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Anyone Else Have A B12 & Iron Deficiency?

californiagirl

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californiagirl Newbie
californiagirl
Posted

First of all I'd like to thank everyone here for helping me with all of your suggestions and advice. It has helped me sooo much this last week. I began having noticable symptoms (that interfered with my daily routine) March of last year. My Mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the month prior and her Doctors gave her 11 weeks. So during that time I blew my symptoms off as stress related. My Mother passed away in December and I continued getting worse. I went to see my GP and he said I had Gerd,he gave me some meds and no improvment. I began keeping a food diary. In mid May everything I ate made me sick. Heartburn, severe cramping & diarrhea, fatigue. Last week I had a colonoscopy, bloodwork, barrium test, ultrasound. I have to wait for the blood work 10 days. But my doctor did say that he thought I had Celiac and that I had flattening of the villi. In the first round of bloodwork I was iron deficient and very low in B12 which he said was unusual for a woman. I'm not sure what a lot of that means. Does anyone else have this? I did start gluten-free Saturday. It's really hard,overwhelming at first. So many foods with gluten. Today is the first day I have felt somewhat good in a very long time. But I'm still so tired, very little energy. Thanks again,

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Guest jhmom
Guest jhmom
Posted

Welcome to the board!

I am sorry for the loss of your mother. I know that is a very hard thing to deal with no matter how old you are. I am glad you did not pass off your health problems as stress, as so many people tend to do. THe gluten-free diet can be VERY overwhelming at first, just hang in there it does get better. Once you really begin to feel a difference in your health it will ALL be worth it!

Browse around the site, there are a TON of helpful links on the site about gluten-free foods, safe places to eat, etc...

I will go ahead and give you a few links:

Open Original Shared Link

Safe & Forbidden Food & Ingredient Lists for Gluten-Free Diets

I am not sure about the resturants in your area but here are some links of places that offer a gluten-free menu and is posted on their website

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

oreyes Newbie
oreyes
Posted

Californiagirl,

Heartfelt comfort for the loss of your mother.

You asked about a deficiency of B12 and iron. My celiac diease was misdiagnosed for seven years and I experieced both of those plus severe anemia. I received three transfusions but still could not get my iron levels up. My stomach wouldn't tolerate iron tablets so I finally had to have an iron infusion. Since then, my levels have stayed pretty normal. With all the diarrhea, my system was absorbing very little nutrition and I'm wondering if you've not experienced the same problem. I've been gluten free for three years now and except for one bad bout that lasted for a couple of month this spring, I've felt great.

Hang in there and don't become discouraged. In the three years that I've been diagnosed there have been so many improvements in food products and restaurants that are gluten-free friendly. I believe this is a diease that's just being discovered by many physicians here in the states. As stated in the previous e-mail, I think you'll find a lot of information on this site and just talking with others.

Take care and good luck. :rolleyes: ............Judy

oreyes Newbie
oreyes
Posted
:( Scuse the mispelling of the word "disease"...and I did it twice!! Judy
Meenucat Newbie
Meenucat
Posted

I am *not* Celiac, apparantly, but I *do* have a B12 Deficiency - My doctors are not sure what is the cause of the defiency and I have had a normal MRI (of head), Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy...I'm in the process of trying to find out what the heck is going on with my body right now...(I do not have Pernicious Anaemia)

A low B12 level is when your body doesn't absorb B12 either through your intestines or bowel - The Ileum (part of the small intestine) is the part that is effected when you have Celiac, I believe (someone else may want to jump in and clarify this for me)...You may need to get B12 shots or maybe your levels will improve when you are further along on your gluten-free diet - Low B12 with Celiac means that your body is not absorbing certain vitamins/minerals (malabsorbtion) - Good luck to you and I hope you start to feel better soon :D

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

Both of these deficiencies are QUITE common in people with untreated celiac because you haven't been absorbing things. It's very important to get both back up.

richard

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    • cristiana
      Ibuprofen

      By cristiana · Posted

      Ferritin levels.  And see what your hemoglobin looks like too, that will tell you if you are anemic?  You can have 'low normal' levels that will not be flagged by blood tests.  I had 'low normal' levels, my lab reading was. c12, just over what was considered normal, but I had small benign lesion on my tongue, and sometimes a sore mouth, and a consultant maxillofacial ordered an iron infusion for me as he felt my levels were too low and if he  raised them to 40, it would help.   Because you are not feeling 100% it might be worth looking at your levels, then discussing with your doctor if they are low normal.  But I stress, don't supplement iron without your levels being monitored, too much is dangerous.
    • Mari
      New here

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Katht -  I sympathize with your struggles in following a gluten-free diet and lifestyle. I found out that I had Celiac Disease a few months before I turned 70. I just turned 89 and it has taken me almost 20 years to attain a fairly normal intestinal  function. I also lost a lot of weight, down to 100 lb. down from about 140 lb. What Trents wrote you was very true for me. I am still elimination foods from my diet. One person suggested you keep a food diary and that is a good idea but it is probably best just to do an elimination diet. There are several ne and maybe one for celiacs. I used one for a while and started with plain rice and zucchini and then added back other foods to see if I reacted or not. That helped a great deal but what I did not realise that it would only very small amounts of some foods to cause inflammation in my intestine. Within the last few years I have stopped eating any trace amounts of hot peppers, corn and soy(mostly in supplements) and nuts, (the corn in Tylenol was giving me stomach aches and the nuts were causing foot pains). Starting an elimination diet with white rice is better than brown rice that has some natural toxins. In addition it is very important to drink sufficient plain water. You can find out how much to drink for your height and weight online. I do have difficulty drinking 48 ounces of water but just recently have found an electrolyte supplement that helps me stay well hydrated, Adding the water and electrolytes may reduce muscle cramps and gag spams you wrote about. . Also buy some anti-gluten enzyme capsules to take with meals. I use GliadinX advertised here. These are a lot of things to do at one time as they reflect my 20 years of experience. I hope you do what you can manage to do over time. Good luck and take care.
    • Colleen H
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      Yes thyroid was tested.. negative  Iron ...I'm. Not sure ... Would that fall under red blood count?  If so I was ok  Thank you for the detailed response..☺️
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    • cristiana
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      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi Colleen Are you supplementing B12/having injections? I have learned recently that sometimes when you start addressing a B12 deficiency, it can temporarily make your symptoms worse.  But it is important not to stop the treatment.  Regarding your problems with anxiety, again that is another symptom of a B12 deficiency.   I didn't know what anxiety was until it hit me like a train several months before gastrointestinal issues began, so I can certainly relate.   Two books which helped me hugely were At Last A Life by Paul David (there is a website you can look up) and The Depression Cure: The Six-Step Programme to Beat Depression Without Drugs by Dr Steve Llardi.  Although his book is aimed at people who have depression, following the principals he sets out was so helpful in lessening my anxiety.  Llardi suggests we need to focus on getting enough: - physical exercise - omega-3 fatty acids - natural sunlight exposure - restorative sleep - social connectedness - meaningful, engaging activity   ... and we should feel a lot better. That is not to stay you must stop taking medication for depression or anxiety if you have been prescribed it, but adopting the changes Dr Llardi sets out in the book should really help. Can I just ask two more questions:  1) you say that you are B12 deficient, did they test your iron levels too?  If not, you really ought to be checked for deficiency and, 2) did they check your thyroid function, as an overactive thyroid can be cause rapid heartbeat and a lot of coeliacs have thyroid issues? Cristiana        
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