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Mother With Celiac And Anemia, Reactions To Iron?

dd4glutenfree

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dd4glutenfree Newbie
dd4glutenfree
Posted

Hello everyone! My name is Jean, and I'm a daughter to a wonderful woman recently diagnosed with celiac. We've been gluten-free for some time now, and it's helped tremendously with her health. My mother also has lupus, MS, and anemia, so we were very surprised when the lack of gluten in her diet made things so much better.

However, for the first time since she's gone gluten free, she's gone back to taking iron pills for her anemia. Each time she's taken them, however, she's felt shaky, agitated, off-balance, and very tired. She's tried to look this up online, but hasn't found anything to do with celiacs and anemia. So I thought I would try here. :)

Does anyone here deal with anemia AND celiac disease, tried taking iron pills or supplements, and wound up with any reactions like these? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Also, as I'm very new to the board (signed up the other day in the hopes of helping my mom) I'm hoping I'm placing this in the right thread, and if I'm not, which one should this belong in?

Thank you so much in advance,

~Jean

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marciab Enthusiast
marciab
Posted

Welcome. I had iron and B12 anemia when I was first diagnosed as a celiac too .. While I don't remember exactly how those iron pills affected me, I did have to stop them. I used a cast iron pan and ate rare beef and buffalo to get my iron back up. If it's too low a doctor can order iron IV's, but my doc thought the risk involved with these was too great overall.

Edited to add ... I reacted to the prescription ones my doc ordered too ..

Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

Have you tried different brands? It might be a filler in the pills.

wowzer Community Regular
wowzer
Posted

I have betathalmysia (may be spelled wrong). It also is called Mediterrean anemia. My blood cells aren't normally shaped. Actully iron is toxic to this condition. I also have a sister that developed persnicity anemia from the same condition. She has to give herself B12 shots. It does sound like her body is saying I can't take iron to me. Keep us posted.

Wendy

mommida Enthusiast
mommida
Posted

Pernicious Anemia has a connection to Celiac Disease. She should be tested.

GFLisa Newbie
GFLisa
Posted

I would check and make sure the iron she's taking doesn't have gluten hidden in the filler. When I first went gluten-free I was taking Floradix and had no idea it had wheat in it until a friend told me. Now I take New Chapter iron which is gluten-free. I also just found out that Country Life Vitamins are all gluten-free, so there is no risk of cross contamination.

  • 3 months later...
princesskill Rookie
princesskill
Posted

im very anemic. i tried supplements but they all gave me horrible GI problems so i get injections and have had no problems with them. feel a little "high" when i first get the shots but thats it.

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chatycady Explorer
chatycady
Posted

Iron supplements are horrible for an already damaged digestive system. Stay away from them. Eat hamburger and steaks everyday with a glass of juice with vitamin C for a week or two. That should give you the boost you need.

Iron supplements cause bacterial overgrowth in the intestine, worsening GI problems.

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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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