Low Iron Levels

I have had it. It's very common. Are you bleeding a lot?

Iron pills brought mine back up to normal but it takes some time.

I found this on google. I try to eat a a lot of seafood.

Iron Rich Foods
Beef, Pork, Lamb (Pick red meats that are lean), veal.
Green Leafy Vegetables: Spinach, Asparagus, Broccoli, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, Turnip Greens, Parsley, Cabbage, chard, watercress, brussel sprouts.
Certain fortied foods: Cereals, Oatmeal, Pasta, Rice, Grits
Liver, Tofu, Barley, Fish: Tuna Potato

Foods High In Iron

Salmon, Shrimp, Tuna, Oysters, Clams, and most kinds of seafood.
Most kind of Dried Beans: Lima Beans, Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, Soy Beans, Chick Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Eye Beans
Nuts: Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame, Tahini, dried beans, hazlenuts, lentils, peanuts.
Dried Fruits: Apricots, Rasins, Dates - Prunes, Figs.
Fruits: Oranges, cantaloupes, lemons, limes, grapefruit, tangerine, tangelo
Turkey, Chicken, Egg Yolks

http://www.foodshighiniron.com/

You should not be worried about dying from this. It is likely making you very fatigued. You should not eat raw shellfish IMO because if you get a listeria infection you could get super duper sick.

Iron pills are sometimes hard to take - they cause constipation. For me they just really hurt. Some people end up getting iron infusions.

One thing to consider about being anemic, especially if you're not overtly bleeding, is to talk to your DR about the possibility of internal bleeding and/or poor absorption. Here on the UC board I don't expect many are worried about poor absorption of iron, but on the Crohn's forum it is a pretty common problem. Inflammation in the small bowel causes poor nutritional uptake of many vitamins and minerals, including iron.

Another thing you can do with regard to food is cook on cast iron pots. Vegetarians in India are rarely anemic because they cook acidic foods in cast iron.

I eat raw oysters all the time (I admit it is probably not smart) and I haven't had a problem. the only time they told me not to eat raw oysters was when I had a very low WBC.

Yes. Getting a blood transfusion is a possibility. The risks from blood transfusions is extremely small, and it will make you feel better. The reason I didn't opt for one was that my mom contracted Hepetitis C from a blood transfusion she got when she lost too much blood from giving birth to me. So mentally, I really don't want to get one if I don't have to and my iron level was borderline at the time. But, yes, it took me about a year to get my iron level back up (without iron supplements), and then being a woman who does not eat beef, it kept dropping below the normal rate. So I've recently upped my iron consumption.

Post Edited (subdued) : 9/2/2011 12:49:11 PM (GMT-6)

I was anemic also, my count was a 9... I was put on prescription iron pre diagnosis of UC, 1500 mg a day.. was taking that for about 3 months and then started to go down hill to the diagnosis of UC... since adding in the lialda and supplements I don't take the iron any longer.. but I am also not bleeding now.
May I suggest a LIQUID iron supplement??????? The health food stores have this and my GI recommended if I was continuing iron supp's to only take the liquid for it absorbs mostly in your mouth and your intestine's or stomach don't have to deal with it...

I took iron pills and I did fine on them. I always wanted to get an iron infusion, I imagined it would give you loads of energy but a few members who have had them said they really don't give you instant energy. I did feel better after taking the pills. I was very tired while anemic, worse than I am normally and I am always very tired.

I've had extremely low iron for a while now, & was referred to a hematologist by my GI about 6 months ago. She started me on oral iron, which brought my level up from 4 to 9 after 3 months, then we did an iron infusion. My ferritin level went from 9 to 175-ish! I've had much more energy, feel better overall, & am really happy I did the infusion. I get my levels checked again in December, & depending on the results may need another infusion or not. The oral iron didn't bother me, but if you find they're not working as fast as you'd like, definitely ask about the infusions- it only took an hour or so, very easy, no side effects.

Hi--
Saw my GI Doc yesterday and he said I was around 10, so he ordered another blood test, and if it's still that low, he'll order a transfusion. I had thought he'd order iv iron. I still might be more comfortable with that. We'll see when I get the results back. I've bee bleeding most of the time for the past twenty years, so I'm not surprised.

Right now remicade has put a stop to all that, but there's a lot of aches and pains to pay for it.

Michigoose

I was taking ferrous sulfate tablets. I think my DR told me to take a certain amount, I did the math wrong, and ended up taking about 3x what she recommended. It didn't do any permanent damage, trust me, because I got so nauseated that I became ill just looking at the pills. I happened to be on an overseas business trip when I figured it all out. So I got to deal with traveler's tummy and iron overdose. Yay for me! Anyway, my ferritin levels did come up from that experience, and I still had to take ferrous sulfate for a few months afterward to get them to a healthy level. So getting that big bolus of iron in up front probably helped. ha.

There is such thing as iron overdose and apparently it is worse to overdose from too much iron than to underdose. Perhaps, a one-a-day vitamin with iron is not too much too worry about an overdose if you want to make sure you are getting enough iron.

Hi iron pills never work for me because iron pills always worse my symptoms . i dont know how can peoples digest iron pill even they can't digest some foods . if u wana increase ur bathroom tips then u should us iron pills . BEst option for UC sufferers is blood infusions . If there's some kinda special iron drugs are available that would be specialy designed for UC suferes then please let me now too . Because i've still got iron deficiency . THanks