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B12 & high iron Q

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Posted 3/10/2016 2:08 PM (GMT 0)
I've been getting B12 shots from my LLND since July, when I began my Lyme treatment. My levels were 244 before starting the shots and my family doctor checked my levels for the first time since, last week and they were 1440. That is super high according to the receptionist. I see my LLND next week for an appointment and will bring it up. Should I stop getting the b12 shots? I've read that high b12 levels are not toxic and do not mater.

My second question is, I also had my iron tested last week because I mentioned to my family doctor my hair was falling out. Yesterday my doctor's office called and said my iron levels are really high and asked if I'm on iron supplements. Which I am not. My levels are 40 and the labs normal ranges are 9-27. I'm waiting for them to call me back and let me know what the doctor says or wants to do. This reminded me that this happened a couple years ago as well when my iron was tested. It came back high and they asked if I was taking iron supplements. I wasn't, besides a breakfast shake that had iron in it and was told to stop it and they re tested my levels. My levels came back normal. I'm really concerned that this has happened again as I do not know what is causing me to test with high iron levels. It freaked me out yesterday and I got worried that my Lyme treatment might be causing damage. The only anitbiotics I'm taking are Samento and Banderol but I'm worried it is damaging my liver and that is why I have high iron, because my liver cannot get rid of the iron. I've decided not to take my Samento and Banderol today, or again until I see my LLND next week.

Does anyone know if high iron is a cause of Lyme Disease? I don't think so but wanted to check if this is a common occurrence.

I don't even know for sure if I do have Lyme and I really am not sure if I want to continue treating. I did get a slight positive lyme test which would be considered a false positive to CDC, and tested two times after that which were neg. I'm not showing much improvement in the last 7 months of treating. My daughter and husband are both dizzy like me, and my symptoms started after moving to the house we are in now, and we are looking to move as we think the house is making us dizzy. All three of us share the same symptom and that's why I'm second guessing Lyme as my reason for my dizzy.

I've been waiting to see a neurologist for 10 months now regarding my dizzy (off balance sensations) and I finally see him tomorrow.

If anyone can chime in on the B12 levels and also if they know anything about the iron and or high iron related to Lyme, that would be great.
Posted 3/10/2016 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Have you checked mold or heavy metals? Carbon monoxide detector? My initial thought was that it could be your water.

Any chance you have well water? You can always look at your water report to see what's in it.

My b12 is high like yours too. Not sure what it means but I cut back to taking 1/2 of my b12 and every other day.
Posted 3/10/2016 2:34 PM (GMT 0)
JessicaMommy -

B12 directly raises iron levels. I recognize you said they were high in the past, which I cannot address of course, but in your current situation I would stop the B12 asap. Not the most informative link in the world but makes the point:

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/vitamin-b12-raise-iron-levels-blood-11782.html

I always get concerned when "isolating a nutrient" conversations come up and people refer to a vitamin as not being toxic. On its own, it might not be....but these nutrients are all intimately connected in our bodies. When you raise the level of one, it directly impacts the other. On my personal path, I never megadose anything for that reason because, rest assured, it is going to impact the balance of other nutrients in my body. I tried it once with a high B12 dosing and got tachycardia because I didn't recognize my potassium was low and B12 pulls from my potassium reserves to do its thing....very scary scenario.

Also, what iron test did you have done? Was this ferritin level, serum iron, etc?

Hope this helps in the present - the bigger questions I will leave to those who know Lyme intimately.

Good luck! Robin
Posted 3/10/2016 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
I found this excerpt interesting...I posted the full link article below.

###
When bacteria such as Borrelia invade their hosts, they seek out iron to serve their own biological needs. The human body however has its own response for such thieves and scavengers. What happens is the liver releases a hormone called hepcidin which prevents iron from being absorbed into the bloodstream via the intestines. This immunological response starves the bacteria of iron in hopes of annihilating it, but in the process, and as a trade off, humans have a tendency to become weak during an illness; anemia occurs (i.e., lack of hemoglobin in the blood). The genius in Borrelia is that it too has a response. The enzymes it uses for its own biological needs no longer require iron, and in an impressive evolutionary response, begin using manganese as the new base for its life sustaining enzymes. Unfortunately the human body loses this battle as it has evolved no method for keeping manganese out of the bacteria's reach.
###

Possibly, if you have Lyme, it is scavenging your Maganese and not Iron. Not sure how that would cause high Iron unless your body is trying to make up for it by storing the Iron. Have you had Maganese checked? I am positive for Lyme and we recently did hair heavy metal and mineral analysis on my children. My middle daughter was showing very low in lots of minerals (maganese, magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium and a few others). Her iron is lowish. This was a red flag to me. She is a super good, healthy eater. She's been having some odd ball symptoms (heart pain, always hurt, sleeping issues, sleep walking, halo moles) so we decided to test for Lyme. She was high positive on the Elispot test. So, mineral derangement can be another piece of the puzzle. I order her test through Direct Labs so that I didn't need a doctor to order.

My iron is 82, but the range given was 50-212 mcg/dl. So, it looks to be normal. My Ferritin on the other hand was low at 22. It is now up to 52.

http://www.tiredoflyme.com/lyme-disease-can-use-manganese-in-lieu-of-iron-to-survive.html#.VuGG5_krLIU
Posted 3/10/2016 2:41 PM (GMT 0)
One more thing...what type of B12 are you getting in IV? If you have done 23andme testing, there are genetic mutations that shed light on what type of b12 we should take. Sometimes methyl b12 is not a good type for certain people. I am not well versed in methylation but it may be something to consider. Possibly levels are high because your body cannot use this type? Hopefully someone with more methylation knowledge will weigh in. The more available types of b12 are hydroxo or adeno. I have been taking hydrox and was considering switching to Adeno to see if it would impact my levels. My level is actually higher than yours.
Posted 3/10/2016 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
k07 - I thought the methylcobalamin was the most bio-available form of B12?


(I switched to the methyl B12 several years ago - prior to lyme because I read it was the best one)
Posted 3/10/2016 11:02 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not positive but I thought hydrox & adeno forms were more universal for lack of a better term. My genetic analysis said no methyl.
Posted 3/11/2016 11:37 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, we checked for mold in the house by doing an air quality test. The results came back moderate for upstairs and heavy for the basement. We believe we found the mold that made the test result go heavy downstairs... but we could be wrong. We found some mold on some old material from renovations under the stairs. We can't find anymore mold in the house. Yes, we have a carbon monoxide detector, one upstairs and one downstairs. But I've read that they only pick up fatal amounts and will not go off for lower levels, and lower levels can make you sick. We don't have well water, we are in the city.

ursamajor68- The iron test I had done that came back pretty high just said "iron" on the lab sheet. The doctor office called yesterday saying the doctor wants to redo my iron, which I went and had done yesterday. This time on the sheet is says they are checking: iron, TIBC, UIBC, Transferin.

k07- My magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium are all normal... not sure about manganese though, don't think I have ever been tested for that... not sure what that is.

The type of B12 I was doing is B12 methyl by an injection from my LLND. I'm not going to do them anymore though because of how high my levels are.
Posted 3/12/2016 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
UPDATE: Had my appointment with the neurologist yesterday. This was my first time seeing one and have waited a year for this appointment. He diagnosed me with "Silent Migraines" (Acephalgic Migraine). He based his diagnoses on my 3 MRI's ( the changes are consistent with people who suffer headaches/migraines), symptoms, medical history/family history. He was a very smart neurologist and specializes in balance disorders. He has been doing this a longgg time. He said he has been seeing more and more young women with these silent migraines and the off balance sensations. He said medication for the migraines will help with that.

He said they are treated with medication. He said silent migraines can cause a constant off balance feeling and the medication will stop this symptom. My daughter is likely to be experiencing the same thing as it runs in families.

I've never heard of this before and I' am just learning about it. I may of actually found the reason for my off balance feeling I have had for 6 years.

He also said we have to see how my new blood work comes back regarding my high iron as that can cause a lot of problems too, disease and problems in the brain/off balance feeling dizziness.

Post Edited (JessicaMommy) : 3/12/2016 9:28:27 AM (GMT-7)

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