any of you decide to have surgery due to anemia?

  I have ulcerative colitis and although I was not feeling well a few months ago lately I have been feeling really good. So imagine my surprise when I had some bloodwork done due to bronchitis and I am anemic and my iron is low.  I was given slow fe iron and oh my gosh it makes me feel so sick. It makes me have the symptoms of anemia instead of helping. So silly me goes looking at message boards for anemia and sees all the struggles of people face trying to get their anemia under control and the constant side effects. I know I was perfectly healthy a year and a half ago before my diagnoses of UC.I went in and had a ton of bloodwork when I first started bleeding and everything was fine. I bled for a long time sometimes more sometimes less but right now I have not seen any blood. I have heard that I may not see the blood since it mixes with stool.  So would I find an understanding surgeon easier if I said I do not want to deal with not knowing when I will be sick or have to take even more medication that makes me feel ill. I was worried a few months back that I would be shown the door if I just wanted this taken care of due to accidents and the number of times I go. I had a temp ilo. in 2005 when I had a colon resection due to diverticulitis so I already know what it is like especially in the beginning.

  Yeah the doctor told me to get a different type of iron. I hope that this anemia is actually from a few months ago and it is resolving. I actually had symptoms of anemia a few months ago but figured I felt that bad from the colitis. I have felt better here recently. I was just wondering if anyone had this be a chronic problem  and not a one time thing if removing the colon became an option for them.

My 18 year old son had a colectomy and j pouch built this last year. His major problem, along with his life being completely out of his control, was anemia. He had a Hb of 62, blood transfusions, could not tolerate iron tablets which made him bleed much worse, tried liquid Floridix which did not raise his levels, had weekly iron Venifer infusions for a couple of months and nothing was working. The anemia started to greatly affect his whole body. His resting heart rate was 110, his blood pressure was high, there was some issue starting to happen with his kidneys due to the high heart rate, he had constant terrible headaches and I really feel his memory was not as good as it had been.

They raised his Hb to 85 with blood transfusions for the surgeon to operate. Immediately after surgery he started to improve and just keep getting better and better.

We are now a year post his colectomy and every blood test comes back completely normal. His kidneys are functioning perfectly, the headaches are gone and his memory is fine. Surgery was a blessing for him!