Low Ferritin after bypass
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Ultima_Morpha
Posts: 895 Member
Anyone else struggling with their iron levels after bypass? My ferritin levels have gone from 68 in October 2015 (3 months after surgery) to 10 at my two year check up.
It has been adversely affecting my running performance since late last year.
I was technically in the normal range in January at 14 but had already been feeling the affects of being at the lower end of normal. I doubled down on my efforts since then, but my levels continued to drop.
I had been a vegetarian since end of December 2016, but made the decision this week to reintroduce some meat back into my diet. Liver...check. Oysters...check. I'm hoping the dietary changes with supplementation will get me into the 40s sooner rather than later...I have a marathon to run this year!
I guess I'm looking for some solidarity...or someone to tell me that they suffered and turned it around. Short of actually getting an iron infusion, I believe that I was and still am doing everything I can to raise my levels.
It has been adversely affecting my running performance since late last year.
I was technically in the normal range in January at 14 but had already been feeling the affects of being at the lower end of normal. I doubled down on my efforts since then, but my levels continued to drop.
I had been a vegetarian since end of December 2016, but made the decision this week to reintroduce some meat back into my diet. Liver...check. Oysters...check. I'm hoping the dietary changes with supplementation will get me into the 40s sooner rather than later...I have a marathon to run this year!
I guess I'm looking for some solidarity...or someone to tell me that they suffered and turned it around. Short of actually getting an iron infusion, I believe that I was and still am doing everything I can to raise my levels.
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From what I understand, once you're that low, an infusion is the only thing that'll get you back up. I have also heard of someone who was in your situation who after infusions, started using the iron patch from Patch MD and has been able to keep it up. I've heard very mixed results about their vitamin patches, but I've at least heard something good about the iron one.1
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That is good to know. I have a follow up with both my GP and my gynecologist this month. I'll see if I can harangue one into ordering an infusion! I'll look into the patches too...the extra supplementation (and the liver!) Is an untenable situation.From what I understand, once you're that low, an infusion is the only thing that'll get you back up. I have also heard of someone who was in your situation who after infusions, started using the iron patch from Patch MD and has been able to keep it up. I've heard very mixed results about their vitamin patches, but I've at least heard something good about the iron one.0
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My ferritin has never been over 10 in the past 30 years due to multiple pregnancies, prolonged breastfeeding, mennorrhagia and a stint being vegetarian. I must have spent thousands abd thousands of dollars on supplements to little avail. Then I had my sleeve and my specialist told me an iron infusion could be life changing. I was in like Flynn. I can't understand why anyone who is anemic wouldn't jump at the chance.
In short it took 2 weeks to really kick in and by golly I'm booking g them in 2 yearly for life. I had NO idea how damn tired I was all the time until I suddenly wasn't. I had no idea how poor quality my sleep had been, how rundown I was etc...0 -
@GailK1967
I'm on it...I'm not going to take no for an answer! I keep hearing that I'm in normal range and shouldn't be feeling the way that I do at the levels that I've been at, but I've just steadily watched my levels drop since October 2015. It was about a year ago when I really started feeling run down and that was when my running increased quite a bit. I suspect that is when my ferritin dropped into the yellow zone.
I've also been reading a lot about how runners burn through iron faster than the average person. At my top form last year, I was easily running 50 miles in a week without feeling awful. Now I'm lucky to manage 30 a week and I still feel wrecked at the end! Not to mention the brain fog, muscle spasms, etc. I can't believe that not one doctor in the past 6 months has landed on this low ferritin level as a cause for all the physical complaints I've been experiencing. Even I was convinced that it wad something more pernicious. A couple of doctors think it is my lupus and, while it could be contributing, this would be a different flare manifestation than I've had in 20 years.
I know exactly how adversely it has been affecting me...I just can't seem to make anyone else understand it!My ferritin has never been over 10 in the past 30 years due to multiple pregnancies, prolonged breastfeeding, mennorrhagia and a stint being vegetarian. I must have spent thousands abd thousands of dollars on supplements to little avail. Then I had my sleeve and my specialist told me an iron infusion could be life changing. I was in like Flynn. I can't understand why anyone who is anemic wouldn't jump at the chance.
In short it took 2 weeks to really kick in and by golly I'm booking g them in 2 yearly for life. I had NO idea how damn tired I was all the time until I suddenly wasn't. I had no idea how poor quality my sleep had been, how rundown I was etc...0 -
My daughter had an infusion and it made a world of difference.1
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My doc wouldnt give infusion (uk) i was single figures.
Instead i had a year of the highest strength suppliments they could give me and laxido for the inevitable blocking up
They think breastfeeding on top of having the bypass has done it
Im off the suppliments now but still feeding, shall see what my next lot of bloods say but im spectacularly tired again0 -
I have developed iron deficient anemia 4 years after my 2012 bypass. I lost most of my weight, but year 3 I started having issues with extreme fatigue. My vitamins levels came back mostly ok except with Vitamin D and Iron. However, it was never at a critical level until June 2015 when my hemoglobin levels crashed from 12 (normal) to 5 dangerous. I also had blood in my stools. They could not find a bleed from colonoscopy and EGD so they just gave me Protonix and sent me home after 4 units of blood and a week in the hospital. Then the hemoglobin crashed again. I did start getting 9 hour iron infusions and blood. It went back up for about 6 months then the problem was back. So this has been ongoing for 3 years then this year, I was scheduled for a balloon endoscopy where they go deeper in the intestine and found "AVMs" and a bleeding ulcer. I am being treated for it now and feeling better. No blood in stool. So. the lesson is take the Protonix, and if your hemoglobin goes down quickly within a month or two of a good test then you KNOW there is a bleed SOMEWHERE and they have to find it. So now that I had no energy to exercise or move much, I gained back 40 pounds and just now have the energy to get back on the wagon...so pissed because when all this started I was within 15 pounds of my goal weight. Sigh.
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