Zinc RBC and Ferritin Test Results

Copper RBC- 0.73 (0.50-1.00)- NEAR PERFECT

Zinc RBC 1672 (822-1571) FLAGGED HIGH

Ferritin- 202- UP 8 (roughly 4%)

I’m SHOCKED and not in a good way.  I fully expected Zinc to be deficient and instead it’s elevated.  What to make of it?  I’m still not sure.  Why did I feel better when on the Zinc supplement?  That’s probably because it’s balanced with copper.  That does makes sense given that I cannot take Zinc as a stand-alone supplement.  Zinc and copper are direct antagonists of each other so thus it prevented the zinc/copper ratio from getting too far out of hand.  Also, zinc and copper balance may be important for Iron regulation.

Zinc and Iron are also direct antagonists of each other.  When Zinc is low, the deficiency is often corrected by clearing excess Iron instead of supplementing with Zinc, which can lower Copper.   It has been confirmed by Analytical Research Labs that excess Zinc is indeed associated with low serum Iron.  .  My serum Iron dropped from 176 (flagged high) to 119 (near optimal) on my last Iron panel.  It may very well be that I went too far with the clearing of serum Iron.  Let’s say that it’s dropped below 80.  That would be a serious deficiency.  I have recently become intolerant to Curcumin, which is known to lower Iron.  I initially thought that I could not tolerate Curcumin because of its sulfur content but it may be possible that sulfur is not the problem at all.  At least as of now, glutathione is still well tolerated and that stuff is very high in sulfur.  What to do about low Iron?  Probably simply stopping the Curcumin will allow it to rise naturally.  Curcumin will stay in my cabinet as it may still be necessary occasionally to prevent the Iron from getting too high again. 

I was quite displeased by the continued rise in Ferritin and suspect Yasko’s Folinic + (formerly Methyl Mate) because it contains Lactoferrin.  I tried loading on the stuff this morning and sucked even worse than before taking it.  This stuff was once a life saver that corrected brutal sensitivity issues but it will now be tossed.  Can I get along without it now?  We shall see.  If not, I could try a substitute product such as low dose Sam-e.    Ideally, Ferritin should be around 50 but as long as you are under 100, it should not cause serious problems.  Mine is now twice that number.  Is it the smoking gun?  It still seems unlikely but I suppose it’s possible. 

Ferritin represents the amount of stored Iron in the Liver and it’s certainly possible to have loads of it stuck in there but not flowing out into the blood and tissues where it is needed.  I’ve gone back on a product called IP-6, which worked temporarily and did in fact reduce my ferritin level from a high of 248 down to 171.  I had to stop it because it was depleting Zinc but that’s no longer an issue.  If the IP-6 does not work, I must go radical.  It’s possible that the Liver flush that I did several times in 2014 will dump out the stored Iron into the blood and tissues and I may end up back on the Curcumin at least temporarily.  Let’s hope it does not come to that.  The last resort is blood donation.  According to Morley, it is almost guaranteed to lower ferritin but it will also lower other minerals including Iron, which I suspect to be low as it is. 

Further testing:

I’ve done all the suggested blood tests out there now and the only one that I am interested in repeating is the Iron panel and specifically Ferritin.  I’ll re-test the latter in about 3 weeks and if I don’t see a significant improvement, I will have to go radical.  The only urine test that interests me is the Genova Comprehensive Profile to re-assess Candida and to get a number in writing for Sulfates.  At this point, I’m not sure that will test high and if it does, it’s probably a wasting issue rather than an excess.  What to do to prevent wasting?  I don’t know.  Finally, there is the ARL Hair Test.  I’ve been an extreme fast oxidizer for several years but have thought several times (incorrectly) that I had flipped to slow.  It is very possible that my Iron excess was the cause of the fast oxidation and thus, now that it’s been reversed, I have flipped.  The fact that I am now intolerant to Calcium and D plus the 72 second improvement in pace immediately after taking the adrenal stimulant is pretty strong evidence of a flip.  Of course, the only way to know for sure is to send the hair sample. 

Resolution:

Earlier, I posted that I expect to get a final answer one way or the other within the first quarter of 2017.  That now seems unlikely.  I may be chasing balance at the end of the year as well.  I’ve already held on to hope much longer than I thought I could but that runs out eventually.  Once again, I’ve thought about retiring but will continue at least through NYC and probably the end of the year.  Let's say that I have to endure a 1-2 day blip every month.  I can deal with that.  If it happens on race day, it's bad luck but 93% of the time, I will have a decent day when it matters.  Nowadays, I relapse almost every week.  That is unacceptable.