I guess I'm anemic now. Thoughts? Guidance?

I have had bouts of anemia on and off for the last 10 years maybe longer but that is when i started having labs done i guess.  When i first discovered it i was going into plastic surgery for the 2nd time in a year (it takes a lot out of you)  We got it up in a relatively short period of time I want to say 8 weeks, which meant postponing my surgery but i followed Dr's orders.  The next round of surgery i decided to do my iron was low but not too low, not where it was before and i decided to do the iron regimen but not postpone.  My levels were a little higher than yours are now.

It was a huge mistake.  It was round three and I've never had a recovery like it.  I thought i would never have any energy and would never be able to live life as before.  I regretted everything.  After the surgery the iron of course dipped and i had to have infusions (really fun stuff, you have them with the chemo patients, it was very depressing). IMHO postpone the surgery even if your Dr OKs it.  the recovery is very hard and difficult.  I dated a plastic surgeon later who told me that WLS patients (remember i had not had WLS surgery when this happened) take longer to recover because of iron depletion with the reconstruction anyhow.  My insistence on surgery made things so much more difficult than they needed to be. It took a full 3 months before i turned the corner.

Hey Ruggie -- I also became anemic at some point, maybe a couple of years out or so.  Was having some near-fainting episodes, and the blood work showed anemia.  Of course then I had to go through endless horrible tests to make sure I wasn't bleeding internally ... which were all negative, thank goodness.

Now I take a generic iron supplement, ferrous sulfate, one in the morning and one at night, and all appears to be okay.  And yeah, I live on stool softeners and magnesium to keep my innards from turning into concrete, heh heh.  

You'll figure out what works, and there are a lot of experts on here about that stuff.  Best wishes :-)
--Dorothy

Thanks for your support and encouragement, Dorothy.

During the month before and after plastics, I doubled up my daily iron.  For those two months I took the Bariatric Advantage Truffle Chews.  I looked forward to them so it was easy to remember. 

My thiamine tanked in my post plastics blood work. I went from mid range to below range.  I've added a B Complex to bring it back to range.

I am trending low on iron despite aggressive supplementation since my surgery and have been reading a fair bit about it. A couple things that you might consider:

Are you taking a PPI or other acid reducer? These can significantly impair iron absorbtion and the research suggests that just having a partial gastrectomy also impairs iron absorption in lots of folks.  I have had hellacious difficulty trying to reduce / eliminate my PPI dosage in an effort to make it easier to absorb the iron I take.

Ferrous iron salts are the least absorbable. You might check with your doc or pharmacist about the proferrin (very easy on the system and highly absorbable heme iron) or iron polysaccharide - also more absorbable with reduced stomach acid.

I have found that the best prices on the proferrin and the iron polysaccharide (both available over the counter) are at the costco pharmacy - but I am in Canada, so you might do better somewhere else in your area.

Good luck - your number seem pretty decent so hopefully they'll be back where you want them soon!

Hey Margo -

1)  Good question about the PPI - I've been off those about two or three months now.

2)  Mikey also mentioned the Proferrin - looking into it later tonight.  I love Costco, I'll have to see if they sell it there.

Thanks so much.

I don't know much about this except that it doesn't look like you are terribly low and I just bet that with the things you are doing you will be fine for the plastics. I had low potassium right before my vsg and panicked but dr. C just had me take a bunch of extra pills the day before.

My brother Roundater has some anemia issues so you might chat with him.   

I am getting a mental message from robomouse that you will be fine.   diane

LOL .

I will reach out to your brother.

Thanks Diane :)

 Hi Ruggie,

 I would agree, you are borderline. I am not an expert, but I agree some supplementation would be beneficial. I have had no issues at over 2 years out. I take iron, but I take it in CARBONYL form...Feosol...I get it at WalMart...that is the only place I found it. Iron..,ferrous sulfate is harder to process. Make sure you get Carbonyl, the pills are red. Most of the sulfate ones are green. You should be okay in a month as you are not that l low. If the count does not respond quickly, you may want to look for a source for the deficit other than diet and supplements. Hope this helps. I apologize for any typos or duplication as I am doing this on my phone and it is not the easiest thing to do.

It took so long to happen because we have stores of iron to work off of. But you have TONS of stored iron (ferritin) and you are only borderline on the low values, so I am wondering if maybe it was just a bad test? That does happen.

Anyway,  I'd go with the carbonyl iron or the heme iron, myself. They are better absorbed and, if you are going to spend money on supplements, you want to get your money's worth. Plus, there's less chance of constipation with those forms.