I see the CO people need vit D too had already been covered.
Anecdotal, but I had a coworker who was hospitalized for too many supplements. I can't remember exactly what was thrown out of whack, but it was because her husband is a HUGE believer in supplements and was having them both take massive doses of everything. He basically overdosed her on something.
I've got a hereditary thing where I have a *lot* of iron in my blood. When I took prenatals I had to look for the ones that didn't include extra iron.
I've got a hereditary thing where I have a *lot* of iron in my blood. When I took prenatals I had to look for the ones that didn't include extra iron.
The Celtic Curse (hemochromatosis)?
I'm in agreement that sometimes certain supplements are beneficial or necessary, but it's definitely dependent on individual needs. I also think it's a shame the industry isn't well regulated.
Yup! I didn't know it was the Celtic Curse, though. Interesting.
Obviously it's found in populations outside the British Isles, it's just more prevalent. My Scottish FIL has it and my H is a carrier, although he doesn't have it himself.
Fun fact: if you’re ever stranded in the woods and you kill a bear to eat it, don’t eat its liver! It has too much vitamin A and can kill you!
Vitamins also infuriate my husband, who is an endocrinologist and has encountered far too many patients who insist on “treating” their thyroid problems with gluten free diets and vitamins, which obviously doesn’t work. It’s this emphasis on “natural” that we have in our culture and they tell him they want to teach their bodies to regulate their thyroids themselves without artificial medications. Why do they go see him then? Nobody knows.
Interesting. My endocrinologist keeps pushing a gluten-free diet when i see her. Heavily pushes it.
Most thyroid support pages support these ideas as well. I am always responding that people should talk to their doctors, and I am accused of being bought by big Pharma. I think some of this is because it takes so long to regulate. People expect a doctor to be able to fix the problem in a single visit but bodies are far more complicated than that.
I personally do recommend people keep a food journal and track how they feel. I suggest this because it was years before I discovered that potatoes made me ache as if I had the flu. However, I don't think that everyone should stop eating potatoes, simply track what their own food intake and look for common foods on days they feel the worst. Personally I tried giving up gluten for a while and ended up feeling physically terrible. I did this before I thought about keeping a food journal to identify the problem.
Yup! I didn't know it was the Celtic Curse, though. Interesting.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
Yup! I didn't know it was the Celtic Curse, though. Interesting.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
I actually haven't had to do any treatment yet. I'm O+, so at least a lot of people will be able to use it when it comes to that.
Yup! I didn't know it was the Celtic Curse, though. Interesting.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
You can't actually donate your blood if you have hemochromatosis. Although, I think I read something recently where they're trying to find a way for people to be able to donate. Cant find it.
My Grandma has it and had a port in her chest for a while to make it easier to take her blood. She now eats a low iron diet and takes medication so she doesn't have to do bloodletting.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
You can't actually donate your blood if you have hemochromatosis. Although, I think I read something recently where they're trying to find a way for people to be able to donate. Cant find it.
My Grandma has it and had a port in her chest for a while to make it easier to take her blood. She now eats a low iron diet and takes medication so she doesn't have to do bloodletting.
Yup! I didn't know it was the Celtic Curse, though. Interesting.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
Polycythemia also involves regular blood draws. And leeches are making a comeback, though I don't think particularly mainstream. Plato surgery and diabetes are the applications I've heard of.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
You can't actually donate your blood if you have hemochromatosis. Although, I think I read something recently where they're trying to find a way for people to be able to donate. Cant find it.
My Grandma has it and had a port in her chest for a while to make it easier to take her blood. She now eats a low iron diet and takes medication so she doesn't have to do bloodletting.
I don't think that's quite true? I have another coworker who has the same thing, and they let him donate. It might be blood bank specific.
You can't actually donate your blood if you have hemochromatosis. Although, I think I read something recently where they're trying to find a way for people to be able to donate. Cant find it.
My Grandma has it and had a port in her chest for a while to make it easier to take her blood. She now eats a low iron diet and takes medication so she doesn't have to do bloodletting.
I don't think that's quite true? I have another coworker who has the same thing, and they let him donate. It might be blood bank specific.
didnt think of that. I only know for sure Red Cross doesn’t let you donate. That’s the only place I’ve ever donated.
You can't actually donate your blood if you have hemochromatosis. Although, I think I read something recently where they're trying to find a way for people to be able to donate. Cant find it.
My Grandma has it and had a port in her chest for a while to make it easier to take her blood. She now eats a low iron diet and takes medication so she doesn't have to do bloodletting.
I don't think that's quite true? I have another coworker who has the same thing, and they let him donate. It might be blood bank specific.
I only checked out hemowhatsit dot org for the overview so I know squat, but it discussed “donations” at length. Maybe those donations end up rejected, but blood banks accept blood from randoms off the street so I know they must have adequate screening guidelines.
Of course I had to google! The treatment is basically giving blood? That’s crazy! It’s got to be like the only disease leeching actually helps! Do you at least have a rare blood type if you’re giving all that blood?
Polycythemia also involves regular blood draws. And leeches are making a comeback, though I don't think particularly mainstream. Plato surgery and diabetes are the applications I've heard of.
I’ve worked in adult ICU for 2 years. We’ve used leeches once in that time. Courriered them in from NY, each was like $27. It was a last ditch effort to increase bloodflow to save a flap and therefore a limb in a trauma patient. It didn’t work.
This article sort of reminds me of essential oils today
Like, some otherwise really smart people think they can cure anything that ails you, up to and including cancer. I personally wouldn't use them as anything more than to smell nice, other than the eucalyptus oil in Vicks. I'm sure there is a middle ground there.
I just seems like an interesting parallel. I think that people are so desperate to find answers that they convince themselves that it can help.
Related to Vitamin overdose - I took Accutane before it was taken off the market and I had to sign my life away at each refill (I only took it for 2-3 months and this was probably like 10 years ago). But it was really an extremely high dose of Vitamin A and it did help with cystic acne but I remember then thinking how bad all this extra stuff must be.
This article sort of reminds me of essential oils today
Like, some otherwise really smart people think they can cure anything that ails you, up to and including cancer. I personally wouldn't use them as anything more than to smell nice, other than the eucalyptus oil in Vicks. I'm sure there is a middle ground there.
I just seems like an interesting parallel. I think that people are so desperate to find answers that they convince themselves that it can help.
Related to Vitamin overdose - I took Accutane before it was taken off the market and I had to sign my life away at each refill (I only took it for 2-3 months and this was probably like 10 years ago). But it was really an extremely high dose of Vitamin A and it did help with cystic acne but I remember then thinking how bad all this extra stuff must be.
Accutane is still on the market. My friend takes it and basically has to take a quiz about contraception each time and every packet has a picture of a pregnant woman with a giant black X through it.
This article sort of reminds me of essential oils today
Like, some otherwise really smart people think they can cure anything that ails you, up to and including cancer. I personally wouldn't use them as anything more than to smell nice, other than the eucalyptus oil in Vicks. I'm sure there is a middle ground there.
I just seems like an interesting parallel. I think that people are so desperate to find answers that they convince themselves that it can help.
Related to Vitamin overdose - I took Accutane before it was taken off the market and I had to sign my life away at each refill (I only took it for 2-3 months and this was probably like 10 years ago). But it was really an extremely high dose of Vitamin A and it did help with cystic acne but I remember then thinking how bad all this extra stuff must be.
Accutane is still on the market. My friend takes it and basically has to take a quiz about contraception each time and every packet has a picture of a pregnant woman with a giant black X through it.
Ah, apologies. I thought they took it off. Maybe it's just not as widely distributed.
Yes, each bubble in my bubble packet had a drawing of a baby with the red circle NO symbol over it. I had to take a pregnancy test at the doctors office every month and sign something at the pharmacy.
Related to Vitamin overdose - I took Accutane before it was taken off the market and I had to sign my life away at each refill (I only took it for 2-3 months and this was probably like 10 years ago). But it was really an extremely high dose of Vitamin A and it did help with cystic acne but I remember then thinking how bad all this extra stuff must be.
Accutane is a retinoid, meaning that it is structurally related to vitamin A. But it is not the same substance as vitamin A (retinol). As far as I know, vitamin A itself has no effect on acne (though Retin-A contains a closely related substance).
Related to Vitamin overdose - I took Accutane before it was taken off the market and I had to sign my life away at each refill (I only took it for 2-3 months and this was probably like 10 years ago). But it was really an extremely high dose of Vitamin A and it did help with cystic acne but I remember then thinking how bad all this extra stuff must be.
Accutane is a retinoid, meaning that it is structurally related to vitamin A. But it is not the same substance as vitamin A (retinol). As far as I know, vitamin A itself has no effect on acne (though Retin-A contains a closely related substance).
My understanding, which could be WAY off - I work in HR not biochem , was that it was closely related in a way that mimicked the Vitamin A. I was specifically told to not take Vitamin A/multivitamins at the time, but that could have been an abundance of caution. Again, I could very easily be completely misunderstanding.
Anyway, that was a crazy drug. It worked for me, but it was nuts.
Post by mrs.jacinthe on Feb 12, 2018 10:56:13 GMT -5
I take D, magnesium, and ferritin (a subtype of iron). Despite the fact that I literally swim outside for HOURS every week, my vitamin D levels are typically in the low teens. The magnesium is both to help with D absorption and, because of the swimming, I get electrolyte imbalance easily, so it helps keep me more even and prevents cramping.
My doctor attributes sunscreen use to vitamin D deficit. He says the lower someone's vitamin D is, the more likely they are to be religious about sunscreen. (He does not advise discontinuing sunscreen use, lol). Whether this is hokum or not, it makes total sense to me.
You can't actually donate your blood if you have hemochromatosis. Although, I think I read something recently where they're trying to find a way for people to be able to donate. Cant find it.
My Grandma has it and had a port in her chest for a while to make it easier to take her blood. She now eats a low iron diet and takes medication so she doesn't have to do bloodletting.
I don't think that's quite true? I have another coworker who has the same thing, and they let him donate. It might be blood bank specific.
Blood Centers of the Pacific (my usual donation center b/c they come of my office) have "did your Dr tell you to donate blood as part of a treatment" or something akin to that on their list of questions. Since I check no, IDK what happens. I guess it's common enough for them to ask about, though.
I also have hemochromatosis and donate blood regularly. There are no screening questions that pertain to it so I always assumed it was ok. So long as I donate a few times a year, my iron levels stay in check so my blood isn't any different than any other donor.