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Celiac And Hemoglobin?

bridgetm

By bridgetm
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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bridgetm Enthusiast
bridgetm
Posted

While I tested negative for Celiac-sprue (likely a false result since I had been gluten free for almost a week) my hemoglobin was a low 10.8. I'm usually a steady 13.6 so we assumed a lab error at first and wasn't concerned. When I saw him about 2 weeks after the original labs he decided to check it again. No change; 10.8 exactly. He sent me to the hospital lab for a full iron panel. He didn't tell me those exact result, but they worried him enough to put me on iron and vitamin C supplements and told me to check in after 2 months.

I have about 6 weeks until I see him and I'm incredibly curious. I plan to sign up for the school blood drive in 3 weeks just so I can get my hemoglobin checked; I try to donate every time they're at school and though I have a feeling this will be the first time I'll be turned away, I'd really like to know.

Has anyone else had these iron problems? And does it improve in time on a gluten-free diet?

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Wolicki Enthusiast
Wolicki
Posted

Many, many here have dealt with iron defiency. I think in most cases, it resolves itself after being gluten free, and supplementing iron. I ended up having IV iron infusions because I couldn't tolerate the oral prescription strength. Lots of people here just took OTC iron, maintained the gluten free diet and got their levels back up. It's very common.

bridgetm Enthusiast
bridgetm
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for your response. This forum has been really helpful in considering all of my symptoms and some things I never gave much thought to, but may have been signs all along. I am now only a few days into being completely gluten-free, but I am feeling better much better. Even the year-old eczema-like rash on my upper arms has all but disappeared.

AnneM Apprentice
AnneM
Posted

Being tired all the time was my first sympton of having Celiac disease, this was 4 years ago, i took iron supplements. My iron count returned to normal after eating gluten free and taking iron. So now it's 4 years later and i was having heart palpitations so i went to have it checked. I found out i was anemic AGAIN..that was causing the palpitations, so at the present time I am taking iron and my palpitations stopped. I think i will have iron issues forever, regardless of eating gluten free or not, it's very frustrating. I think it's important if you have Celiac disease to check your vitamin levels on a regular basis.

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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
    • 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! 
    • Scott Adams
      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son.  Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia.  An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal.   Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps, as well as aggression and irritability, confusion, mood swings and behavior changes.  Thiamine is essential to the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which keep us calm and rational.   @Jsingh, histamine intolerance is also a symptom of Thiamine deficiency.  Thiamine is needed to prevent mast cells from releasing histamine at the slightest provocation as is seen in histamine intolerance.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine from the body.  Without sufficient thiamine and other B vitamins to clear it, the histamine builds up.  High histamine levels can change behavior, too.  High histamine levels are found in the brains of patients with schizophrenia.  Thiamine deficiency can also cause extreme hunger or conversely anorexia.   High carbohydrate meals can precipitate thiamine deficiency because additional thiamine is required to process carbohydrates for the body to use as fuel.  The more carbohydrates one eats daily, the more one needs additional thiamine above the RDA.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses. Keep in mind that gluten-free processed foods like cookies and such are not required to be fortified and enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts are.  Limit processed gluten-free foods.  They are often full of empty calories and unhealthy saturated fats and additives, and are high in histamine or histamine release triggers.  It's time you bought your own vitamins to supplement what is not being absorbed due to malabsorption of Celiac disease.  Benfotiamine is a form of Thiamine that has been shown to improve intestinal health as well as brain function. Do talk to your doctors and dieticians about supplementing with the essential vitamins and minerals while your children are growing up gluten free.  Serve nutritionally dense foods.  Meats and liver are great sources of B vitamins and minerals. Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
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