first time here

I am new here and have Thal Minor.  I have symptoms of mild anemia.  I've been researching the symptoms of mild anemia and have many of them including fatigue and shortness of breath when I exercise.  I have also read that it can affect cognitive abilities, specifically, vocab, reading, and can lower the IQ.  I don't know if this is accurate or not but I'm a law school student with an IQ high enough to get into Mensa but have always struglled with reading and vocab.  It kills me to think that this can possibly be reducing my IQ.  More importantly, I'm very tired and have been my whole life and have never liked it.  I know that there is no known cure or we wouldn't all be on here but something I read recently peaked my interest.  Tell me if anyone knows anything about this study that claims 16 out of 17 minors were cured.  I would like to try it but don't know if i can get all of the herbs. 

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/thalassemia.htm

Hi afterburn  
         am also thalassim.minor and also in my jop sometimes i use afterburn because when i push the throtle of the airplane i have to wait untel afterburn  and after that i took off 
      any way welcome to our lovely family and have good stay with all your sisters and your brothers.....
                 HEY GUYS FASTEN YOUR SEAT BILTS AM READY FOR TAKE OFF
                      afterburn >> NOSE UP >> CLIMP >> STAY IN SAME ROOT
                                                   
                                                    KHALIFA
                                             STATE OF KUWAIT
                             

Thanks for the warm welcome!  I started using Afterburn becuase it was obv to everyone that I  would always get "burnt out" during law school but would some how find a way to to turn it up for finals.  Someone made a joke about it and it stuck.  I'm also an artist and when I made a comic hero based on myself I named him Afterburn (afterb for short). 

may i ask you pls
           where yoy from? and how old are you? and what is your jop?
                              thank you
                                         khalifa
                                  state of kuwait
                 

Comic book hero eh? Well, I may have been designated Captain Thal care, but in my secret identity I own a comic book store.   

hi afterburn, welcome to this lovely fam  ,
i am anemic too, but never have problems with my IQ  and never have problems with reading or vocab. i master english as foreign language very well, finish master degree with flying colors, and now managing my own company.  So cheer up, the only thing that beat me down is tiredness  and sometimes but as Khalifa said, rest for a while, then vrooom, you can fly again 
 

It really does feel better to hear from other people that take this problem seriously (unlike most doctors) I haven't read all the posts but I think it's becuase it is generally thought that mild anemia is not a big deal but having temporary mild anemia that is easily corrected is different than mild anemia for an entire life with no cure.  Anyway I am hopeful that with a little focus we can find something that works or encourage doctors/researchers to find something to help. 

About an hour ago I started to take the chinnese medicine that is supposed to imporve kidney function and relieve all symptoms (actually change the red blood cells).  I based it on articles and research I found.  I am taking the lowest dose of extract available in case there are side effects.

Astragalus, Lycium fruit, Peony, Rehmannia, (red) Ginseng, Licorice

I am also taking folic acid, multi vitamin, and green tea extract but green tea has nothing to do with this experiment but I just wanted to let everyone know I 'm taking that as well it case it changes the results.

I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.  BTW I'm 25, I live in NYC and I am a law school student (formerly in the banking industry).  My goal has always been to make enough money and connections to fund scientific research which is my passion (now I guess i have another reason to work towards that goal) hope eveyone is having a good day

Comic book hero eh? Well, I may have been designated Captain Thal care, but in my secret identity I own a comic book store.   

Captain Thal!! LMAO...it fits perfectly!

At any rate- Welcome to our family, Afterburn!! You are most welcome.  You will find a lot of info on your condition here, as well as a lot of support!

There have been a couple of studies on cognitive function and thalassemia minor. One was puiblished just this month and I attached the abstract below. Don't get too caught up on the IQ game. Iron deficiency can also 'lower IQ' was revealed by another study I am too lazy too look for right now, but 10-15 here or aren't that important and these tests vary if you retake them. IQ tests matter to differentiate between the Forrest Gumps and the Einsteins, but the rest of the curve is pretty huge and variable and we shouldn't compete or place value on a few points here and there.

Mostly the studies find a slower cognitive response, but anybody who is tired from thal minor would be slow. It doesn't mean we are less smart -- you just have more days that you are foggy and we can really suck at timed tests. I know I really do and it makes me mad because all the US tests I had to take for college were timed and I was quite bad at them. Speed is good for some professions, but deep slow thought is better for others ;)

Besides, dont underestimate the value of emotional intelligence which is only now gaining momentum. Not all people are meant to be rocket scientists. The world would be pretty boring. We also need artists, politicians, historians, etc. My grandfather who is a lawyer and speaks five of the hardest western languages fluently couldn't change a light bulb or boil an egg and I am sure he scored really high on his IQ tests...;)

************

Am J Hematol. 2007 Mar;82(3):203-7.
    Cognitive dysfunction in beta-thalassemia minor.

        * Nevruz O,
        * Ulas U,
        * Cetin T,
        * Kutukcu Y,
        * Kurekci A.

    Department of Hematology, Gulhane Medical School, Ankara, Turkey.

    beta-thalassemia minor is a common, hereditary, and mostly symptomless disease. Previous studies have shown that lower hemoglobin values are associated with poorer cognitive functions. We aimed to evaluate the cognitive function in patients with beta-thalassemia minor. Thirty-two male subjects with beta-thalassemia minor and 32 sex-, age-, and education status-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Blood tests and P300 potentials were carried out. P300 potential latency in all patients was significantly longer than those in the control group (337.63 +/- 34.89 msec and 310.66 +/- 14.30 msec, respectively; t 4.046, P < 0.001). The amplitudes of P300 in patient group were significantly lower than those in the control group (5.19 +/- 3.59 muV and 9.81 +/- 3.33 muV, respectively; t 5.349, P < 0.001). In this study, we have found that P300 potentials are adversely affected for cognitive functions in patients with beta-thalassemia minor. Am. J. Hematol., 2007. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

    PMID: 17078021 [PubMed - in process]

Welcome to the forum, Afterburn!  Good to have you here!   

I honestly don't think that Thalassemia can be cured with herbs, but that is only my opinion.  I guess it doesn't hurt to try it, though, if it's all natural.