I Was Doing So Well! What's Going On?

[laula]

I've been gluten and dairy free since April 09 and started doing really well. My TTG was negative but I feel so much better not eating gluten or dairy that I just cut it all out on the advice of my naturopath and lost 60 lbs and gained tons of energy!! As of late though, I'm always constipated and no amount of flax, water, veggies, protein, carbs anything help. I haven't changed my diet at all since April, and was recently diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia which I have been taking Floravit for (iron pills mess up your tummy) and seemed to be doing better but have been experiencing a lot of dizziness and super low blood pressure and ended up fainting for the first time ever last Monday and wound up in the hospital for heart tests and stuff which all came back negative along with the following blood tests: magnesium, chlorine, sodium, potassium, mono spot, thyroid. The only abnormals were my hemoglobin which was at 112 down from 121 a month ago, and my white cell count was elevated.

My stools are pale too and have to take a suppository just to get things going after a couple days of not going. My urine is a little darker as well..

Is all this related???? I was getting so well and healthy and felt so good for a while but now I feel like crap and know somethings up but I don't know what. My family dr is a dummy and I need a new one but it's hard to find a new one you like and are comfortable with.

Aren't my guts supposed to have healed and absorbing nutrients and iron by now?? What's up??

[mushroom]

I've been gluten and dairy free since April 09 and started doing really well. My TTG was negative but I feel so much better not eating gluten or dairy that I just cut it all out on the advice of my naturopath and lost 60 lbs and gained tons of energy!! As of late though, I'm always constipated and no amount of flax, water, veggies, protein, carbs anything help. I haven't changed my diet at all since April, and was recently diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia which I have been taking Floravit for (iron pills mess up your tummy) and seemed to be doing better but have been experiencing a lot of dizziness and super low blood pressure and ended up fainting for the first time ever last Monday and wound up in the hospital for heart tests and stuff which all came back negative along with the following blood tests: magnesium, chlorine, sodium, potassium, mono spot, thyroid. The only abnormals were my hemoglobin which was at 112 down from 121 a month ago, and my white cell count was elevated.

My stools are pale too and have to take a suppository just to get things going after a couple days of not going. My urine is a little darker as well..

Is all this related???? I was getting so well and healthy and felt so good for a while but now I feel like crap and know somethings up but I don't know what. My family dr is a dummy and I need a new one but it's hard to find a new one you like and are comfortable with.

Aren't my guts supposed to have healed and absorbing nutrients and iron by now?? What's up??

Hi Laula, and welcome to the forum.

You have posed a really tough one there, and one I am certainly not qualified to answer.

Iron deficiency is common with celiac/gluten intolerance, but others have said that the iron pills are not the best way to go to treat deficiency in celiacs because it takes a long time for the gut to heal, up to two or three years depending on the severity of the disease. Iron tablets do mess up your digestive system and cause constipation, and in your case it may well be that your are not absorbing the iron through your digestive tract because of damage done to it by gluten. If you are fainting, have dizziness, low blood presssure, and still not making enough red blood cells I think I would ask your doctor if you could have the injections because the tablets are not doing you any good.

Disclaimer: I have no expert medical knowledge, and anything I know about the subject I have read online. You may want to read at this link:

Open Original Shared Link

I would get back to your doc ASAP and ask for the injections. Also, have they checked your B12 and folate levels?? Also Vitamin D; all these are commonly not well absorbed by celiacs and can contribute to unwellness.

[Wolicki]

I've been gluten and dairy free since April 09 and started doing really well. My TTG was negative but I feel so much better not eating gluten or dairy that I just cut it all out on the advice of my naturopath and lost 60 lbs and gained tons of energy!! As of late though, I'm always constipated and no amount of flax, water, veggies, protein, carbs anything help. I haven't changed my diet at all since April, and was recently diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia which I have been taking Floravit for (iron pills mess up your tummy) and seemed to be doing better but have been experiencing a lot of dizziness and super low blood pressure and ended up fainting for the first time ever last Monday and wound up in the hospital for heart tests and stuff which all came back negative along with the following blood tests: magnesium, chlorine, sodium, potassium, mono spot, thyroid. The only abnormals were my hemoglobin which was at 112 down from 121 a month ago, and my white cell count was elevated.

My stools are pale too and have to take a suppository just to get things going after a couple days of not going. My urine is a little darker as well..

Is all this related???? I was getting so well and healthy and felt so good for a while but now I feel like crap and know somethings up but I don't know what. My family dr is a dummy and I need a new one but it's hard to find a new one you like and are comfortable with.

Aren't my guts supposed to have healed and absorbing nutrients and iron by now?? What's up??

Have you checked to make sure the Floravit does not contain gluten? If that's not the problem, I had similar issues with oral iron. I did two IV does, then didn't need another one for a year, and all my iron levels were good. Probably worth it to discuss iwth your doctor.. My blood pressure went down to about 70 over 50 most of the time, because of the anemia. good luck!

[laula]

Have you checked to make sure the Floravit does not contain gluten? If that's not the problem, I had similar issues with oral iron. I did two IV does, then didn't need another one for a year, and all my iron levels were good. Probably worth it to discuss iwth your doctor.. My blood pressure went down to about 70 over 50 most of the time, because of the anemia. good luck!

Floravit is the liquid iron supplement that doesn't contain yeast or gluten, floradix does. Mushroom, I am taking Floravit because of the studies done that it's much more easily absorbed by the body than Slow Fe (the one my dr wanted me to take...no thanks!!!! He doesn't believe in other remedies or naturopathic medicine either).

My B12 levels were checked a couple months ago and according to him, 124 is normal which is actually on the low end of the scale.

Originally what happened was my CBC came back abnormal with a low hemoglobin, hematocrit and other red blood cell abnormalities and he ordered a ferritin , b12, folate and my ferritin came back at 7 (15 is the lowest number in the "normal" range) and said my b12 and folate were fine which he then ordred my TIBC and Iron levels which were abnormal and a serum protein electrophoresis which determined it was iron deficiency anemia. He doesn't believe i'm gluten intolerant, like I said he doesn't believe in alternative medicine and thinks that if the numbers on test results are "normal" you're fine.

Thanks for the replies guys!!!

[mushroom]

Yeah, most of the docs go strictly by the numbers, but all their patients know that the normal ranges are much too wide. My B12 and folate were at the low end of normal and I felt heaps better with supplementation. I have finally talked my doc into a low dose of synthroid because my thyroid scores were at the extreme ends; I am looking forward to not feeling cold in summers once more

[Kanney]

I can't help with the iron issue. But the Pale stools and Dark urine are symptoms of Gall Stones. I Had my Gall Bladder removed 7 years ago. I had those symptoms along with extreme pain in chest back after eating.

[laula]

Yeah, most of the docs go strictly by the numbers, but all their patients know that the normal ranges are much too wide. My B12 and folate were at the low end of normal and I felt heaps better with supplementation. I have finally talked my doc into a low dose of synthroid because my thyroid scores were at the extreme ends; I am looking forward to not feeling cold in summers once more

I work as a Lab Assistant and even though technically I can't interpret the results, I have a pretty good idea of what's "normal". My B12 is too low even though my Dr says it's ok so maybe I'll get back on the supplements again.

I'm trying to get my Dr to take me off synthroid and put me on Armour Thyroid which is a natural thyroid hormone that the body tolerates much better than Synthroid, not only because it's natural, but because it has T3 and T4 whereas synthroid is strictly T4..and synthetic. Take a look into that! I just wish my Dr was more open to alternative medicine.

At least he said to triple my Floravit dose from 10mg twice a day to 30mg twice a day hopefully my hemoglobin will go up from 108 to at least 120...at LEAST. It would be nice to see it a little higher!!!