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Iron Overload?

I have SIBO and some history of elevated bilirubin (non conjugated) and mildly elevated Lipase.

Doctor continues to discount my Iron numbers.  

TIBC 234  (range 250-425 for my age)
Ferritin 347 (range 20-345 for my age)
Iron 106 (range 40 to 190)
Saturation 45% (range 15-60% for my age)

I finished an initial treatment for SIBO (xifaxan) and had some elimination of certain hypothyroid type symptoms.  

Now I've begun supplementing with Boost drinks again to try and regain weight.  I had two of them yesterday and all the sudden my hands and feet were like ice blocks this morning, and I'm getting dizziness standing up again.

Is Iron overload even a possibility with these numbers??

Thank you
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Avatar universal
This sounds similar to some of my symptoms and I too focused on my abnormal iron levels st first. After being told that there was nothing wrong with me for three years a geneticist discovered that my ammonia levels (reference range is 12-47 umol/L) were double and triple what they should have been after eating. I should also note that during that time I was having Ensure meal replacements as I thought this was a healthier option. After cutting down on protein, taking lactulose (30ml/3x/day) and starting Rifaximin (600mg/2x/day for the encephalopathy) my symptoms quickly started to improve.

Have your ammonia checked at a hospital (not a regular lab). Ask for two requisitions, one for fasting and another for post-prandrial (ie. go 20-30 minutes after you consume a high protein meal). In most people, the elevation after eating is mild and in others (like myself) it results in hyperammonemia causing fatigue, encephalopathy, dizziness, ataxia, brain fog, and other neuro issues. The Rifaximin works by cleaning any gut bacteria which decreases the amount of ammonia in the body which limits the amount that can cross the blood brain barrier thereby reducing the risk of encephalopathy and the neuro related symptoms.

I’ve been checked by every type of medical specialist (including those at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN) and no one can figure out what’s causing the hyperammonemia (my liver is in A++ condition and I’ve been checked for genetic disorders and literally everything else under the sky). For now the only solution is treatment which is lactulose (a sugar that binds to the ammonia and is excreted as waste), Rifaximin (rids the body of gut bacteria and proven treatment for encephalopathy of the brain), and sodium benzoate, phenylacetate, or L-ornithine-L-aspartate (LOLA).

There are many many people who go undiagnosed with hyperammonemia and are instead put into the chronic fatigue and functional neurological disease categories. Check your ammonia to see if this is the culprit. All the best in your search for some answers.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
This sounds similar to some of my symptoms and I too focused on my abnormal iron levels st first. After being told that there was nothing wrong with me for three years a geneticist discovered that my ammonia levels (reference range is 12-47 umol/L) were double and triple what they should have been after eating. I should also note that during that time I was having Ensure meal replacements as I thought this was a healthier option. After cutting down on protein, taking lactulose (30ml/3x/day) and starting Rifaximin (600mg/2x/day for the encephalopathy) my symptoms quickly started to improve.

Have your ammonia checked at a hospital (not a regular lab). Ask for two requisitions, one for fasting and another for post-prandrial (ie. go 20-30 minutes after you consume a high protein meal). In most people, the elevation after eating is mild and in others (like myself) it results in hyperammonemia causing fatigue, encephalopathy, dizziness, ataxia, brain fog, and other neuro issues. The Rifaximin works by cleaning any gut bacteria which decreases the amount of ammonia in the body which limits the amount that can cross the blood brain barrier thereby reducing the risk of encephalopathy and the neuro related symptoms.

I’ve been checked by every type of medical specialist (including those at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN) and no one can figure out what’s causing the hyperammonemia (my liver is in A++ condition and I’ve been checked for genetic disorders and literally everything else under the sky). For now the only solution is treatment which is lactulose (a sugar that binds to the ammonia and is excreted as waste), Rifaximin (rids the body of gut bacteria and proven treatment for encephalopathy of the brain), and sodium benzoate, phenylacetate, or L-ornithine-L-aspartate (LOLA).

There are many many people who go undiagnosed with hyperammonemia and are instead put into the chronic fatigue and functional neurological disease categories. Check your ammonia to see if this is the culprit. All the best in your search for some answers.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Your doctor is correct, these are not alarming numbers. But you might want to consult with a endocrinologist, to have a through workup, if you remain concerned.
Helpful - 0
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