Confused and worried

 I am 38 and a female I don't have diabetes or thyroid issues my liver functions have been high for several years but my regular doctor has attributed that to me being overweight so she hasn't really looked into it. I asked for her to do additional tests and refer me just to make sure  everything was OK so she referred me to a gastroenterologist. They are the ones that did the testing to see that my iron was as high as it was so I'm kinda up in the air. In my research I found that it's not normal for women that have not went through meta-pies or had hysterectomies to have this.   My symptoms are I have been feeling very tired and weak for 6 to 8 months maybe even closer to a year now and I've started having issues with my heart racing and feeling like I'm gonna pass out that recently started a few weeks ago and I don't know if it means anything but the last few days there so my hands has started to go numb like they're falling asleep and they just kind of stay that way.  I'm a single mom with three kids and really trying not to freak myself out about this

No doubt you have a fatty liver.  Hemochromatosis causes a fatty liver, and conversely, a fatty liver causes high ferritin.

A fatty liver is also caused by consuming sugars and starches (potatoes, corn, bread, pasta, rice, cakes, etc, oh, and alcohol!) because these days we do not use up all that energy doing hard physical work, so it converts to fat.  You can help yourself to reduce the ferritin raised by the fatty liver by eliminating all sugars and starches.  All veges grown underground are high in sugars and starches too.  Check the website and eliminate foods with a carbohydrate level greater than 9gs per 100 gs serve.  Always have a serving of protein with each meal (including breakfast) and snacks, healthy oils (e.g. olive), and lots of green veges, and cauliflower.  There is plenty to eat.  You don't have to starve.  Really stick to it and you will find your waist again, plus your ferritin reducing quickly.  Check out paleo recipes for ideas.  Cauliflower mash is delicious.

You will also probably have to have venesections to help reduce your ferritin levels, most probably weekly to begin with.  Some people have two a week.  It will seem like an ordeal for a while, especially having to corale 3 children at the same time.  I hope you have someone who can help out with them.  I did not have any adverse problems having venesections.  I was so glad to get the toxic stuff out of me.  It just uses up a lot of time.  But just remember, it is better than having to have chemo.

Gradually, you should notice you are feeling better with those symptoms reducing or going away.  You will get better, and haemochromatosis is better to have than a lot of other things.  If you have only had these symptoms for 6 to 8 months to a year, you are so much better off.  I had them for 9 years without diagnosis, before my hips broke up - then I was diagnosed.  So I ended up with long term major problems.  But you should have a better outcome.  Just get in an clean up that fatty liver and you will be a new person.

Keep us informed about how you go.

 Thank you this gives me hope that I will be OK. I know it's just a guess but that at least gives me a little bit of peace of mind until I can get some more information from the doctors when they get the results back. The toughest part for me will be the carbs as I am a horrible carb addict though I try to raise asked now I have a very very good reason to be good

Just checking in, how is it going?

 They have officially now diagnosed me with it but have not started drying blood yet until I can get into see the gastroenterologist which is next week. I'm not sure that I am very thrilled with the doctor though I have not met him yet, he is not starting me on the blood draw even know that's a given that we have to do

I was made to see the GI first as he followed my case for the most part. I think it was 3 or 4 weeks before I started, but if you feel like you're being delayed, definitely push the issue.

Hi steveteebo

I am curious as to what HFE genes you had.  50% TS is not very high to have a ferritin level of 2400.  I am also interested in what lead you to cilantro and lemon juice and how many icecubes do you have per day?

My homozygous C282Y seems to have come from Danish and Swedish ancestors, and the Scottish side was probably mixed with the Norwegians who visited Scotland.  The source of haemochromatosis is still a mystery.  So far the earliest dna (H63D) for it has been found in the teeth of a Neolithic woman from 5000 years ago, whose recent ancestors were from Sardinia and the middle east, nearly 3000 years before the Vikings starting invading the west.  That does not mean that those people who headed north from the Pontic Steppes did not develop it separately, or even, already had it.

 

Hi, im also c282y, and the cilantro and lemon was a suggestion from a classmate at the school of Traditional Chinese Medicine where i am just finishing my 4th and last year of the TCM doctor and acupuncture program, and it was only one ice cube per day, just add a little boiling water.

Thank you.  Are you able to explain what is in cilantro and lemon juice that leaches out heavy metals?

I decided not to try cilantro. I was excited about curcumin as a chelation agent until I found a medical study on mice that showed that while ferritin levels decreased, iron wasn't in the urine or feces. The mice had a much higher rate of liver tumors. The iron was simply pushed into organs. No studies on the presence of iron in urine or feces to show it is leaving the body. A very risky thing to try.

Last conference I went to, Prof John Crowe of University College of Dublin, announced there was no truth in curcumin working as a chelation agent.  Some writings swear that curcumin works as an antiflammatory for joints, but consuming it as a spice in food causes yellowing of teeth which I would rather not have either.

I have not ever come across cilantro as a chelation agent, so curious about it.  I have read that someone swears by roasted eggplant skins too.

So far, I will just stick to tea, coffee, a small red wine, and calcium foods to (supposedly) help reduce the uptake of iron.  And avoiding sugars and starches as much as possible.

 

I would look for clinical studies. Wheatgrass has clinical studies and I used it with inconclusive results. It may be like calcium and bind with iron that isn't digested and block it, but I don't think it causes chelation.

Walnuts are also very high in tannins (impairs uptake of iron).  100gs have up to 1400mg tannin equivalents (polyphenols, etc).  But there is a warning for people with liver damage, apparently too much tannin is not good for them.

 

Good Day,

I would like to clarify that the organic cilantro and lemon was only something i did as an aside and i confess i do not understand the science behind that it seemed like a pretty benign thing to do and even if only helped a little, no harm done. My main therapy was weekly phlebotamies ( 500ml ) every week for approximately 12 months, i only know that that worked very well, and yes thats correct 2 litres a month.

And yes i felt a significant amount of fatigue for a day but usually after that first day i felt significantly better and noticed my symptoms disappear

over time.

It may have been based on cilantro and other herbs have oxalates in them which help impair the absorption of non-heme iron.  But, it is so minimal, and there are a lot of other vegetables which have much more, including spinach and kale.

Pity, I love the taste of cilantro and wouldn't mind a cilantro tea or iced drink.

And, we are often told a small dose of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar before meals is good for our digestion, and perhaps liver.

Steve, Im going to try cilantro and lemons etc. coz I miss my lemon water so much since I stopped after getting diagnosed GH. the only thing i wondered about was the fact that Vit C aids absorbtion of iron, so when is best to take it??

Good Day, there are no specific times that you need to take it, i always took it prepared the way i specified and in the early morning on an empty stomach. You could take it at night, but some sensitive peolpe may think there sleep might be impaired. I hope this helps.

Steve 

 

were you consuming the entire tray, or just a few cubes a day?