Iron Level While in Remission

Does anyone have low iron when they aren't bleeding? I feel like I am suffering from anemia but I am not having any issues with my UC. Is this possible?

well, I don't know how well a remission you're in, but from my own current experience I do know one can suffer from low iron & low B12 & folate levels while in remission. Are you clinically in remission? You could have mild bleeding & just not know it. I rarely see blood in the toilet, but I do see bloody tp practically daily- not seriously bloody, but it's there. And if I really look in the toilet bowl, there is some blood on the stool. Which is formed & not d! I don't consider myself to be flaring, just my "normal" baseline- so-so. Apparently it takes months & months for your iron store to build back up, you can take supllements daily & while they make you feel better, it's really only the iron in the supplements that you're using, nothing is being stored. Plus the 6MP suppresses bone marrow production, so you may have a hard time holding onto & building iron stores- if you can go for a hematology consult, do! I'm all about the hematologists nowadays.. ha! I feel like my visit saved me, all I wanted to do was curl up & rest. I have noticed a difference with the supplements, but will be curious as to how my labs come out in 3 months.

I have had some nausea, definitely- plus they're hard to take, in that you're supposed to take them 2 hours after or 1 hour before a meal- ok, that's about when I take my other UC meds. And you shouldn't take vitamins with them either- well, I'm supposed to take Vitamin D as well as the iron! Plus you shouldn't take them with dairy products. Between the 2 iron tabs,  the Vitamin D, & the other 12 pills for UC, I'm ALWAYS popping pills! I have a few crackers or something with them, which seems to help. The first few days were rough, the nausea, but it's been ok the past few days. I don't knwo abut aggravating one's colon, but they're definitely tough on the stomach. Plus they can cause constipation, which for me, probably puts me right about where a "normal" person is, bowel habit wise. Definitely check out if your insurance will cover it, or ask your GI or PCP for a referral- the labs the hematologist ran were totally diffferent than the ones my GI & PCP run. And gave vastly different, much lower iron levels results. I'm actually amazed at how much pep I have had the past 3-4 days- I feel like a new person.

Anyone can have low iron, particularly women. I had low iron- but not anemic - long before dx of UC. Also, iron supps are not generally recommended for UC. Neither of my GIs wanted me to take oral iron.

I did just have an iron infusion. I get my blood test next week to see if it helped. I am not feeling overly different, but I also am not sure if I was symptomatic of that or the UC. We'll find out at the end of next week.

My iron levels are at the very bottom range of normal. 2.5 months of iron supplementation raised my hemoglobin by a couple tenths and ferritin by 4 units, which explains why I don't feel all that better. My doctors don't seem concerned--they just said it takes several months to build up iron storage. However, I had a fainting episode a couple weeks ago for no apparent reason. So that pretty much made me schedule an appt with a hematologist.

notsosicklygirl said...
thanks for the responses.

aguywithuc, that's why I think I am having iron troubles, I get winded walking up hills.

This was the hill that got my attention.

www.cheyennemountain.com/Accommodations/Photo-Gallery.asp

I always walk up the hill for the buffet with my daughter without thinking about it. After late summer hospitalization I had to stop 3 times and my vision was fading at the edges like a stunt pilot pulling too many g's and blacking out.

1 iron + 1 Vit C each morning and the relief came quickly. Tests showed my iron and RBC levels rising. Bombing the black diamond runs at 11,000 FT ASL at Breckenridge confirmed the labs. I tested one more time then stopped the iron altogether.

It never bothered my stomach and my doctors all agreed it was safe for males to take when low. Takes a while to get them back up, even if you get infusions it will take time for the RBC to rise and that is what has to change. Good luck.

Post Edited (aguywithuc) : 3/26/2011 8:28:06 PM (GMT-6)

I had this happen to me on my second flare. I was so weak during the recovery I could barely get out of bed and walk across the room without taking a break. In fact the weakness was why I went to the hospital on my second flare because my other symptoms were getting better but I kept getting weaker.
I ended up having to get an iron prescription that night and 2 units of blood. I felt like a new man after that. My hemoglobin was at 5.2 so I was dangerously low.
Talk to your dr and make sure he/she is fully aware of how you are feeling. My dr didn't seem to take it seriously when I talked to him but after I went to the hospital it was something we started monitoring on a regular basis.
Good Luck.