Saturday, January 14, 2017

Options to Clear Ferritin

As of now, the only thing tested that is known to be abnormal is Ferritin.  Though it is still technically within the lab's normal range, knowledgeable practitioners will tell you that they like to see it between 20-50.  Mine has tested between 168-248 and was last measured at 204.  If I can get it under 100, it's still higher than optimal but probably not bad enough to produce significant symptoms.

 What's the cause of it?
There is one key methylation supplement called Folinic+ (formerly known as Methyl Mate) from Yasko that contains a small amount of Lactoferrin.  Though unconfirmed, I have a strong feeling that this is the culprit.  I currently take only 1 of those suckers per day and it must be taken with Methyl Folate or else.  At that dose, it won't hurt me from day to day.  In fact, each dose will raise my level only by a small fraction if my theory is correct.  Still, if it goes up by even 0.25 points per day, the 204 becomes nearly 300 by the end of the year which is bordering on dangerously high.  If the product is reformulated to take out the Lactoferrin, it would be great but I don't see it happening.

How to Clear it:
IP-6-  The is the easiest route to take and I am 90% sure that it will indeed reduce the Ferritin.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is NOT going to be tolerated on an every day basis even at lowered doses while abstinent from caffeine.  For most patients, the risk of a reaction to IP-6 is low but I am not like most patients as my readers well know.  What could be causing this reaction?  Your guess is as good as mine.  I thought it could be Zinc but my last blood test proved otherwise.
I could try increasing my ratio of Zinc/Copper intake but that also seems unlikely.

Substitute product- I could try to find a substitute product that supports the same part of the methylation pathway that does not contain Lactoferrin.  Sam-e won't work and it seems unlikely that Ultimate B will work so most likely, scratch that option.  I could ask Yasko about it but that also seems unlikely.

Stop Methylation Support- This is really looking like a viable option now.  I tried a couple days without it and got by okay.  The need for Zinc/Copper and the adrenal support arose before the need for methylation.  If I stop both the MF and MM, I save money and there is a good chance that without any Lactoferrin in my cocktail, my Ferritin will eventually come down without IP-6.  Still, the fact that I am homo on the MTHFR mutation suggests that I need at least some methylation support.   Perhaps I can get by with occasional use while also tolerating IP-6 maybe a couple times per week.  That would be a delicate balancing act but I've been through worse.

I am due for another Ferritin test in 2 weeks and predict a reading in the 150-175 range.  If it drops under 20, that's also BAD.  I will experience fatigue and symptoms of anemia.  That's why it's important to test at regular intervals.  I think it's very unlikely that it will drop below 100 so quickly but let's suppose that it does.  Am I confident that this is the smoking gun and a near normal reading will result in significantly increased energy?  No.  I'm afraid there is a 50/50 chance that when the Ferritin does come down, I will feel no better and have to look elsewhere for that elusive smoking gun that is a lab value WAY over the top.

Radical Options:
This is assuming that IP-6 is not tolerated even occasionally and I need a methylation product that contains Lactoferrin.  Given that scenario, I don't see a pathway to reduce Ferritin with supplements.

Liver flush- This is the same epsom salt, olive oil and grapefruit juice cleanse that was successful back in 2014.  It did remove copper, which had been stuck in my liver but I'm unsure of its effect on Iron and Ferritin.  If it does release Ferritin, then assuming that my number is still high, it will flood the serum and tissues with Iron and I'll end up back on Curcumin temporarily to reduce the serum Iron.  It's also possible that it won't affect Ferritin at all in which case, I have to go more radical.

Blood donation- Last resort as I've said.  It will lower Ferritin but it will also lower other critical minerals.

Somehow some way, I WILL get the Ferritin down below 100 but again, I am not sure that I will feel better when I do.

If I don't feel better, I will make a brief attempt to find the smoking gun through another Coach or Functional MD.  If that doesn't work then I'm afraid I'm screwed.  I suppose it's possible that a 6-8 week period of inactivity could hit the reset button and allow for a gradual comeback but that also seems unlikely.

I definitely need another HTMA (hair test) through ARL to see if my oxidation rate has moved closer to balance.  Also, I want to try the Genova Comprehensive Profile to get a number in writing for sulfates.

Mercedes is looking doubtful.
NYC is still a GO.
After that, who knows?

4 comments:

Devin Mooers said...

Just found your blog, seems like you're on a similar path to mine in some ways! Very curious to hear if you come up with any solid tactics to reduce ferritin outside of IP-6. Mine tested recently at 276!

I've eaten an extremely iron-rich diet completely by accident over the past 5 years or so, so that could be why my ferritin is so high. (30-35mg of iron a day! Dark chocolate, liver, etc.) Outside of that, not sure why it might be so high – systemic infection driving iron into storage so pathogens can't get at it as easily?

Looked into the IP-6 method, but Dr. Wilson really advises against that due to its chelation of other minerals (collateral damage). I'm in four lows ATM so this doesn't seem like a good idea! I'm megadosing calcium and magnesium via 24oz raw milk + 750mg magnesium glycinate daily at the moment, along with Dr. Wilson's other recommended supplements for four lows (zinc, kelp, etc.). New HTMA results coming in this week, so hoping to see some boosted levels across the board.

Last blood test found ceruloplasmin at 19.8, and unbound copper at 27%, so definitely some copper issues going on. I really don't tolerate eating liver well anymore, I'm guessing due to its high iron and copper content. I'm starting to suspect low vitamin A as a root of my low ceruloplasmin:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3655940

I've also had a history of keratosis pilaris and acne, which further supports vitamin A deficiency hypothesis.

Crazy J said...

IP-6 didn't work for me probably because it messed with the sulfur metabolism. I'll keep you posted but I really believe molybdenum has significantly lowered my Ferritin. I'll post my re-test results. If my theory is correct, the moly flushed the stored Iron from the liver and left it temporarily high in the serum. Curcumin likely fixed this problem but it seems I took it too far. While Curcumin is no longer tolerated, Taurine is still okay for me. That means it's not sulfur but Iron related. As for the 4 lows, this article is very informative:
http://arltma.com/Articles/AllFourLowDoc.htm
http://arltma.com/Newsletters/AllFourLowNews.htm
The only change I would make is to favor Magnesium over Calcium and take malate or glycinate rather than the citrate that is in Paramin.

Devin Mooers said...

Huh! How much molybdenum are you taking? I just ordered some in a 250mcg dose, hoping it will help. Got new HTMA results a few days ago and Mo is VERY low. I'm following Dr. Wilsons' four lows program, a tad bit different than the ARLTMA program but similar - around 1000mg of calcium (from raw milk and cheese), 750mg magnesium glycinate, 6 kelp, and also zinc, copper, boron, vitamin A, lithium, and some other things I'm low in specifically. I'm avoiding citrates and aspartates entirely based on Morley Robbins' info.

Was just reading that molybdenum, vitamin A, and zinc are all cofactors in proper copper metabolism, and the molybdenum / sulfur connection is quite interesting. Starting to narrow things down!

Crazy J said...

So sorry I didn't see this until now. I'm taking 150 mcg of moly. More than 200 depletes copper. Less than 100 isn't enough to tolerate sulfur.