animia low iron

Question
i'm 5 yrs from having a Roux-en Y no problem untill recently. my iron level is 9 and i have tred iron pill as well as liquid iron. they aren't working . my hemotolist wants to try iron infusion, what are the dangers after having the surgry? i have lost over 100lbs. i'm 46 yrs old
in very good heath otherwise

Answer
Hi Marie,

It is not at all uncommon for iron levels to plunge around 5 years post-op from a gastric bypass.  For some people, women especially, when levels get as low as yours are, it can be very, very hard to correct this problem with an oral iron alone.

When given by a hematologist, iron infusions are extremely safe and can help to get you back to a healthy iron level that you can then maintain with oral iron.  With your levels being this low, I think infusions are very reasonable.

It is also important that you do a few other things:
1) Handle any sources of bleeding.  If you have heavy or long periods, visit your gynecologist and find out what you need to do about them. Talk to your surgeon and see if they think you need to be checked for ulceration or other causes of bleeding internally.

2) Look at dietary sources of iron.  Are you eating meat every day - or at least often?  if you have a hard time eating iron-containing foods, it is a good idea to meet with a bariatric dietitian.

3) Are you taking all the right vitamins?  You will need to be on a multivitamin, iron, B12 and calcium citrate for life.  You should not ever take your iron with calcium or with dairy products like milk.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Please let me know if you need more information.

In Health,

Dr. Jacques

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