On May 17, 11:48 pm, RF <R... at (no spam) NoDen.con> wrote:
jc101 wrote:
On May 15, 6:40 pm, RF <R... at (no spam) NoDen.con> wrote:
d.... at (no spam) hotmail.com wrote:
On May 14, 8:05 am, RF <R... at (no spam) NoDen.con> wrote:
jc101 wrote:
On May 12, 1:13 pm, "2" <non... at (no spam) anon.com> wrote:
There is plenty of evidence that iron load reduction is an important factor
in life extension and enhancement of quality of life. I am among 1% of the
elder population in the jurisdiction where I live, who are prohibited from
donating blood due to a specific bio-analytic result. I have no support
group. What can I do, injustice is universal. The reason I am posting here
is to determine if any readers have any advice for me. Does any one have any
idea of how to obtain private phlebotomies locally at economic rates? Thank
you.
You have to bleed to lower iron. I have donated 8 pints in the last 14
months. Ferritin has showed below normal since the second donation,
proving that the iron is stored in forms (dangerous) not measurable by
ferritin levels, contrary to what some believe incorrectly - that
marginal low ferritin is a sign of low iron status. Not true - it is
stored as hemosiderin and hematite and other dangerous paracrystalline
forms which are the root causes of oxidation.
There are three options:
1) Have a physician bleed you in his office.
2) Learn to insert a needle in the vein and run out a pint at home
3) The physician may be able to fill a prescription form in for the
Red Cross which instructs them to remove a certain amount of blood.
This is discarded. The form is what is used for hemochromatosic
patients who require regular bleeds. The cost in my Red Cross district
for this service is $60. The physician can specify the amount to
remove, and the minimum hematocrit to allow for bleeding. If your
hematocrit is low (under 3

, you shouldn't bleed, you will be weak,
so always test this first.
If you do this yourself, you might prefer to remove only about 300 cc
at a time, less chance of any discomfort or dizziness, etc. You can
probably remove blood at twice the rate allowed by Red Cross donation
which is one unit (500 cc) per 8 weeks.
I plan to go every 8 weeks until my hematocrit drops below the min to
donate, then I should have eliminated all that nasty stored iron. Then
move to a 12 week period for maintenance.
JLC
How does the iron get into your system in the
first place? Can you not avoid foods
that are high in it?- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
My bottle of multivitamins show 10 milligrams of ferrous fumerate at a
high level of bio-availability. Once a day use will absorb 3.65 grams
in a year. One pink of blood contains 240 milligrams iron. One year
use of once a day multivitamins equates to 15 pinks of blood that need
to be withdrawn in order to achieve balance. Careful about the drugs
you consume. It could kill you. Also heredity counts. Bad genes are
very common.
Ouch! There go my multis. Thanks for the heads up
Now what about the foods?- Hide quoted text -
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Iron is in most all foods, your body absorbs what it needs. The only
way to eliminate STORED iron in the body (which is the dangerous
oxidating form) is by bleeding. If you keep an eye on the hematocrit,
you won't go anemic or really even notice it, done every 8 weeks. The
real reason that persons say "Oh, my ferritin is low, I don't need to
bleed, " is either they don't understand that stored iron is not well
reflected by ferritin levels, or they are afraid of the needle, or
they are just too ineffective to figure out how to get the bleeds
done.
JLC
OK, JLC, what measure would you use to tell you
when it's time to
call in Dracula?
Being selective about foods must help. See for
example :
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm
A cup of cooked soybeans has 8.8 mg of iron and
kidney beans have just
3 mg. Lentils have 6.6 mg/cup. My diet has just
taken a sharp turm

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Diet changes won't eliminate dangerous stored iron, the body will
absorb what it wants regardless of how much iron you eat. You have to
bleed to get this stuff out.
"...go every 8 weeks until my hematocrit drops below the min to
donate, then I should have eliminated all that nasty stored iron. Then
move to a 12 week period for maintenance." So just get bled, and
don't worry about it. When you get the job done, the crit will not be
up enough, and you can wait another month.
JLC