TRT Has Caused Iron Overload Problem Within My Body

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

I may now have an answer to why I have had fatigue, weak to non-existent erections and libido on TRT except for the first couple of weeks. My doctors at Kaiser are not concerned at all. When I look at the symptoms of iron overload mimics low testosterone.

I’m also experiencing extreme confusion and fatigue like I have never experienced before, metal taste in my mouth and louding ringing in my ears. I’ll bet my red burning itchy skin problem is related, my liver must be overloaded with iron. My abdomen swells up on occasion.

Chronic cough = iron overload.
Burning itching skin = iron overload.
Acid reflux = iron overload.

Tests right at the start of TRT over 2 years ago:

Iron = 61 mcg/dL - 59 - 158 mcg/dL
Total iron binding capacity 425 mcg/dL - 250 - 425 mcg/dL
Iron saturation 14 % - 20 - 50 %

Iron labs as of now:

Iron = 395 mcg/dL - 59 - 158 mcg/dL
Total iron binding capacity 543 mcg/dL mcg/dL - 250 - 425 mcg/dL
Iron saturation 73 % - 20 - 50 %
Ferritin 35 ng/mL 25 - 336 ng/mL

I hope Defy Medical has an answer.

All Iron Overload Is Not Hemochromatosis

Iron overload can manifest as fatigue, joint pain, liver disease, heart disease, hypogonadism, diabetes mellitus and skin pigmentation (bronze skin).

Iron overload and psychiatric illness.

Seven patients with varying psychiatric disorders were found to have iron overload as manifested by abnormal serum ferritin, transferrin saturation index (TSI), or excessive urinary iron. All possible sources of secondary iron overload were ruled out.

The patients were treated with the specific iron chelator, deferoxamine, given IM for seven to 22 weeks which resulted in significant clinical improvements. These cases indicate a need to be aware that disordered iron metabolism is a somatic cause of psychiatric illness and that there is clinical improvement upon lowering elevated iron levels in patients with iron overload.

Dysmetabolic Hyperferritinemia: All Iron Overload Is Not Hemochromatosis

Disturbances in iron metabolism can be genetic or acquired and accordingly manifest as primary or secondary iron overload state. Organ damage may result from iron overload and manifest clinically as cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, endocrine abnormalities and cardiomyopathy.

I now may have a reason for my hypogonadism.

2

Ouch that sucks but you might of found the answer. That’s a big change in iron levels and what about the medicine they are talking about. Hope that stuff isn’t brutal.

So you think trt causes the iron to increase like this? I’ve never heard of this happening.

3

What exactly causes the Iron to increase when men are on trt? I see articles and studies but they don’t explain why. I wonder if it had to do with estrogen or does DHT , shbg or any other hormone play a role

4

Diet?

Glad you finally at least found an answer to why you were having itchy skin.

5

I cut out steak over 3 months ago for no particular reason, just wanted to take a break from steak. I may have an ideal why my skin stopped burning, my bones and organs are too busy absorbing the all the iron that there isn’t enough to rise to the surface.

The burning skin was the first symptom before all of this progression and now it’s all in my bones and organs.

6

I never felt anything much from TRT injecting once or twice weekly other than mild mental and energy and the iron overload may be why. My trough levels were high injecting twice weekly and yet felt as if levels were lower.

It seems like the more frequent the injection, the worse these symptoms. I remember when I was doing 10mg daily and after 7 days I became extremely fatigued and thought I was going to die.

Maybe T creams are the answer, levels should fluctuate more and this may be exactly what I need unless I can find an answer soon.

I’m getting brown burn marks on my legs.

7

Could be a good choice because the shit doesn’t sit in your fat or build up and slowly release. It also doesn’t cause the estrogen to build up and maybe that could help? Look into it. There is a study where they look at the reductase inhibitors and how that effects hct and etc.

8

I think you should still check for hemochromatosis with genetic test. . Also liver enzymes . Also you may want to see a hepatologist.

Also perhaps you can not make a direct connection that trt caused this. It could me many indirect things.

Blood tests

The two key tests to detect iron overload are:

  • Serum transferrin saturation. This test measures the amount of iron bound to a protein (transferrin) that carries iron in your blood. Transferrin saturation values greater than 45 percent are considered too high.
  • Serum ferritin. This test measures the amount of iron stored in your liver. If the results of your serum transferrin saturation test are higher than normal, your doctor will check your serum ferritin.

Because a number of other conditions can also cause elevated ferritin, both blood tests are typically abnormal among people with this disorder and are best performed after you have been fasting. Elevations in one or all of these blood tests for iron can be found in other disorders. You may need to have the tests repeated for the most accurate results.

People with abnormal iron tests should undergo genetic testing to confirm the diagnosis. Most people will have two gene mutations.

Additional testing

Your doctor may suggest other tests to confirm the diagnosis and to look for other problems:

  • Liver function tests. These tests can help identify liver damage.
  • MRI. An MRI is a fast and noninvasive way to measure the degree of iron overload in your liver.
  • Testing for gene mutations. Testing your DNA for mutations in the HFE gene is recommended if you have high levels of iron in your blood. If you’re considering genetic testing for hemochromatosis, discuss the pros and cons with your doctor or a genetic counselor.
  • Removing a sample of liver tissue for testing (liver biopsy). If liver damage is suspected, your doctor may have a sample of tissue from your liver removed, using a thin needle. The sample is sent to a laboratory to be checked for the presence of iron as well as for evidence of liver damage, especially scarring or cirrhosis. Risks of biopsy include bruising, bleeding and infection.
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I am super curious to hear what you find out. I know a little about this, but not a lot.

10

I find it very od your low level T injections are causing this. If Defy is smart and we know they are you will be instructed to go to a specialist. They can’t fix this. You have something else seriously wrong. I am not trying to scare you more than to get your ass to the doctor. I would not rule out liver cancer. So quit fucking around and get to the doctor. If you go and die I won’t have anyone here to fight with. Well there is enacker but hell he is no where near your caliber.

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Let us know how that works out for you. Did a genetic test that shows I’m susceptible to the same issue due to some stupid mutation.

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12

@systemlord
you could check also for thalassemia.
What a strange coincidence, me and my wife are planing for kids, and i was researching for that, couse my wife is minor Alpha recessive. microcitosis and high ferritin.

13

Redoing labs in one week since I took iron supplements a day before the iron labs, I was told it wouldn’t make a difference, but the hematologists suggest it might affect the test since those with Gilbert’s Syndrome have an exacerbated iron uptake and storage, meaning iron shot up quickly after supplementing.

My GP originally suspected liver disease, Hepatitis C, Cirrhosis and a thyroid problem. I strongly believe I have Hemochromatosis and already have confirmed Gilbert’s gene is present.

Hemochromatosis and Gilbert’s:
Iron uptake and storage = high iron
Low normal ferritin = high iron

Diagnosis and treatment of a 16-year-old Chinese patient with concurrent hereditary hemochromatosis and Gilbert’s syndrome

Here we report the case of a 16-year-old Chinese boy, who was admitted with hepatalgia, jaundice, hyperpigmentation, and splenomegaly to our hospital. After excluding chronic hepatitis, autoimmune disorders, and alcohol or drug injury, genetic analyses of the patient and his parents revealed simultaneous manifestations of Gilbert’s syndrome and hereditary hemochromatosis, though his parents did not develop related symptoms. The presented case indicates that diagnoses of Gilbert’s syndrome and hereditary hemochromatosis should be taken into consideration when chronic hepatitis is suspected without a clear etiology.

Dysmetabolic iron overload syndrome

A new iron overload syndrome, characterized by hyperferritinemia and increased liver iron concentration in the presence of a normal transferrin saturation, was recently described by Deugnier et al.1 Patients with similar characteristics have also been described in Italy but it was hypothesized that they represented a subgroup of subjects with genetic hemochromatosis (GH).2 From the start it was observed that hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance, increased body mass index and hypertension were frequently present in subjects with this unusual presentation of iron overload. More recently analysis of the mutations of the HFE gene, the gene associated with GH,3 showed that in this population the frequency of mutations was significantly higher than in normal controls.4

14

What makes you say that?

Can they not prescribe medication and or an iron phlebotomy?

15

You of all people should know Doctors are more arrogant than smart. The number one way a doc detects cancer is thru blood tests when an organ goes crazy and secretes excessive amounts of ____. That is where you are. Your iron is so high a blood donation is not going to fix you. You have at least one organ going crazy and TRT is not the cause. I look forward to Defy’s recommendation.

16

Even if defy thinks they have a solution you need a specialist namely a hepatologist. There are trt experts. They don’t know everything.

You don’t go for a digestive disorder to a pulmonologist?

17

Blood donation seemed to work for this guy just fine, it actually improved this guys ferritin levels since a balance was restored.

Diagnosis and treatment of a 16-year-old Chinese patient with concurrent hereditary hemochromatosis and Gilbert’s syndrome

18

It appears like I have genetic haemochromatosis, the last few weeks I’ve had a strange taste in my mount I thought was metalic do to high iron, but now it’s clear that my gums are rotting!!

I don’t know what I’m going to do, doctors won’t see me until more than one week out. By then I could be losing teeth. God knows what else this is doing to my body other than causing low testosterone and Type 2 diabetes.

It also appears my vitamin D is below ranges 12 ng/mL (30 - 100 ng/mL) is a cause for iron overload. Perhaps my testosterone is low because vitamin D was low on my original Low T diagnosis labs.

Could it really be that simple, low vitamin D = Low T…?

Increased transferrin saturation is associated with subgingival microbiota dysbiosis and severe periodontitis in genetic haemochromatosis

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Hey man. It’s a simple blood test. Get it done. Dont guess.

You may have something acute going on. If anything man go to the ER of a great hospital. So if you get admitted you are in a good hospital with specialists.

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Go to the E.R explain everything and if they wont treat you tell them you also have the worst headache of your life. After thw cat scan at least you will be admitted and they will have to do something or give you some referals at least. But if It’s as serious as everyone seems to think i would imagine they would have to do something, especially with it causing issues with diabetes and body parts rotting off.