Consult the times in the post, haha. A few weeks in between the first couple of rounds because it was still low, but I needed a break because it can be rough on your stomach. After the second round I took a few months since the doctor and my coach (also a doctor) agreed that my bloodwork seemed to indicate it was "doing its job" and the ferritin would rise on its own if mostly left alone. Which was mostly true.
txRUNNERgirl wrote:
xenonscreams wrote:11 ng/ml
22 ng/ml a few weeks later (after round one)
20 ng/ml a few weeks later (after round two)
31 ng/ml a few months later (after round three)
51 ng/ml a few months later (no more supplementation, just diet)
How much time was between "rounds?"
I hope this is it TX, but if your results are true Anemia, which is cellular damage,or bone marrow related, this will put you in the hospital.
I'm just asking for experiences and feedback right now. I don't plan to anything without clearing it with my doctor first.
Doctor MD wrote:
How much time was between "rounds?"
I hope this is it TX, but if your results are true Anemia, which is cellular damage,or bone marrow related, this will put you in the hospital.[/quote]
can you explain a bit. I'd like to know more about the dangers of this.
Anemia is just a lack of healthy red blood cells. Iron deficiency anemia is one form of anemia. It is caused by an iron deficiency. txRUNNERgirl used "anemia" instead of "iron deficiency" because people often use the two terms interchangeably even though they are not interchangeable. You can be anemic and not have an iron deficiency, and you can have an iron deficiency and not be anemic.
The point is iron deficiency with or without anemia has a negative impact on running performance, and since txRUNNERgirl is iron deficient, she should absolutely supplement. Even if she is not anemic now, with ferritin that low, if she leaves this untreated she will absolutely become anemic in the future. In either case, her iron stores are currently suboptimal for her perfomance.
"Doctor MD" is obviously not a doctor.
Hey TX,
I would contact Tom Cotner, a USATF coach and PhD in biology for Club Northwest in Seattle. He has done a lot of research and his supplement protocol has greatly helped me in my running.
To answer your question, I feel my low iron caused me to add about 3mn or so for a half marathon (1:10 pr to being unable to break 1:14, to back to 1:10ish after supplementation).
Good luck, let us know how it goes.
Lay off the caffeine. I'm serious.
runkeller wrote:
Hey TX,
I would contact Tom Cotner, a USATF coach and PhD in biology for Club Northwest in Seattle. He has done a lot of research and his supplement protocol has greatly helped me in my running.
To answer your question, I feel my low iron caused me to add about 3mn or so for a half marathon (1:10 pr to being unable to break 1:14, to back to 1:10ish after supplementation).
Good luck, let us know how it goes.
heh, I already sent her Tom's little document
Patients like you are a huge problem because you read about something on the internet and believe that you are suddenly qualified to make a diagnosis.
Doctors want to listen and care about how you "feel" but feelings have no place in the scientific method.
Why are so many Americans anemic/iron deficient?
Is it the diet?
Seriously, in Europe, it is not a problem and definitely not in East Africa.
There is more to a running diet than whey powder and Pizza Hut....
I eat near-ungodly amounts of beans (primarily chick peas and black beans). I think this might help.
What's the difference between "meat" iron and "bean" iron?
If that is actually your problem, it will make a dramatic difference. One of my athletes last year went from a 24 min 5k to a 19:15 in a matter of 5 weeks.
Over and over I watch girls, especially in the 16-22 YO range, who don't understand these issues, and worse, the Dr doesn't understand the issue or have experience treating endurance athletes.
The best advice is to find a Dr who who understands and has treated multiple endurance athletes with Iron deficiencies. A typical family Dr will not understand it. If iron deficiency is your problem, it will make a world of difference within a matter of a few weeks.
Doctor MD wrote:
I always warn people like you Kevin to let an endocrinology Reticulocytes percent assessment play out, and advise you not to listen to your own untrained ignorant self research. Even though your head case friends have some sort of anecdotal evidence that they took some iron in a bottle and improve there marathon time from 3:30 to 3:20.
Doctors aren't expected to write in masterful prose, but there's virtually no way you could have done respectably on the MCAT or the USMLE if you're as ignorant as these posts make you seem. By "reticulocytes percent assessment" do you mean the fraction of immature cells, like that's the only factor? What about a high MCV in the face of a hemoglobin that is WNL?
Point is, a serum ferritin of 11 means that txRUNNERgirl's red cell count is being maintained at the expense of her body's iron stores. I once had a similar ferritin level and was running about 17:00 on the track in college after being in the high 15's in high school one year earlier. On ferrous sulfate (65 mg qd) I was able to train my way back into being human and was running 33+ on the road for 10K within a couple of months.
I strongly doubt that a real doc would be that dismissive, although your using a handle like "Doctor MD" suggests that you *want* people to know you're trolling.
S**t like this comes up on the boards a few times a year. Serum ferritin levels are floating on the low end of normal and EVERY time people come on here and say, "Don't listen to your doctor, they don't understand."
Those people are right. The medical community is behind the times in this area and their egos are too big to handle the thought that anecdotal evidence of thousands of people outweighs the medical handbook when it comes to running performance. If you took a sample of all 254 men on the line in Terre Haute I would venture to guess that over 150 of them take an iron supplement.
txRunnergirl, your doctor is going to tell you not to supplement. As someone who has seen hundreds of cases like yours, it is my opinion that you should take liquid iron once per day and see how you feel.
really big eye roll wrote:
Anemia is just a lack of healthy red blood cells. Iron deficiency anemia is one form of anemia. It is caused by an iron deficiency. txRUNNERgirl used "anemia" instead of "iron deficiency" because people often use the two terms interchangeably even though they are not interchangeable. You can be anemic and not have an iron deficiency, and you can have an iron deficiency and not be anemic.
The point is iron deficiency with or without anemia has a negative impact on running performance, and since txRUNNERgirl is iron deficient, she should absolutely supplement. Even if she is not anemic now, with ferritin that low, if she leaves this untreated she will absolutely become anemic in the future. In either case, her iron stores are currently suboptimal for her perfomance.
"Doctor MD" is obviously not a doctor.
What if the low iron readings is caused by one of(kidney infection, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergies, colitis or other intestinal problems, heart disease, or stomach ulcers. ) You just directed TX to poison herself.
krispy kremlin wrote:
I eat near-ungodly amounts of beans (primarily chick peas and black beans). I think this might help.
What's the difference between "meat" iron and "bean" iron?
Heme iron is more bioavailable, and fiber inhibits iron absorption.
AmericanProblems wrote:
Why are so many Americans anemic/iron deficient?
Is it the diet?
Seriously, in Europe, it is not a problem and definitely not in East Africa.
There is more to a running diet than whey powder and Pizza Hut....
Mine has to be diet related. I don't eat red meat or pork. I was a vegetarian for 2 years and felt like complete crap during that time. So I started eating poultry and fish, but I still don't eat much of it.
I remember when I started being a vegetarian was when I felt very weak during workouts in college. At the time, I attributed it to not being in shape because I had some injuries prior to that.
I did have my blood tested at that time, but never saw any numbers. They didn't say there were any problems. I was just sent to a grad-student nutritionist who told me to eat 1800 calories a day while running 80 miles a week. Hmm.
Fast forward 8 years and I finally have medical insurance again, so I went to get my blood checked. It's kind of frustrating that it took this long to figure it out.
Yeah it's much more likely that her low iron is caused by kidney infection, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergies, colitis or other intestinal problems, heart disease, or stomach ulcers even though she has no other symptoms for any of these things. It wouldn't really make sense that her low iron is caused by a poor diet(she says no red meat pretty much) and is a girl who runs.
As a coach I've dealt with several girls and a few boys with low ferritin and when it improves they always perform better. We probably all have a range that is ideal for us, that is why it is suggested that you get a test when things are going well in addition to when you don't feel great. I suggest hemaplex, it's not liquid but is easy on the stomach and seems to absorb well. One girl I coached went from 18 to 75 in about 5 months taking Hemaplex, this was accompanied by dropping from 11:41 to 11:00 in the 3200 and 5:21 to 4:58 in the 1600.
OP,
What was your iron level when your ferritin was 11? Was it low or normal?
The reason I ask is because I've had blood work done and my ferritin was around 32, which I thought was fairly low (unfortunately I'm not sure what it is when I'm feeling good) but my iron was 166. Well over the top end of the recommended range. This seemed strange to me.
Does anyone know anything about this? Can you raise ferritin without raising iron?
txRUNNERgirl wrote:
My question for those who have dealt with this is how much did you improve once you brought your level back to a healthy number?
My wife has Lupus which includes anemia for her. Before she was diagnosed, she could barely run at all. Now she's runs regularly and is running a half marathon in the next few months. So for her the difference between untreated and after treatment is night and day.