update to my high results to Ferritin and C-Reactive protein tests

Omega 3 Supplements

by Penguin - 2023-01-24 16:33:32

Hi New to Pace, 

I read about this after seeing your post. It's to do with Omega3 supplements.  Surprising findings and well worth reading if you take fish oils. 

More than 1 gram of Omega 3 per day is linked to the development of A.Fib.  Reviewed by the AHA journal. 

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.058596

Could you eat the foods instead? Avocados, oily fish and olive oil sound a lot tastier than spoonfuls of fish oil and the study particularly refers to the supplements and the dose. 

Worth reading! 

foods instead of fish oil

by new to pace.... - 2023-01-24 16:40:02

thanks Penguin had also read those articles.  Since i have been a vegatarian told her would have trouble taking the fish oil.  She then said i would have to eat the fatty fish.  have not decided what to do yet.  She did give me  a couple to try said to eat with a meal.

new to pace

high ferritin

by Tracey_E - 2023-01-24 17:15:41

High ferritin can mean hemochromotosis, which is a genetic disorder where your body absorbs and stores too much iron. Have you been tested for that?

My mom and I both have it. My mom's is just monitored. I donate blood every 8 weeks. If hemochromatosis is the cause of the high ferritin, this is the easiest solution. Plus, donating blood saves lives. Win/win. I was only told to do it 3-4 times a year, but I choose to do it more often.  I also was told don't eat red eat or dark leafy greens. 

Ah Vegetarian!

by Penguin - 2023-01-24 18:24:38

Was your doctor concerned about the ferritin? It does seem odd to have high iron if you're a vegetarian. Usually its the reverse isn't it? .... unless you're over doing the iron supplements? That does cause palpitations!!

Food rather than fish oils sounds like a v.good idea. Why did your doctor recommend eating fish? Odd if you're a vegetarian but I guess you may be flexible given your reasons for vegetarianism. 

It must be really difficult to have to worry about what you eat.  Eating out must be a nightmare xxx

Blood test results

by Gemita - 2023-01-24 19:13:21

New to Pace, from your comments, if my understanding is correct, it doesn’t sound as though your doctor is particularly concerned about your blood test results so far, since you wrote to her about these results in the first instance;  she didn’t contact you to tell you that you might have a problem?

In view of her comments, I don’t think we can jump to any solid conclusions about your diet or a supplement that might be causing AF.  I do though feel that supplements, especially mega doses can build up and cause problems if we are not careful, whereas getting nutrients from a “balanced and varied diet” is preferable and safer. 

I am unclear what you are actually taking and what the recommended daily allowance is for ALL your supplements.  After your Food Sensitivity Blood test will you be speaking to your doctor again to get her opinion as to where to go from here?  

Thank you for letting us know how fish oil supplements may adversely interact with some of our regular meds like anticoagulants and blood pressure meds, especially in high doses, which is why our doctors always recommend that we tell them everything we are taking, including any supplements.

There are many triggers for AF including ageing itself, so unless your doctor specifically tells you to modify your diet for other health reasons too, I wouldn’t be overly concerned to radically change your diet.  I do feel though as we get older, we need to cut back on carbs and eat more high quality protein and vegetables.  Being diabetic hubby has been told to reduce fruit portions too and portion sizes in general.  I guess we can all get too much of a good thing sometimes.  Please keep us updated

ferritin

by new to pace.... - 2023-01-24 19:23:15

thanks Tracey_E and Penquin

 My regular iron counts are  finally in  range and i do take an iron supplement  as the counts were lower when i started a couple of years ago. 

Iron bind. cap(TIBC)  301 range 250-450, last time it was  303 . 

UIBC 233 range118-369 last time it was 256..  Iron 68 range 27-139, last time it was 47.  Iron Saturation 23 range 15-55, last time it was 16.  Ferritin 200 range 15-150, last time it was 143. The  blood counts from last time were taken on was 8/24/2022. 

Have been vegan when i was allergic to milk.  Now not a allergic to milk. Yes it is certainly challenging for me to eat out and home. Now eat if going out 2 hourss before in case i react to something.  If  I pay attention and not eat some foods only every 4 days do better. 

new to pace

eating

by new to pace.... - 2023-01-24 19:32:58

Gemita ,yes i hope to get my results this Saturday and will be seeing the Dr. on the 31st.  Where i plan to speak with her again about these foods that are causing me to chill and a hard nap.  Does not work to eat those before bed as am only asleep for 1/2 hour to an hour wake up with super enegry. 

At this moment am only taking Gentle Iron, Vit D3, Red yeast Rice with COQ10.

new to pace

Afin cause

by AgentX86 - 2023-01-25 00:10:25

There are only two known causes of Afib.  Sleep apnea and endurance sports.  Everything else is just folkore.

AgentX86

by Gemita - 2023-01-25 03:10:31

AgentX86, do any of us really know what causes AF which can start and stop on its own even in the absence of a known trigger/cause. 

There are so many potential triggers/causes and while sleep apnea and exercise induced atrial enlargement are both known important triggers/causes, there are so many others.  Let us not forget high blood pressure which can be a leading trigger/cause as can ischaemic/structural heart disease, an inflammatory condition, a gastric condition, a thyroid condition, a lung condition, an infection somewhere, a traumatic event and I could go on and on.  

But as we both know, sometimes there is no apparent reason for AF to start and then to suddenly stop.  For me gastric triggers are clearly one of my main causes to go into AF and I can understand why New to Pace is trying to eliminate her culprit food sources.  I hope she succeeds in “controlling” all her arrhythmias in this way, to slow their progress

Start/stop

by AgentX86 - 2023-01-26 00:59:47

Paroxymal Afib is just a case where the damage isn't extensive enough to sustain the arrhythmia on its own.  Persistent can sustain itself but can also be kicked back into NSR and remain NSR for some period.  Permanent is just that - no more NSR for you!  All are caused by the same damage, fibrosis of the heart muscle, just to different extents.  When I researched this, the only things known to cause it were endurance sports and sleep apnea.  Obviously there are other causes but perhaps not so obvious and so many that they can't be isolated.  I guess I'm saying that you can't put a finger on any others.

Like most (all?) heart disease, it is also genetic. To say that heart disease causes heart disease is rather circular.  Gastric, thyroid, and such can certainly "trigger" an event but they're not going to cause the underlying disease.

"Triggers" are another funny thing (talking about external simulus here). Most are simply coincidence. AF is so dodgy that it's really difficult to correlate anything and the human mind is always trying to correlate everything. Look at the six-digit code you get from two-factor identification and see if you can find a pattern.  I bet you will.  I do and I know better. It helps me remember them.  😁

Of course, anything that increases heart rate will, by it's nature, increase the possibility of an occurance. We do just the opposite with beta blockers.