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iron, Lyme, coinfections & genetics

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Posted 6/26/2015 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
So I got some of my labs back today, and they bring up more questions than answers.

Do Lyme or coinfections (babesia or bartonella) have any affect on iron in the body?

Are there any genetic mutations that make it hard for you to tolerate iron supplements?

I've always had a really hard time tolerating any form of iron supplement. And it doesn't matter if I take magnesium too.

Total Iron 58 (40-190)
Iron Binding Capacity 383 (250-450)
%Saturation 15 (11-50)
Ferritin 16 (10-154)
Posted 6/26/2015 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
Iron and magnesium aren't related, in terms of the supplements affecting each other. But I have low iron too. Sorry I don't have more answers.

I think possibly, that babesia can affect your iron absorption. Because babesia can feed off the iron in your blood cells.
Posted 6/26/2015 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
I believe I've read before that the body withholds iron when it has an infection, because a lot of organisms use it to reproduce. Lyme unfortunately does not use iron in it's reproduction, so the body eliminating it does no good. It likes magnese though.

I looked it up again, here is an article...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/24/lyme-disease-bacteria-immune-system-iron_n_2934134.html
Posted 6/26/2015 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
^ Amazing, never heard that. Thanks!
Posted 6/26/2015 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
Just found this, with goes along with what you're saying.

http://www.irondisorders.org/anemia-of-chronic-disease
Posted 6/26/2015 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
Most iron supplements are poison anyway. And high levels of iron are toxic in general. It's a specific kind of iron your body will absorb. example; like vitamin c and ascorbic acid <---which is a preservative but will do nothing for your vitamin c levels. It's better to eat tons of spinach or a nice rare steak or a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses (my favorite!) than to use iron supplements. It's also better to eat tons of vitamin rich foods than take any supplement IMP. The same goes with Zinc. I tried to take Zinc because my Dr. recommended it but I got seriously ill each time I took it, just like the iron.
Posted 6/26/2015 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
This kind of echoes:
http://www.stopthelymelies.com/stll-blog/manganese-lyme

Too much to understand with all the complexities of this dis-ease! Leafy veggies & teas sound good to me re maganese. I'll bet GH will have something interesting to add :)
Posted 6/26/2015 10:47 PM (GMT 0)

sayyadina said...
So I got some of my labs back today, and they bring up more questions than answers.

Do Lyme or coinfections (babesia or bartonella) have any affect on iron in the body?

Are there any genetic mutations that make it hard for you to tolerate iron supplements?

I've always had a really hard time tolerating any form of iron supplement. And it doesn't matter if I take magnesium too.

Total Iron 58 (40-190)
Iron Binding Capacity 383 (250-450)
%Saturation 15 (11-50)
Ferritin 16 (10-154)


Babesia may affect iron, since its similar to malaria it infects red blood cells, but less severely than malaria, since red blood cells use hemeglobin which has iron, infected cells that burst should release iron into the blood, but you should take a blood test to determine if your iron is elevated above normal.
Posted 6/27/2015 11:53 AM (GMT 0)
My first misdiagnosis was anemia. I took iron supplements and did feel some mild improvement. When I later recounted this experience to my LLMD he mentioned that not only is iron used in phagocytosis but that Lyme also uses iron in its biofilm. (This was before he discovered I also have babesia which, stated in previous comments, plays a big role in iron deficiency).
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