My dizziness and symptoms went away thanks to this forum

I want to thank the members of this forum for the useful information that you offer.

I have thalassemia minor. Although curiously no one in my family has it.

I spent my adolescence with dizziness and mild but strange symptoms: tiredness, lack of concentration, weakness. Some people told me that it was psychosomatic.
My doctor prescribed medicine to treat vertigo, or rare medicines. He didn't know what to prescribe for me.

Consuming zinc, folic acid, and B12 improved my health.

The consumption of L-carnitine (500 mg / day) has made practically all my symptoms disappear, especially the dizziness. I don't usually remember that I have thalassemia.

Consuming vitamin D (20,000 or 30,000 IU / week) made me feel a little better overall.

With vitamin E, I didn't notice anything. Although I started taking it when I had already improved.

It is also clear that it helps to maintain a good level of testosterone, antioxidants and to rest well.

In this forum I have read about thalassemic marathon runners.
But for some strange reason (thalassemia, pulmonary hypertension, a little obese?) I get tired too quickly, to the point of dedicating myself to intellectual professions, and avoiding more physical ones that I liked. It's sad. My sports scores are good, but in endurance tests I sink. And if I train frequently, my hemoglobin and hematocrit start to drop.

I wish there was a safe, oral and cheap drug like Reblozyl for minor thalassemics. I guess that would make me almost 100% normal. But it's only a dream.

You may never notice anything from taking vitamin E, but be confident that it addresses the low antioxidant problems facing thals, and also helps to prevent the blood clotting issues commonly found in thals.

Hi Ludo,

Don't get discouraged by your performance in sports. Maybe we thals can't be top athletes but for sure we can enjoy a lot of physical activity. We do have to be extra careful not to overdo it though. I learned this the hard way because I wouldn't listen to my doctor who told me that overtraining, sleep deprivation and binge drinking do not go well with a thal person.

Hi Ludo,

Don't get discouraged by your performance in sports. Maybe we thals can't be top athletes but for sure we can enjoy a lot of physical activity. We do have to be extra careful not to overdo it though. I learned this the hard way because I wouldn't listen to my doctor who told me that overtraining, sleep deprivation and binge drinking do not go well with a thal person.

My son also has the trait and - unlike myself - he is very sporty indeed. He has an Open Water Scuba certificate, regularly ran in marathons, graduated to triathlons and eventually Ironman. Normally he suffered no ill effects, although occasionally he did end up on a drip after the finish. He is also a keen mountaineer and tackled Kilimanjaro solo, with the obligatory guide; the guide suffered badly from altitude sickness and my son had to help him down afterwards! So don't be discouraged from taking part in sports, as long as you get to know your limits.
Alec

Hi AlecF, there are people who's physical fitness is less impacted by the condition. It's great that your son is one of them.
Two world famous athletes are said to be thal minors - Zinedine Zidane and Pete Sampras. There are probably many others like them