Thalassemia Patients and Friends

Discussion Forums => Thalassemia Minor => Topic started by: ludo on July 20, 2019, 01:19:23 PM

Title: my unexpected slight increase in hemoblogin over the years
Post by: ludo on July 20, 2019, 01:19:23 PM
Hello thals. Excuse my improvable English. I have beta-thalassemia minor diagnosed by electrophoresis.

My hemoglobin value was 12.6 or less 10 years ago. Then I suffered from tachycardia, frequent dizziness and little weight, perhaps because I was deficient in folic acid.
Then I improved my diet and the following year it was 13.4.

I forgot my thalassemia, because it only gives me some pallor and sporadic dizziness, I feel strong and better than some people without thalassemia.
I do few blood tests for fear of syringes.

A few days ago, I did a blood test and I was glad that my hemoglobin value is 14.4 g/dl (range 13.5 - 18), even though I became sedentary and I have low mood. :huh

male, 30 years, healthy
RBC: 5.75
MCV: 69.0
Iron: 155 μg/dL (59 - 160)  :mad
Ferritin: 41.7 ng/mL
B12: 343.00 pg/mL (200 - 950)
Folic acid: 8.80 ng/mL (3 - 17)
Total bilirubin: 1.1 mg/dL (0.2 - 1.2)
All other values ​​are right

Before the test, I was taking several supplements for purposes unrelated to thalassemia. It's possible that some of them incidentally improve symptoms of thalassemia, so I want to share it with you
notice: maybe this only works on me or my thalassemia is milder than minor

niacin with flush 200 mg alone / day
NAC 200 mg + selenium 50 mcg + milk thistle [4:1] 500 mg together / day
lutein 20 mg + zeaxanthin 2 mg together / day
ashwaganda [4:1] 920 mg / day
ginkgo biloba 120 mg / day
polygonum multiflorum [12:1] 333 mg / day (beware, it didn't happen to me, but some preparations can stress the liver)

melatonin 10 mg / night (beware, this can make you feel tired even after waking up)

vitamin D3 5000 iu / twice a week

some B12 sublingual sporadically
folic acid 400 mcg + zinc picolinate very sporadically
I know, I must take more and regularly

Cheap multivitamin supplement, with 8 mg of iron. I know, this is a mistake  :mad.

A lot of 40% cocoa sugar-free + milk
Some whey protein
2 or 3 eggs daily
Drastic reduction of sugars

Thanks to what I learned in these forums, I will add L-carnitine, natural vitamin E, magnesium, perhaps resveratrol and avoid iron. Wheatgrass seems expensive to me.
I want to do another blood test in January 2020.
Title: Re: my unexpected slight increase in hemoblogin over the years
Post by: Andy Battaglia on July 27, 2019, 07:37:16 PM
Thanks for sharing. I would suggest taking B-12 daily, rather than sporadically. Your B-12 is in range, but thals usually have more energy if their B-12 is closer to the high end of normal.