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Iron deficiency anemia

G

GEORGEP

I was diagnosed with crohn's a few years ago. Recently I had blood work and was found to have hemoglobin of 12.7 and low ferritin 11. I had a upper endoscopy and colonoscopy to look for bleeding and none was found. I had a small bowel x-rays and those came back normal. I have to swallow a pill with a camera in a few weeks that will take pictures of my small intestine. Can you have malabsorption of iron when your crohns is inactive? I have been taking lialda and it has put it in remission.
 
ronroush7

ronroush7

Not sure but there will probably be someone on the forum who can answer your question . Congratulations on being in remission.
 
G

GEORGEP

Thanks, The other thing I forgot to mention is I have GERD and I have been taking Nexium for5 years and I am not sure if that could also cause malabsorption of iron..
 
ronroush7

ronroush7

GEORGEP said:
Thanks, The other thing I forgot to mention is I have GERD and I have been taking Nexium for5 years and I am not sure if that could also cause malabsorption of iron..
Click to expand...
Have you had surgery? I had six centimeters of my intestines removed and I believe that contributes to malabsorption with me.
 
G

GEORGEP

No, I did not reach that point. I recently had the endoscopy/colonoscopy done to see if I was bleeding and they also did fecal occult test and there was no blood. My doctor had taken a lot of biopsies all along my colon and she said it was well healed. I had xrays of my small bowel and that came back normal. I am just concerned about the camera that I will be swallowing to take pictures of my small bowel.
 
cmack

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Southern British Columbia
Your body will absorb iron better if you have it with food that contains vitamin C, like fruits and vegetables. Coffee, tea, and calcium can make you absorb less of it. A family doctor told me this, I hope it is of some use to you.
 
Lynda Lynda

Lynda Lynda

Member
A few years ago I had a blood test, just the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel. My doctors office called me and said my hemoglobin was 4.6 and I was instructed to the hospital right after work and so I did ! I had a blood transfusion. Got 2 units of blood and went home in the morning. I hope you feel better soon. 🐝
 
G

GEORGEP

Thanks, I have been taking my iron supplement with orange juice. I spoke with a Pharmacist yesterday and she said it is very common for people who take proton pump inhibitors like Nexium to have an iron deficiency. I told her that I have to swallow the capsule camera to check my small bowel and she said they have to rule out any bleeding there.
 
G

GEORGEP

Thanks, My B12 was 550 pg/ml, Folate was 13.8, Iron was 57 mcg/dl , TIBC 374 mcg/dl and iron saturation was low at 15% so I had my ferritin checked and it was low at 11.
 
G

Guerrero

Hi Georgep, I think your anemia is not dramatic. 12.7 is not so low... when i had real anemia and bleeding my hemoglobin dropped to 9/8 and ferritin around 3/5...
Could be the nexium then, or minimal inflammation that in some way "consumes" iron.
It's good your doctors try to rule out any bleeding.
Have you had your fecal calprotectin tested recently to see if there is trace of inflammation?
 
G

GEORGEP

Thanks Guerrero, I had a fecal occult done and there was no blood. I have no bleeding from bowel movements and I just had a endoscopy/colonscopy done and that came back normal with no inflammation. They did not do a fecal calprotectin test .
 
Lynda Lynda

Lynda Lynda

Member
When my symptoms started to worsen, the very first tests that my GI ordered was a stool sample test for C-diff and for my calprotectin level. No C-Diff but calpro was 674.
 
G

GEORGEP

I had no symptoms of being iron deficient. They did routine bloodwork and then they found out my hemoglobin was only 12.7 and then I had the fecal occult which came back negative for blood and then more tests.
 
G

GEORGEP

Do any of you think I should be concerned about cancer? I read that it can cause anemia. I am swallowing the camera to film my small bowel. My x-rays came back normal for that. I am just worried about it now.
 
cmack

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Southern British Columbia
No sense worrying, they will check you and whatever is wrong will eventually be found. The main thing is getting a swift diagnosis and treatment. You have my support.
 
G

GEORGEP

I am used to this being diagnosed 5 years ago and worrying about getting cancer from barretts esophagus. So far I have been ok. Now this happens....Thanks, I have no control one way or the other anyway...
 
G

GEORGEP

I swallowed the camera pill and I got the results back this morning. They found two ulcers in my small intestine and a third possible ulcer at the end of the small intestine where it meets the colon. There was no bleeding but I was told that this could prevent me from absorbing nutrients and iron. They are going to change my prescription from Lialda to Pentasa and I have to follow up with them in September. I also had blood work to check my iron again. The doctor was debating on whether or not to take my off my low dose aspirin but she said since there is no bleeding to stay on it.
 
G

GEORGEP

I was just notified that I am no longer anemic. I have been taking 324mg twice a day of ferrous gluconate iron. My ferritin is still low at 28 so I was told to take 3 instead of 2. Does it take awhile to build up your iron reserves? I have been taking the iron supplement for a couple of months.
 
G

GEORGEP

Thanks, They are going to check my blood again in September so maybe if the ferritin level is still low they may do something else. They changed my lialda prescripton to Pentasa so maybe that will help. Thanks
 
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