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Iron Infusions vs Daily Iron Tablets

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 6/8/2020 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
My son (24) was dx with Crohn's when he was 18 and has undergone one surgery to remove his TI and several inches of his large intestine. He has been on remicade since the time of his dx and has basically been in remission.(Also takes probiotics, Methotrexate, Vitamin B12 and colistepol).However his hemoglobin levels are always dropping. He has had several colonoscopies, endoscopies and CT / MRE scans to find out why it is not stable. He also has had three pill cams. The pill cams showed small ulcerations in the small intestine which may be the cause of it? He is also vegetarian and he supposedly does not absorb iron as well. He usually gets two iron infusions back to back one time per year. His GI doctor now wants him to start taking iron tablets but I have read that they can cause irritation in the lining of the stomach. And insight / knowledge about this? His doctor wants him to start soon. His insurance always covers the infusions which seem better to me? Thanks for any help!
Posted 6/8/2020 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
Everyone is different but for me personally oral iron causes lots of problems. I need to take very small amounts and follow strict protocol (empty stomach, not eat at least an hour after and take with probiotics) in order not to cause havoc in my colon. This honestly is extremely tiring and still my ferritin is only around 30 ng/ml. More and more I'm looking towards taking an injection and my doc also thinks this is the way I should go
Posted 6/9/2020 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
Stick with the iron infusions. Oral iron is poorly absorbed by IBD patients and not nearly as effective as iron infusions. Not even sure why the GI would suggest it for your son with his history, to be honest.

Incidentally I have the same problem of retaining iron - within a year of having an iron infusion I'm anaemic again. I'm not vegetarian and I don't have heavy periods, so I've no idea what it is, given that iron is meant to be absorbed in the duodenum and my upper GI tract is, as far as I know, okay.
Posted 6/9/2020 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
https://well.ca/products/lorna-vanderhaeghe-ironsmart_96173.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhpWz7rzz6QIVkIzICh2bwQcLEAQYASABEgJD_fD_BwE

My Daughter had similar problems. I too believe that infusions are far superior, but if you a leery, and want to stick with oral iron, the only one that My Daughter was able to tolerate was this product which is vegetarian based. Our Doctor recommended it. It didn't work miracles, but did elevate her iron stores.

Other thing to consider is, some are just naturally anemic whether have IBD or not. It's a usual issue with active disease, but he may battle low iron even when in total remission.

Will he be staying the course with Remicade?
Posted 6/9/2020 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
As always thank you for your collective wisdom. This site is so helpful to me. He will be staying on the remicade and I am going to advocate for him to stick with his iron infusions. They seem to have way less side effects listed here (and also from what I have researched). He sees his GI doctor in two weeks and he can discuss it then. I think if he refuses the GI will just go back to the twice per year infusions!
Posted 6/10/2020 12:08 PM (GMT 0)
One thing I forgot to mention was an oral iron spray. It doesn't have a nice aftertaste, but it has no GI side-effects because it bypasses your GI tract and goes straight into the bloodstream.

I've got one, but I keep on forgetting to take it :-/

Here it is, if you're interested.

https://betteryou.com/iron-10-oral-spray
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