Anemic with Ulcerative Colitis

I went to the nutritionist today and was told that my blood level was dropping--this seems pretty weird to me. In December, he prescribed an iron supplement and then blood work was performed again in February and number dropped again. How can this be when the iron supplement was suppose to work. He labeled me as anemic and blood level was 10.6 and went down to 9.2. He also told me that due to me being anemic that I would not be able to conceive because you need to have a sufficient amount of blood flowing through your body-I am 24 yrs old, with ulcerative colitis-and anemia runs in our family....we are in the process of trying to conceive, how could he tell me something like this-it really hurt my feelings...anyone going thru the same thing.

I was very anemic too about a year ago. I took iron pills for a long time and that along with remission got me back to normal levels. My doctor never told me I wouldn't be able to conceive. I guess I never cared so much anyway because I wasn't trying to have children. I am sure you can get your iron levels back up and you will be able to have a child when you're ready. Don't stress. I don't think the doctor shoudl have mentioned that, especially if you didn't bring it up first.

I had that problem the whole time I had UC. it's fine now. My level was only 8 before surgery--low enough that my regular doctor wasn't going to clear me for surgery. I've had 4 blood transfusions since surgery (early on and during surgery). I was taking iron twice a day and my level was still that low--my body was not absorbing it. And, yes, vitamin c is supposed to help with absorption, while calcium hinders it--so take with OJ and never milk.

I conceived with low iron levels and had a c-section. They kept warning me that I could bleed too much during the surgery, as though it was my fault I was anemic. They just thought I wasn't taking the pills, even though I kept insisting I was. I had no bleeding issues with my c-section, though, and didn't require a transfusion.

I don't think the doctor was trying to hurt your feelings. You are feeling sensitive right now, worrying about things and likely took it the wrong way. The doctor's job is to tell it like it is. It IS important to have healthy iron levels in order to conceive. What the doctor SHOULD have done was try and figure out why your levels are dropping, even with you taking supplements. You may have to adjust your dosage and take it more often throughout the day.

For myself, I could not take my iron once a day. I had to take it 3-4 times a day so it was a continuous stream of iron hitting my bloodstream. It took at least 3 months before my iron levels started increasing. Since you just started in December, you need to give it a little more time and make sure you do not miss a single dose. The others are right ... you should take your iron with orange juice. Are you taking vitamin D and B supplements? You may want to give that a try. My iron levels improved when I paired vitamin D and B ... plus my hair started growing back better too :)

That is just silly, you can have babies with low iron! trust me that baby will take whatever it needs, it doesnt care if you have enough or not! :D
Anyway, i agree that they need to find out the problem is, i was always anemic when i had UC, due to the amount of bloodloss, plus my crazy nonstop periods.
Anyway, i couldnt take regular iron or prenatal vitamins the amount of iron made me sick.
So i took chromagen, which is an iron pill that releases slowly, so it didnt make me sick, and worked quite well. Now when i would get in severe flare it wouldnt help.
And for a prenatal vitamin, i took flintstones! And then i also took a calcuim and folic acid supplement.
Im not sure about the meds you are on, but lots of meds can make you bleed easier. I was on phenobarbtial and immuran when i was pregnant both of which cause easy bleeding so when i get towards time, i started getting, i think, vitamin k, to sort of counteract the meds. Anyway, its very very important that anywoman of childbearing age take folic acid, esp those of us with health problems. That can really help cut down on brain and spinal birth defects. And it wont hurt you.
Anyway, good luck with everything

I took ferrous sulfate but it's hard on the stomach. I'd look into a slow acting one like someone suggested.
Congratulations!

Whoa. Congrats!! that doctor was really off, huh?? Bet you can't wait to tell him.

I take FeraMax (300 mg/day)..it is a little hard on the stomach..took me about a week or so to get used to it....CONGRATULATIONS!