When ordering therapeutic phlebotomy you'll be asked to specify volume drawn (500mL is the default), weekly/biweekly/monthly draws, for a 12 month period. After 12 months a new prescription is required. According to an org specializing in blood iron disorders, the hemoglobin cutoff below which you should not draw is 12.5. The normal HGB range is 12-16 ish.
( notes tapped April 2013 for black bookCollapse )

I'm not taking notes on the cases themselves, just on factoids.
( notesCollapse )

The potentially dangerous ones are iron if you're middle aged and female are: multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, beta carotene, magnesium, zinc, and copper. They used data from the Iowa Women's Health Study, which collected data on 38,772 women aged 55 to 69. From that sample, 15,594 died during the study period, which was about 40% of the initial group! Geeze. The people who took supplements were more educated, more physically active and more likely to get supplemental estrogen. Vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, and zinc were associated with about a 3% to 6% increased risk for death, whereas copper was associated with an 18.0% increased risk for total mortality when compared with corresponding nonuse. On the other hand, women who took calcium were more likely to live longer (3.8% risk reduction).

My theory: people take more vitamins when their diet is crap. I know I do this. I'll eat a dinner of popcorn and ice cream and supplements sometimes. But when I eat fresh organic veggies and meat, I skip the supps and don't worry about it. Perhaps we "older" women are using our pills to justify a terrible diet. Maybe? Guess I better start taking my calcium, though.

Absolute risk increase (total mortality)
multis 2.4%
B6 4.1%
folic 5.9%
iron 3.9%
magnesium 3.5%
zinc 3.0%
copper 18.0%

SOURCES
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/751263?src=mpnews&spon=34
Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:1625-1633,1633-1634
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/171/18/1625
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/171/18/1633

sites for assessing micronutrient contents of food
www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
www.nutritiondata.com
( our last nutrition I lecture with professor Gerber, moved forward from same date 2009, already got thyroid, anemia bitsCollapse )

transferrin saturation = (serum Fe/TIBC) x 100. (normal is 20-50%)
( lecture notesCollapse )

LAB Dx Lecture
FINAL EXAM STUDY OBJECTIVES
FALL TERM 2008
( another look into the materialCollapse )