levels. I have no idea what to do. But I do drink tea and always have so perhaps it's time to give this up. Somehow I get the feeling it won't help.

I started taking Losartan 3 weeks ago. I believe I'll be getting labs in a month and I'll let you know if there's any change in my hct.

Click to expand...

Have you tested for the MTHFR mutation?

You are correct, without iron & ferritin, T3 isn't going to make it to the cells, or at least nowhere near enough of it. T3 serum will definitely go up on thyroid meds as you know, but then it just pools with no effective transport method to the cells. If taking a NDT or T4 levo medication, you will probably notice that there's also a shift to higher levels of Reverse T3 when all of this is taking place(?)

Yes sorry about that all my spelling sucks especially with low thyroid and medical terms lol. So search polycemia on this site there are lots of posts on ethrotosis as well

ratbag said:

Yes sorry about that all my spelling sucks especially with low thyroid and medical terms lol. So search polycemia on this site there are lots of posts on ethrotosis as well

Click to expand...

Well for searching you need the correct spelling too. I think you mean erythrocytosis and polycythemia

Found online: Polycythemia is sometimes called erythrocytosis, but the terms are not synonymous because polycythemia refers to any increase in red blood cells, whereas erythrocytosis only refers to a documented increase of red cell mass.

Vettester Chris said:

Have you tested for the MTHFR mutation?

You are correct, without iron & ferritin, T3 isn't going to make it to the cells, or at least nowhere near enough of it. T3 serum will definitely go up on thyroid meds as you know, but then it just pools with no effective transport method to the cells. If taking a NDT or T4 levo medication, you will probably notice that there's also a shift to higher levels of Reverse T3 when all of this is taking place(?)

Click to expand...

Interestingly when my ferritin at 73 my FT3 goes down to 6. Get my ferritin upto 90 and my FT3 goes upto 7.5(top of range is 7) I'm in Canada so they do not do RT3 here. But with ferritin at 73 I feel very hypothyroid and I can get it to 90 but it doesn't stay there...when its at 90 I feel so much better. I guess I have to stop drinking tea and take more iron.

I never had any iron problems before TRT. I was on TRT for a few years without any iron problems then suddenly it's below range and hard to get back up. My TRT hasn't changed since the beginning. So until the age of 57 my ferritin was actually too high. Then it did the opposite and dropped to bottom of range. Would having the MTHFR mutation mean it's congenital? or do people get it later in life? I just assumed that mutation was congenital. I'll goggle it now.