Am I Anemic

[New2Celiac]

I was diagnosed over a year ago with celiac disease. I have JUST begun the gluten free diet due to being in denial for so long. My stomach issues have always fluxuated; however now I am noticing other symptoms which I believe are due to anemia.

First and fore most I am exhausted...I wake up and want to go back to sleep, at work I think about sleep, ALL I WANT TO DO IS SLEEP! I'm also lightheaded and cloudy and during my menstral (sorry guys) cycle I have dark blood and lots of cramping. The last few weeks have been pretty bad as I am getting headaches on a daily basis. I am on a gluten free diet for the past week, but it seems the damage has already been done. I have an appointment on Monday to test for Anemia, but I'm worried it's something worse. Does this sound like something ANYONE has experienced? From reading the threads I realize I am not education on celiac disease at all. Any comments would be appreciated

[lizard00]

First and fore most I am exhausted...I wake up and want to go back to sleep, at work I think about sleep, ALL I WANT TO DO IS SLEEP!

That sounded like me 7 months ago. My more pronounced symptoms were headache and nausea, but these went away almost as soon as I went gluten-free. The fatigue went on, and on, and on...

We are usually deficient in something, I wish I could tell you if I was. My doc tested me for vit d and b12 in april, but my levels were normal. I was feeling better by then though and had started supplementing and going out in the sun. A sublingual b12 worked wonders for me in helping with energy. So, I'm pretty sure I was low in B12. I started waking up more refreshed pretty quickly, but I had to take an afternoon nap for a few months. I hated it, but I had to let my body rest. Then one day, I noticed that it had been a week or so since I took a nap. What I learned from this is that when your body is down, it needs to rest. I didn't get sick overnight, and I wasn't going to get well overnight.

Anemia is always a possibility among Celiacs, but don't let your doc test you only for that. Have your doc run vit d, b12, potassium... there's a few more but my brain is turning to mush. It's late where I am... I'm sure others will fill in the gaps. And untreated Celiac can also lead to thyroid problems, so it probably would be a good idea to check that if you haven't already.

Hope that helps and hope you get yourself on the diet asap!!! You will feel so much better!!! This site is full of great info, the forum is full of incredibly knowledgable people, so ask any question you have. Everyone is happy to share their experience to help you get on track!

Take care!

[RiceGuy]

I agree with the suggestion of B12 - Open Original Shared Link to be exact. You cannot overdose, so I'd say try it and see. But from all your symptoms I'd have to believe there are other issues. No doubt there is much healing required, so it will take time, but there is probably a lot you can do to help your body along. Anemia is a good guess too, though I am aware that too much can be trouble, so it's good that you will be getting tested.

[New2Celiac]

Thank you for your advice! I will ask for my dr to test for all those as well. This is such a great place to find out answers to all my questions!!!!!!!!! I didn't realize how much damage I was doing to my body. I've been on this forum for hours upon end and I'm just floored. Thanks again!!!!