Anemia

[MissBecky]

I got mono 15 months before being diagnosed with celiac, and with that came severe anemia. At the time, my doctor said most of the time it gets better when the mono is gone, but it just kind of latched onto me. After I was diagnosed earlier this year and started the gluten-free diet, the anemia got dramatically better. My first question is if the anemia and celiac are related, since it got better after starting the diet. I had symptoms of an intolerance for several years before I diagnosed, and I often wonder if the mono/anemia was one of the earlier signs of the damage it was doing. I recall my mother (a medical editor) insisting I was celiac about 5 years ago, but at that time, I tested negative.

Also, I believe I did get glutened this week. I'm always really careful, but I suppose it was bound to happen when you eat in a college dining hall. I'm guessing it was a cross-contamination issue. My digestive system and my sudden mood change are doing a lot better, but the anemia is flaring up really bad. The past couple of days, I've barely been able to get out of bed and don't have the energy for a whole lot. Any suggestions for kick starting my iron level? I was planning on including a decent amount of red meat in my diet the next couple of days (I really don't eat it a whole lot, mostly poultry) but other kinds of foods are high in iron?

[ravenwoodglass]

It can take us a while to heal from a glutening. The weakness you are feeling may be part of the antibody reaction. For some of us it can take a couple of weeks before we are feeling better even after the gut reaction stops. One thing you should not do is start popping iron without having a blood test done as too much iron is toxic. Here is a list of iron rich foods.

Open Original Shared Link

To boost the amount of iron in your diet, try these foods:

Red meat

Egg yolks

Dark, leafy greens (spinach, collards)

Dried fruit (prunes, raisins)

Iron-enriched cereals and grains (check the labels)

Mollusks (oysters, clams, scallops)

Turkey or chicken giblets

Beans, lentils, chick peas and soybeans

Liver

Artichokes

And here's a tip: If you eat iron-rich foods along with foods that provide plenty of vitamin C, your body can better absorb the iron.

[Kay DH]

Next time you go to the doctor, have him/her check your B vitamin and thyroid levels, too, along with iron.

[lovegrov]

Severe anemia caused by untreated celiac was one of my major symptoms. Resolved itself completely after going gluten-free.

richard

[starrytrekchic]

The reason celiacs get anemia is the chronic inability to absorb iron from the diet. Once your intestines have healed, iron absorption isn't a problem. Isolated glutenings won't cause you to become anemic again. The fatigue is likely from your body's reaction to the gluten, and it may take several days to go away.

Mono is one of the illnesses that can trigger celiac in susceptible people.

For the fatigue, just rest up and treat yourself like you have the flu. Lots of fluids, get your body flushed out, that sort of thing. Some celiacs, myself included, report a bout of severe fatigue a few months into going gluten free, so if it doesn't go away immediately, you might be experiencing that. It does go away on its own--it's just that your body's been through a lot and needs time to adjust and heal.

[MissBecky]

It can take us a while to heal from a glutening. The weakness you are feeling may be part of the antibody reaction. For some of us it can take a couple of weeks before we are feeling better even after the gut reaction stops. One thing you should not do is start popping iron without having a blood test done as too much iron is toxic. Here is a list of iron rich foods.

Open Original Shared Link

To boost the amount of iron in your diet, try these foods:

Red meat

Egg yolks

Dark, leafy greens (spinach, collards)

Dried fruit (prunes, raisins)

Iron-enriched cereals and grains (check the labels)

Mollusks (oysters, clams, scallops)

Turkey or chicken giblets

Beans, lentils, chick peas and soybeans

Liver

Artichokes

And here's a tip: If you eat iron-rich foods along with foods that provide plenty of vitamin C, your body can better absorb the iron.

Thanks for the list, it's very helpful. It seems that my fatigue may be a little of both. My anemia is always present (just got my levels checked recently actually) but being glutened definitely makes it a lot more intense.

Next time you go to the doctor, have him/her check your B vitamin and thyroid levels, too, along with iron.

Will do. I was recently at the doctor (for tonsilitis) and they checked my iron (still pretty low) but I will bring up my thryoid and B vitamin levels next time.

The reason celiacs get anemia is the chronic inability to absorb iron from the diet. Once your intestines have healed, iron absorption isn't a problem. Isolated glutenings won't cause you to become anemic again. The fatigue is likely from your body's reaction to the gluten, and it may take several days to go away.

Mono is one of the illnesses that can trigger celiac in susceptible people.

For the fatigue, just rest up and treat yourself like you have the flu. Lots of fluids, get your body flushed out, that sort of thing. Some celiacs, myself included, report a bout of severe fatigue a few months into going gluten free, so if it doesn't go away immediately, you might be experiencing that. It does go away on its own--it's just that your body's been through a lot and needs time to adjust and heal.

As I've said before, it's most likely a combination of both. I'm still anemic (sorry if I didn't clarify) but it seems to get dramatically worse when I get glutened. I recently had my levels checked, and it's still pretty low. I'm hoping in time that my energy will start to get better.

That's interesting that mono can trigger celiac, definitely makes a lot of sense. I had minor symptoms of food intolerances for several years before, but the tests were negative, as were all the tests for various intolerances and allergies. My health really started to go downhill when I got mono, and then I was diagnosed over a year later.

[Skylark]

Has your doctor considered iron injections? It's possible you're still not healed well enough to absorb as much iron as you need and it may be a while if you've been showing celiac symptoms for five years now.

[txplowgirl]

I was anemic from the time I was 7 years old. No amount of iron pills or even iron injections would take care of it. It went away after being gluten free for 3 months. My dr's were astonished and my last dr had the nerve to tell me that it had nothing to do with what I was eating. Needless to say I got another dr.

[sahm-i-am]

I've had problems with anemia for a long time. Went through iron infusions for months, an endometrial ablation to stop the monthly (best thing I ever had done!) and tons of money on iron supplements. Well, wouldn't you know it - going gluten free was the answer! Now, after 7 months my iron levels are back to normal. Took a while, but it is up there now. And yes, when I was 'detoxing' my body from gluten I was extremely tired and sluggish - that took a while to go away, too. Maybe 3 months for me, but I was at a 5 on the hemoglobin scale when I started gluten-free.

Hope you feel energetic soon!