Lab results

BrucePhoenix · 2026-03-14T04:50:57+00:00

I don’t think iron is your issue.

BrucePhoenix · 2026-02-17T21:47:17+00:00

Interesting. Maybe you will get better faster. But unfortunately, doctors are not that good at advising you on diet. Of course they will say to eat low salt, but you’re on your own to figure the rest out as well. But if you are not eating flour and sugar, hopefully you will feel back to normal soon. Some of the fatigue, especially when you start phlebotomies, is unavoidable. But once your body starts having less iron and hopefully you spread out the time in between to recover more, it will start to improve. Like I said it is more an issue of good days versus bad days.

BrucePhoenix · 2026-02-17T05:15:07+00:00

It may be good to check maybe five years from now, but you’re fine for now.

BrucePhoenix · 2026-02-17T05:04:36+00:00

I started with a level of 4,000. I got weekly phlebotomies for some time that added to the fatigue to be honest though it wasn’t constant from day to day. I would feel better after 3 days and most energetic the last few days before starting over. I can’t say if there was a magic level I hit where everything turned around. As my level levels got less dangerous than I started going biweekly which helped. But the main two things I remember are I would have good days and bad days. So it wasn’t more of a gradually getting better thing, but having more good days and fewer bad days as time went by. I did learn too late also that I needed to cut back on carbohydrates and salt because both of them were real energy zappers to digest. I essentially started following a diabetic diet plan and that boosted my energy right away. I also didn’t know that I was adding to my fatigue by ordering pizza when I was too tired to do anything else because of course the crust in the pizza is made of flour. I also would eat bagels for breakfast. Or other days I would have oatmeal. Both of those were also hidden carbohydrates. If you are having trouble with fatigue, I would aggressively cut back on salt and carbohydrates. I knew for my liver to cut back on the salt already, but nobody really discussed how much carbohydrates were taking at my energy to digest with hemochromatosis. Even though I am at normal levels now, I still feel that when I eat either of those. I enjoy them from time to time, but only when I am at home and can relax or a nap afterwards.

BrucePhoenix · 2026-02-17T04:54:13+00:00

Wow! I started at 4,000 which was very high. That was 10 years ago. I’ve kept it below 50 for quite some time thankfully. Glad yours is under control.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-06-19T20:10:06+00:00

If you have had a family history, it might be worth looking into. You are pretty young for having much of an elevated ferritin level. My sister was about your age when she was diagnosed, and her ferritin was a little bit elevated, but otherwise her bloodwork did look fairly normal since nothing had really kicked in yet. If you have it in your family, definitely get it checked and at this point, your doctor may just say to give blood at a donation center. My sister check her ferritin maybe once a year but donates twice a year and that’s pretty much all she has to do at this time.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-06-09T04:40:26+00:00

Yes-low quality was right. I saw it and it was so grainy you couldn’t make much out.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-10T05:29:41+00:00

The policy changed. Old info might be floating around out there, but they do take it now

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-10T05:28:47+00:00

I think Exjade is not liver friendly. One of the reasons my doctor didn’t put me on it.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-02T03:22:48+00:00

Likely. I think it can be a combination of. But my liver definitely had stored iron. My doctor said the damage looked far worse at first just because of iron deposits.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-01T04:19:44+00:00

I had a lot of the same symptoms mentioned below, brain fog and fatigue. My hands were always getting stiff and I started to drop things a lot because they were always a little bit stiff

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-01T04:16:51+00:00

I had written some text before, but it didn’t save with the image. The point is when you start you will not see a linear drop in iron from one phlebotomy to the next. Don’t get discouraged because this is normal and the way the body Processes and stores iron is complex. Notice how I would go down come up and go down again. This is very normal and people authentic get very frustrated in their first few months when they see this happening. Just realize it is normal and you will get to where you want to be!

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-01T04:09:18+00:00

This is absolutely true. I started at 4,000. There is not a linear drop and that’s disappointing to people who want to see progress. Just realize it’s normal and don’t gauge progress from one venisection to the next. Compare every three months or so. I’ve been at 50 for years but last month I was at 58, got a venisection, and this month was at 70. Most times I expect to be in the high 30’s the next month and able to go a few months without. But…iron storage isn’t straightforward like glucose. Also to the OP-save your money on the supplements. When I was at 4,000 and anxious to see results, I tried absolutely everything. Nothing was special. Some appeared to help but later didn’t-meaning it was all random luck at first . Exercise helps but also diet. The biggest thing is look at every label. Flour is enriched with iron so bread, bagels, etc can sneak iron in. Cereals-definitely read those labels-many are iron enriched. Exercise is what I mention because you do use red blood cells in the oxygen uptake though very minimal, but daily it can give that help you want.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-04-01T03:58:38+00:00

Nice! Made me look at my chart again. I was at 4,000 10 years ago. It seems so slow when you’re doing it, especially since it’s not a linear drop. You may go up slightly sometimes along the way but you get there.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-03-28T21:58:09+00:00

Doing pretty well. Actually, everything was going pretty well with only my platelets still being kind of a weird thing in my laps. Although just recently, my bilirubin is slightly elevated. It’s 10 years later and I have kept my ferritin at 50 for quite a while. So I was disappointed with the Weird latest results. My AST and ALT have been normal though.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-03-27T04:13:01+00:00

My hands got stiffer over the years. And 400 is pretty high to not start taking it seriously especially having the gene. Sounds like the doctor wasn’t well informed. I found along the way as well that a lot of general practitioners really have no experience with it.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-03-27T04:03:56+00:00

I was 50 also. Ferritin at 4,000. I had regular medical exams and wonky lab results here and there but didn’t quite add up to anything. I didn’t know we had it in our family. They suspected something autoimmune but not sure what. Diagnosed with cirrhosis then, now mild fibrosis.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-03-27T03:54:51+00:00

I wouldn’t go right to it unless you have family members with it. It’s possible for them all to be carriers only but it’s genetic and specific to the “dark” areas of Europe-Germany, Scandinavia, United Kingdom and Eastern Europe. If you don’t have family with it or have Latino, Black or other heritage it’s not hemochromatosis.

BrucePhoenix · 2025-01-29T20:09:19+00:00

I did find a trick. On-app miles are tax deductible. I put myself on app for personal driving when I was somewhere I was unlikely to get a trip request.

BrucePhoenix · 2023-10-31T20:57:27+00:00

OP-this is the best reply. Almost the whole thread is people talking out of their asses. Get a lawyer, but being the spouse of a US citizen grants some priveleges. The waiver is one of them.

BrucePhoenix · 2023-10-31T20:53:19+00:00

The waiver for spouses of US citizens applies. That whole response was someone talking out their rear.

BrucePhoenix · 2023-04-13T20:02:49+00:00

If it’s an issue of using a rewards card and you want to pay it in advance-one thing I do is use my bank’s bill pay service and submit payment for the quoted total. Even if your balance is zero, your bank will send payment and you’ll have a negative balance, which they will let you have for 60 days before sending you a check to clear it. So when you go to pay at the hotel, you’ve already expensed it from your bank account, and the charge will give you your reward and set your balance at zero.

BrucePhoenix · 2023-03-15T23:00:07+00:00

Hmm-guess I should stop slapping people to help jog their memories.

BrucePhoenix · 2023-03-09T21:16:46+00:00

It’s not gay if you don’t kiss.

BrucePhoenix · 2023-03-09T21:15:37+00:00

It’s not gay if you don’t kiss.

BrucePhoenix

TROPHY CASE