Basically in healthy men their Ferritin should be around 125. Ferritin is the amount of protein bound iron in the blood referred to as storage iron. I tanked my iron stores donating blood. My last ferritin reading was 40, and i self phlebbed 2 pints after that. I found some injectible iron online, and after 200mg my ferritin is up to 100. To fix the HCT issue I found a blood bank with an older aphresis machine and was doing platelets monthly, a double platelet donation would drop my hematocrit 6%. To donate doubles my platelets would have to be 220 or higher. So I started taking supplements to get my platelet count up so I could get doubles. The newer machines dont induce as much hemolysis. I ended up going to a renown hematologist to find the solution to my HCT issue - which my insurance did not cover at all. I had known for over a year that I desaturate in my sleep, and I had been working with medical professionals and sleep specialists for it, and I kept bringing up that I needed oxygen in my sleep. They said it wouldnt help. The first thing this renown hemo said was get an oxygen concentrator and titrate oxygen into your cpap machine. The first week my HCT went down 1.5%, and within a month my HCT went from 53 to 48%, just adding 5 liters of oxygen per hour. It is so unbelievably frustrating to know the answer to my issue and yet being talked out of it by professionals. I had sleep studies saying i have apneas, and my cpap was working, yet i still desaturate. I got a recording pulse oximiter from amazon and check my o2 level. My average O2 saturation was around 92% before the o2 bleed, after its 97%. If you have problems with HCT, first switch to daily smaller doses. Metformin and Telemisartan/Losartan can also help. It just depends on what the underlying cause is. Clinically, o2 desaturation isnt an issue until its under 88% for a substantial period of time. So for me its not bad enough that I qualify for insurance coverage, but even little desaturations can cause the kidneys to make erythropoitien
