Iron / HgB plummeting

Around the middle of July I had an iron IV and my ferritin tested around 44. My hemoglobin was 105 around that time (which is 10.5 in the other system). I went away out of town for a month and I just got back. My blood today shows my ferritin is now 7 and my hemoglobin is still exactly 105.

I haven't been bleeding at all. No blood on the TP, on the stool or in the bowl, so I'm confused about these results and I obviously need to talk to my doctor. In advance of my appointment, I'm trying to learn all that I can.

I'm assuming the 105 reading has not gone down because my body has been using iron to make hemoglobin. But if I haven't been bleeding then why isn't the hemoglobin going up?

I've never had a blood work result like this before during a non-flare period. I also just stopped prednisone recently after 1.5 years of use, so I'm wondering if that's a factor.

I do eat iron rich foods but I don't think my bowel absorbs the iron. I've been walking around town a lot too so maybe that depleted my iron faster? I know exercise can do that... but it's just walking, not lifting weights!

I can't believe I didn't mention this in my OP... sorry!...

I've been getting iron IVs because I don't absorb iron right now. Usually when I enter remission and there's mucosal healing, I start absorbing it eventually from food.

I had 4 iron IVs prior to leaving for my trip. That's why I'm confused. They raised my ferritin to over 40, and then by the end of my trip the ferritin was back down to super low levels yet my hemoglobin hadn't changed at all.

Given the fact that I'm totally reliant on iron IVs right now, would an active lifestyle (a lot of walking etc) bring down my ferritin a lot in that time?

I'm just trying to explain the drop. You're right there could be hidden bleeding, but even during periods where I had minor visible bleeding my iron did not drop this quickly.